SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Four-time defending champion Roger Williams University has been unanimously selected as the favorite to win the 2013 Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) volleyball championship after receiving all nine first place votes for a total of 81 points in the CCC preseason poll. Western New England University earned second place with 63 points, while Salve Regina University, the 2012 runner-up, and Endicott College were a close third and fourth with 62 and 61 points to round out the top billing. Wentworth, which finished sixth last season, was picked to finish seventh with 25 points.
Voting for the preseason poll was conducted among the league's head volleyball coaches.
The top three teams in the 2013 poll competed in either the NCAA Tournament or the ECAC Tournament a season ago. After the Hawks captured their fourth consecutive CCC title, a 3-0 (25-13, 25-18, 25-15) win over the Seahawks, their postseason continued with a NCAA first round game at Springfield College. The Pride handed the Hawks a hard-fought 3-0 (28-26, 25-22, 25-21) loss to end RWU's impressive 2012 season. Salve Regina and Western New England both competed in the ECAC tournament. The Seahawks were eliminated in the semifinals by Brandeis, 3-0 (25-17, 25-23, 25-20), while Western New England worked its way through the tournament and upset the top-seeded Judges, 3-1 (25-16, 17-25, 25-17, 25-21), to capture the 2012 ECAC championship title and the program's first-ever postseason title.
2013 CCC Volleyball Preseason Coaches' Poll
|
|
Team |
Points (First Place Votes) |
|
1. |
Roger Williams |
81 (9) |
|
2. |
Western New England |
63 |
|
3. |
Salve Regina |
62 |
|
4. |
Endicott |
61 |
|
5. |
47 |
|
|
6. |
32 |
|
|
7. |
Wentworth |
25 |
|
8. |
21 |
|
|
9. |
13 |
Eight out of the nine CCC volleyball teams will take to the court Friday and Saturday, August 30-31, to begin their quest for a conference title. The CCC six-team volleyball tournament will begin Tuesday, November 5, with quarterfinal action between seeds 3-6. The top two seeds will host semifinal matches on Thursday, November 7 and the championship match will be held on Saturday, November 9.
Click HERE to view the 2013 CCC Volleyball composite schedule; ; to view the complete release including the full poll standings and previews please click HERE.
(Release Courtesy of the Commonwealth Coast Conference)
