Winthrop, Mass. – The Lasell University men's volleyball team has been voted to finish in third place in the 2022 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Preseason Coaches' Poll, as announced by the GNAC office on Thursday afternoon.

Wentworth Institute of Technology received five of the nine possible first-place votes to squeak out the top spot (75 points) by one point. Rivier University received the final four first-place votes and is second in the rankings with 74 points. The Lasers tallied 61 points to finish third in the preseason poll.

Led by former Laser Jeff Vautrin, Lasell will open its season this weekend, January 15 against Stevens Institute of Techology. They will play nine straight games on the road before they play their first home match on February 3 against Nichols College. They will play six straight at home to end the month of March with games from the 22nd to the 31st.

The Lasers have eight returners from the 2021 team and bring in a large freshman class with nine newcomers coming into the fold. A key returner is setter Jesus Garcia (Honolulu, Hawaii) who was a second team All-GNAC selection in 2020.

The 2022 season will be the first full season since the 2019 season, with half of the 2020 season being cancelled due to Covid, and only a few games being played in 2021. In 2019, the last year a GNAC tournament was held, Rivier defeated Wentworth for the GNAC crown.

The Lasers will be looking for their first appearance in the GNAC championship since 2017.

Elms in their first year in the GNAC was fourth with 50 points. Rounding out the rest of the poll in order were Emmanuel College (42 points), Emerson College (35 points), Regis College (34 points), Colby-Sawyer College (21 points), and Dean College (11 points).

2022 GNAC Men's Volleyball Preseason Poll

1. Wentworth (5) - 76

2. Rivier (4) - 75

3. Lasell - 61

4. Elms - 50

5. Emmanuel - 42

6. Emerson - 35

7. Regis - 34

8. Colby-Sawyer - 21

9. Dean - 11

(Courtesy of the GNAC Office)