Aug 21, 2008

Volleyball Picked Third in Northeast-10 Preseason Poll

SOUTH EASTON, MA. – The Merrimack volleyball team has been picked to finish third in the Northeast-10 Conference preseason poll.

Northeast-10 Volleyball Poll

first place votes in parenthesis

1. Bentley (12) 221

2. New Haven (2) 201

3. Merrimack 196

4. Franklin Pierce 173

5. Pace (1) 147

6. Saint Rose 144

7. UMass Lowell 135

8. Le Moyne 133

9. Stonehill 102

10. Southern NH 101

11. Assumption 77

12. So. Connecticut 61

13. American International 56

14. Saint Michael's 30

15. Saint Anselm 23

Coming off the first NCAA Tournament appearance in school history, expectations are high for the Warriors, who had just two seniors on the 2007 team. Led by the 2007 Northeast-10 Coach of the Year Joey Pacis and Freshman of the Year Molly Cindric (Westland Village, CA), the Warriors open the season with matches against Wayne State and Humboldt State in Monterey, California on August 29th.

Captains Ale Kuncaitis (Canton, MA) and Kristin Applegate (Hampstead, NH) will lead the 2008 team into a conference that saw the 2007 champion Bryant depart for Division I and the Northeast Conference. However, replacing Bryant is New Haven, formerly of the East Coast Conference. The Chargers advanced to the NCAA Regional Semifinals last season before being eliminated by Bryant.

The 2007 Warriors set a school record with 19 wins and advanced to the conference championship for the second time. Cindric set single-season records for total kills, total attacks and block assists, while Elyse Lorenz (Frankfort, IL) set the school mark for total assists. Alyssa Pickert (Tinley Park, IL) posted school highs in total digs and digs per game.

Bentley received 12 first-place votes and 221 total votes for the top spot in the preseason poll. New Haven ranked second with two first-place votes and 201 overall, with Merrimack placing third with 196 votes. Franklin Pierce, Pace and Saint Rose round out the top six.