Women's Volleyball Picked 12th in GNAC Preseason Coaches' Poll

Posted: Aug 19, 2019

WINTHROP, Mass. – The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) released its 2019 Women's Volleyball Preseason Coaches' Poll on Monday afternoon with Albertus Magnus College women's volleyball being slotted 12th. The Falcons garnered 34 points from the league's 13 head coaches to edge Anna Maria College (13) in 13th.

The four-time defending GNAC champion, Johnson & Wales University, took the top spot on the poll by earning all 13 first-place votes and 169 total points. Rivier University, who fell to the Wildcats in the conference final, is slotted second in the poll with 155 points. Colby-Sawyer College rounded out the top three with 136 points following last year's 21-win campaign.

Three remaining teams received 100-plus points from the coaches. Simmons University was tabbed fourth with 130 points, while Suffolk University in fifth and Lasell University in sixth garnered 110 and 108 points, respectively.

Emmanuel College was next on the list in seventh place with 85 points, closely followed by the Saint Joseph's College of Maine (80) and Regis (Mass.) College (75). Norwich University and University of Saint Joseph's (CT) finished just ahead of the Falcons with 47 and 41 points, respectively, to complete the poll.

Albertus kicks off the 2019 season on Friday, August 30, with a road 3:00 PM match against Elms College at the Maguire Center in Chicopee, Mass.

2019 GNAC Women's Volleyball Preseason Poll
1. Johnson & Wales (13) – 169
2. Rivier – 155
3. Colby-Sawyer – 136
4. Simmons – 130
5. Suffolk – 110
6. Lasell – 108
7. Emmanuel – 85
8. Saint Joseph's Maine – 80
9. Regis – 75
10. Norwich – 47
11. Saint Joseph (CT) – 41
12. Albertus Magnus – 34
13. Anna Maria – 13

Albertus Magnus College, founded in 1925 by the Dominican Sisters of Peace, is a Catholic College in the Dominican Tradition. It is recognized as a Top 100 Regional University in the north by US News & World Report Best Colleges guide for 2019. The College has an enrollment of 1,500 students in its traditional undergraduate program, accelerated adult degree programs, and 12 graduate programs, including a new Master of Public Administration and the only Master of Arts in Art Therapy and Counseling in Connecticut. In the last few months, the College received two significant federal grants, $300,000 from the Department of Justice and a $2 million Title III grant from the Department of Education.