FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

2015 SCHEDULE

Raiders receive five first-place tallies

WINTHROP, Mass. – Seven-time defending conference champion Rivier University received five of a possible eight first-place votes to finish first in the 2015 GNAC Men’s Volleyball Preseason Coaches Poll, as announced by the league office on Tuesday morning.

The Raiders earned 59 points in the poll, just ahead of Wentworth Institute of Technology, which finished second with 56 points and a pair of first-place nods.

Rivier finished 29-7 overall and 15-1 in GNAC play a year ago, advancing to the NCAA Tournament where it fell to Carthage, 3-2. The Raiders were also ranked No. 1 at one point last winter in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Division III national poll.

Wentworth went 27-8 last season while posting a 14-2 mark in conference contests, en route to a 3-2 victory over Stevenson to claim the 2014 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III Championship last April. 

Emmanuel College (18-12, 11-5 GNAC) finished third in the preseason ledger with 46 points, as the Saints have advanced to the GNAC Championship match in each of the last four seasons.

Johnson & Wales University (19-11, 11-5 GNAC) placed fourth in the voting with 40 points, while Lasell College () rounded out the top-five and garnered one first-place vote.

Making up the remainder of the poll was Emerson College (11-15, 6-10 GNAC) with 23 points, Albertus Magnus College (11-12, 5-11 GNAC) with 15 points and Mount Ida College (8-21, 2-14 GNAC) with 10 points.

The 2015 campaign gets underway this weekend and next week, while GNAC play gets set to begin on Tuesday, February 3. The 2015 GNAC Tournament will get underway with first-round action on April 7, with the semifinals and championship, at high seeds throughout, scheduled for April 9 and April 11.

Founded in 1995, the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 12 member institutions and over 3,000 student-athletes across the New England region. Each year, the GNAC sponsors and administers 17 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunities and community involvement.

2015 GNAC Men's Volleyball Preseason Coaches' Poll
1. Rivier (5) - 59
2. Wentworth (2) - 56
3. Emmanuel - 46
4. Johnson & Wales - 40
5. Lasell (1) - 39
6. Emerson - 23
7. Albertus Magnus - 15
8. Mount Ida - 10

( ) – indicates first-place votes

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