LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ – The Rider University volleyball team earned 80 points in the MAAC Preseason Coaches' Poll and is slated to finish second as announced by the league office on Wednesday.
Morgan Romano, the 2020-21 MAAC Player of the Year, was named to the Preseason All-MAAC Team.
Fairfield, the regular-season and tournament champions from a season ago, claimed nine first-place votes to take the top spot in the poll with 99 points. Quinnipiac earned the final first-place vote to sit third with 76 points.
Marist earned 69 points to take fourth, followed closely by Canisius, who earned 66 points for fifth. Iona claimed 44 points for sixth and Siena claimed seventh with 39 points, just ahead of Niagara, who earned 38 points for eighth. Manhattan and Saint Peter's rounded out the poll with 20 and 19 points respectively.
The Broncs open play at the BYU Invitational on Aug. 26 with matches against BYU and Washington State, who both finished the 2021 season in the AVCA rankings.
MAAC Preseason Coaches' Poll
- Fairfield (9)
|
99 |
- Rider
|
80 |
- Quinnipiac (1)
|
76 |
- Marist
|
69 |
- Canisius
|
66 |
- Iona
|
44 |
- Siena
|
39 |
- Niagara
|
38 |
- Manhattan
|
20 |
- Saint Peter's
|
19 |
- First-place votes in parentheses
Preseason All-MAAC Team
| Player |
Position |
School |
| Bree Long |
Libero |
Canisius |
| Ella Gardnier |
Middle Hitter |
Fairfield |
| Nicole Legg |
Middle Hitter |
Quinnipiac |
| KJ Johnson * |
Outside Hitter |
Fairfield |
| Jordan Newblatt |
Outside Hitter |
Marist |
| Morgan Romano |
Outside Hitter |
Rider |
| McKinley Fox |
Setter |
Marist |
* Preseason Player of the Year
