FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Defending league champion Riv
finishes one point behind Saints

WINTHROP, Mass. – Emmanuel College has received 137 points and seven first-place votes to take the top spot in the 2015 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Women's Volleyball Preseason Coaches' Poll, the league office announced on Wednesday.

The Saints received a mere one point more than Rivier University, which garnered 136 points in the ledger and the other five first-place tallies.

The two programs both finished 10-1 in GNAC play a year ago, with Emmanuel handing Rivier its only in-conference loss. Rivier went on to defeat Johnson & Wales University in the GNAC Championship before falling to MIT in the NCAA Tournament, while Emmanuel fell in the GNAC Tournament Semifinals to JWU.

JWU placed third in the poll with 115 points, ousting fourth-place Simmons College by one point. The University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) rounded out the top-five with 96 points.

Norwich University finished sixth in the coaches' poll with 74 points, just ahead of Anna Maria College, which garnered 70 points. Lasell College took the eighth position with 64 points, followed by Saint Joseph's College of Maine with 50 points, Suffolk University with 37 points, Mount Ida College with 29 points and Albertus Magnus College with 14 points.

Many GNAC teams begin their 2015 campaigns on Tuesday, September 1 and Wednesday, Sept. 2, while the conference tournament is set to feature the league's top-eight teams beginning on Tuesday, November 3.

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 Women's Volleyball Preseason Coaches' Poll
1. Emmanuel (7) – 137
2. Rivier (5) – 136
3. Johnson & Wales – 115
4. Simmons – 114
5. St. Joseph (Conn.) – 96
6. Norwich – 74
7. Anna Maria – 70
8. Lasell – 64
9. Saint Joseph's of Maine – 50
10. Suffolk – 37
11. Mount Ida – 29
12. Albertus Magnus – 14

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