NEC Preseason Poll Release
BROOKLYN, N.Y.— Two-time defending Northeast Conference champion LIU Brooklyn volleyball team was picked as the conference's top team once again in the NEC Preseason Coaches' Poll announced by the league office on Wednesday.
LIU claimed more than half of the first-place votes to sit atop of the conference. Fellow NEC Tournament competitors from a season ago, Bryant, Robert Morris and Central Connecticut rounded out the top-four in order with each school receiving one first-place vote.
The Blackbirds finished the 2017 campaign 20-11 overall and 11-3 in the NEC, capturing another regular season title and NEC Tournament crown after beating Central Connecticut in five sets at Steinberg Wellness Center for its second straight title and league-leading 11th overall.
LIU returns 11 players from last year's team and welcome three newcomers as the team looks to lockdown its third straight championship for the first time since 2012-14. Senior Viktoria Fink, the reigning NEC Player of the Year and All-NEC first team honoree along with All-NEC second team selection, junior Filippa Hansson and All-ECAC first team and NEC Tournament MVP, junior libero Natalia Rivera headline the returning core of upperclassmen for fourth-year head coach Ken Ko.
The Blackbirds open the 2018 campaign out west on Friday, August 24 at the UNLV Invitational. Friday's first serve opens with a pair of matches against Southern Utah University and Indiana.
2018 NEC Volleyball Preseason Poll
1. LIU Brooklyn (5)
2. Bryant (1)
3. Robert Morris (1)
4. Central Connecticut (1)
5. Sacred Heart
6. Saint Francis U
7. Fairleigh Dickinson
8. St. Francis Brooklyn