FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
No. 9 nationally ranked
Wentworth claims six first-place votes
WINTHROP, Mass. – Defending league champion Wentworth Institute of Technology has been selected as the favorite in the 2017 Great Northeast Athletic Conference Men’s Volleyball Preseason Poll, as voted upon by the league’s eight head coaches.
The Leopards, who are one of two GNAC teams ranked nationally in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Division III poll, received six first-place votes and 62 points overall after defeating Rivier University in a five-set thriller last April for the GNAC Championship. The program went on to its first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance, earning a three-set victory over Hunter before falling to SUNY New Paltz.
Ranked ninth in the AVCA poll, Wentworth returns nine letterwinners from 2016. The Leopards will get their season underway on January 20-21 at the SUNY Polytechnic Wildcat Invitational.
Rivier finished second in the poll to Wentworth with one first-place nod and 54 points. The Raiders, who are ranked tied for 15th in the AVCA Division III poll, won seven straight GNAC Championships from 2008-14 before falling to Lasell College in 2015 and Wentworth last spring.
Lasell finished third in the GNAC preseason poll with 50 points and the remaining first-place tally.
Making up the remainder of the poll was Johnson & Wales University with 41 points, Emmanuel College with 33 points, Emerson College with 21 points, Mount Ida College with 19 points and Albertus Magnus College with eight points.
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.
2017 GNAC Men's Volleyball Preseason Coaches' Poll
1. Wentworth (6) - 62
2. Rivier (1) - 54
3. Lasell (1) - 50
4. Johnson & Wales - 41
5. Emmanuel - 33
6. Emerson - 21
7. Mount Ida - 19
8. Albertus Magnus – 8
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