RIVERDALE, N.Y. - The Manhattan College volleyball team has been picked to finish third in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) by the league's 10 head coaches in the annual MAAC Preseason Poll, which was unveiled today. It's the Jaspers' highest preseason ranking since they were also picked third in 2007.
Fairfield was tabbed as the preseason conference favorite, collecting 97 points in the poll. Three-time defending MAAC champion Niagara was second with 80 points, followed by the Jaspers with 73 points. Siena (69) and Canisius (63) completed the top five, while Marist (60), Iona (45), Loyola (31), Rider (21) and Saint Peter's (11) rounded out the poll. Siena's Taylor Akana was chosen as the MAAC Preseason Player of the Year.
"I'm very honored by our preseason prediction, but I also know this league is very competitive," Head Coach Mark Jones said. "It's a long season and third place is a great goal, but we want to achieve more than that. With hard work, I think we can."
Manhattan is coming off a 16-15 campaign in 2011, its second consecutive winning season. Malia McGuinness (Kailua, Hawaii) was named to both the All-MAAC Second Team and MAAC All-Rookie Team last season, while Hollegn Henderson (Long Beach, Calif.) was also selected to the 2011 MAAC All-Rookie Team.
The Jaspers open the 2012 campaign with the La Salle Invitational on Aug. 25-26. Manhattan takes on Loyola Chicago, Bucknell and host La Salle during the two-day event.
