WINTHROP, Mass. - With just a week until the Regis (Mass.) women's volleyball team travels to Texas to open its season, it has been selected to finish eighth in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference preseason poll.
The Pride has won the last three New England Collegiate Conference championships, but will be facing tougher competition this season as it transitions into the GNAC. Against GNAC opponents in 2016, Regis went 1-4, its lone win coming in four sets over Mount Ida on October 8.
Johnson & Wales University was the unanimous top selection in the poll, picking up all 13 first place votes. The Wildcats have won the last two GNAC championships and finished the season with a 33-1 record. The team's only loss came once they reached the NCAA Tournament, where they fell to UMass Boston.
The Pride opens its 2017 season a week from Friday with a doubleheader in Belton, Texas. The first match is slated for 3:30 EDT against the hosts from Mary Hardin-Baylor, followed by a 5:30 EDT start against Hardin-Simmons. Regis will host its home opener against future GNAC foe Colby-Sawyer on Wednesday, Sept. 13, before opening GNAC play at home against Saint Joseph's (Me.) on Sept. 16.
2017 GNAC Women's Volleyball Preseason Poll
1. Johnson & Wales (13) - 169
2. Rivier - 155
3. Anna Maria - 134
4. Simmons - 127
5. Emmanuel - 110
6. Saint Joseph's of Maine - 100
7. Lasell - 90
8. Regis (Mass.) - 80
9. Suffolk - 60
10. Saint Joseph (Conn.) - 58
11. Mount Ida - 56
12. Norwich - 29
13. Albertus Magnus - 15
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