Bryant picked second in NEC poll

SOMERSET, N.J. – The Bryant University volleyball team was selected to finish second in the Northeast Conference preseason coaches' poll, announced Wednesday by the NEC office.

The Bulldogs received one first-place vote in the eight-team ballot, as the Black and Gold were ranked behind six-time defending conference champion LIU Brooklyn, which garnered five first-place first votes.

Robert Morris and Central Connecticut placed third and fourth while each receiving a first-place vote. Sacred Heart, Saint Francis U, Fairleigh Dickinson and St. Francis Brooklyn rounded out the eight-team poll.

Bryant won a Division I program-record 21 matches in 2017 and went 11-3 in NEC play, capturing the Bulldogs' first NEC regular season co-championship. The Bulldogs return 11 players from that 2017 squad, including NEC Setter of the Year Kirstyn Sperry (Phoenix, Ariz.), first-team all-conference outside hitter Julia Flynn (Pembroke, Mass.) and the NEC's returning leader in blocking, Grace Richmeyer (DeSoto, Mo.).

Bryant opens the 2018 season Friday, Aug. 24, with a match in Chicago at UIC. The full 2018 schedule can be viewed HERE.

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