NEWTON, Mass. (8/28/14) – The Great Northeast Athletic Conference women's volleyball coaches picked Lasell fifth in the preseason coaches poll heading into the start of the 2014 season. The Lasers are coming off a 17-16 record in the 2013 season, including a 7-4 mark in league play.
Rivier received nine of the 12 first place votes and 141 points to take the top spot in the poll while Emmanuel claimed the other three first place votes on their way to 134 points and the second spot in the rankings. Johnson and Wales and St. Joseph's (Me.) rounded out the top four while Lasell edged Simmons for the fifth spot.
Lasell graduated a pair of seniors from their 2013 team, four-year player Marissa Visocchi and three-year player Anna Feeter. The Lasers return seven players from a season ago and have a challenging non-league schedule lined up for the 2014 season. They open on Friday August 29th in tournament action at SUNY Brockport where they will also take on upstate New York foes Ithaca and Skidmore. They have home matches against Framingham State, Emerson, Smith, Wentworth, Maine Maritime, Rhode Island College, Plymouth State and Worcester State. The Lasers non-league road matches include Regis, UNE, Colby-Sawyer, Southern Maine, Eastern Connecticut, UMass-Dartmouth, Brandeis and a trip to Union College for their invitational with Skidmore, Susquehanna and Bridgewater State.
2014 GNAC Women's Volleyball Preseason Coaches' Poll
1. Rivier (9) - 141
2. Emmanuel (3) - 134
3. Johnson & Wales - 113
4. Saint Joseph's (ME) - 108
5. Lasell - 98
6. Simmons - 88
7. Suffolk - 62
8. Saint Joseph (CT) - 54
9. Norwich - 47
10. Anna Maria - 40
11. Mount Ida - 26
12. Albertus Magnus - 25