BOSTON, Mass. – Following its most successful season to date, the Wentworth Institute of Technology women's volleyball team has been picked to finish fourth in the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Preseason Coaches' Poll.
Endicott claimed 78 points and six first-place votes, in search of its third straight CCC Championship title. Roger Williams earned two first-place votes and 73 points overall, while Salve Regina finished at third with 54 points and one first-place tally. Wentworth rounded out the top four with 52 votes.
Evin Giglio enters his seventh season as the head coach for Wentworth, after steering the Leopards to a banner season in 2017. Wentworth finished with a 25-5 overall record, its winningest season in program history, and hosted its second-ever CCC postseason tournament match as the fourth seed after earning a program-best six wins against conference foes. The Leopards highlighted the breakout year with a five-set victory over Western New England in the quarterfinal round, led by CCC All-Conference sophomore standouts Leah Rogoz (Woodridge, Ill.) and Claire Quick (Mission Viejo, Calif), who each posted double-doubles in the match. Rogoz, a two-time All-CCC First Team honoree and 2016 Rookie of the Year, ranked second among conference opponents in kills per set with 3.36, and third in total kills with 338. Quick was placed on the Second Team in 2017, improving from her Third Team selection in 2016, and finished eighth in the CCC in digs per set (3.82), seventh in total digs (363), and eighth in kills (256). The Leopards also return Samantha Lassiter (Rogers, Ark.), who ranked third in the CCC with a .316 hitting percentage – highlighted by .416 hitting in the Leopards' five-set playoff victory – and Lillie Clark (Vista, Calif.), whose 58 aces ranked second across the conference.
Wentworth opens the 2018 season with a tri-match at New England College with Mount Holyoke on August 31.
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