Bulldog volleyball third in preseason poll; Highest in DI program history

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The Bryant University volleyball team has been selected to finish third, its highest predicetd finish in DI program history, in the annual Northeast Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll, the league officially announced on Wednesday.

Coming off their first-ever appearance in the NEC Tournament, the Black and Gold were picked third behind Robert Morris and LIU Brooklyn. The Colonials, the 2015 NEC champion, received six of the eight first-place votes, while the Blackbirds received a single first-place vote. Bryant's previous high was fifth, which it secured in each of the last three years. Sacred Heart was picked fourth and received the final first-place vote. Central Connecticut, St. Francis Brooklyn, Saint Francis U. and Fairleigh Dickinson round out the poll.

Bryant will look to build on a historic 2015 season that saw it win a DI program-record 19 games and earn the No. 3 seed in the NEC Tournament. The Bulldogs went undefeated inside the Chace Athletic Center last season for the first time in school history and defeated both the Colonials and Blackbirds during the regular season. The Black and Gold return a good chunk of their roster including senior Vika Katzen (Kfar Saba, Israel) and sophomore Kristin Kingi (Thousand Oaks, Calif.), an All-NEC performer last season as a rookie.

The Bulldogs will open the 2016 season with the Hampton Inn-vitational on Aug. 26-27 in the Chace Athletic Center. Bryant opens with St. John's on the 26th at 3:00 p.m.