Northeast-10 Volleyball Poll Released

SOUTH EASTON, Mass. – The Southern New Hampshire University volleyball team was picked to finish 10th in the Northeast-10 Conference preseason coaches poll released on Thursday.  Bentley College, which finished second in 2007, was picked first, garnering 12 first place votes and 221 points to top league newcomer University of New Haven, which picked up a pair of first place votes and finished with 201 points.

SNHU returns 12 players from last season’s team that finished 11-13 overall and 6-8 in the Northeast-10.  Sophomore Stephanie Dluginski (Floral Park, NY) was a Northeast-10 Second Team selection last fall, registering 270 kills and a .289 hitting percentage to rank among the league leaders in both categories.  The Penmen also have five seniors on the roster, with Brianna Doucet (Danville, NH), Nicky Dumond (Tewksbury, MA) and Jamie Rood (Southbury, CT) expected to play a significant role in 2008.

The Penmen open their season August 30 by hosting Post University in a 1:00 match at the SNHU Fieldhouse.  Southern New Hampshire opens Northeast-10 play on September 9 when it entertains UMass Lowell in a 7:00 match.

Northeast-10 Conference

2008 Volleyball Preseason Coaches’ Poll

School (First Place Votes)      Points              Record (Overall, NE-10)

1.Bentley (12)                         221                  24-10, 13-1

2. New Haven (2)                   201                  24-7, 7-2*

3. Merrimack                           196                  19-14, 11-3

4. Franklin Pierce                    173                  18-16, 10-4

5. Pace (1)                               147                  13-16, 9-5

6. Saint Rose                           144                  14-13, 7-7

7. UMass Lowell                     135                  12-22, 7-7

8. Le Moyne                            133                  13-18, 7-7

9. Stonehill                              102                  9-20, 5-9

10. So. New Hampshire        101                  11-13, 6-8

11. Assumption                       77                    13-11, 6-8

12. So. Connecticut                61                    11-26, 2-12

13. American International     56                    6-12, 4-10

14. Saint Michael’s                 30                    7-21, 2-12

15. Saint Anselm                     23                    3-22, 2-12

*-Member of East Coast Conference in 2007