MEN'S VOLLEYBALL RANKED FIFTH IN GNAC PRE-SEASON COACHES' POLL

WINTHROP, Mass. – Emmanuel College has been tabbed fifth in the 2016 Great Northeast Athletic Conference Men's Volleyball Pre-season Coaches' Poll, it was announced by the league office on Friday morning. Lasell College was picked atop the 2016 Poll after advancing to the 2015 NCAA tournament. The poll was voted upon by the league's eight head coaches.

The defending GNAC champion Lasers received five of a possible eight first-place votes to garner 55 points overall in the poll, narrowly ousting Wentworth Institute of Technology, which collected a pair of first-place nods and 54 points in the poll.

Rivier University finished third in the preseason poll with 51 points and captured the remaining first-place vote.

A year ago, Rivier went 13-1 in conference play to take home the GNAC regular-season title and top seed in the GNAC Tournament, while Lasell and Wentworth posted matching 10-4 league marks. Nonetheless, it was Lasell that went on to defeat Wentworth in the GNAC Tournament semifinals before traveling to Rivier in the title match, where the Lasers captured the conference championship in a thrilling 3-2 victory before taking on Baruch in the first round of the NCAA Division III Tournament.

Johnson & Wales University finished fourth in the voting with 46 points, followed by Emmanuel College with 33 points, Emerson College with 24 points, Mount Ida College with 15 points and Albertus Magnus College with 10 points. 

JWU gets it season underway this weekend at the Kean Invitational, while Emerson takes on MIT and Daniel Webster this weekend at MIT. The conference's weekly reporting will begin on Monday, January 25 before the GNAC league schedule gets underway in early February.

Founded in 1995, the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 12 member institutions and over 3,000 student-athletes across the New England region. Each year, the GNAC sponsors and administers 17 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunities and community involvement. 

2016 GNAC Men's Volleyball Preseason Coaches' Poll
1. Lasell (5) - 55
2. Wentworth - (2) - 54
3. Rivier (1) - 51
4. Johnson & Wales - 46
5. Emmanuel - 33
6. Emerson - 24
7. Mount Ida - 15
8. Albertus Magnus - 10

*Release courtesy of GNAC Communications