MEN'S VOLLEYBALL: No. 3 Wentworth Voted Atop GNAC Preseason Poll
No. 3 Wentworth and No. 14 Lasell finished 1-2 in the annual preseason poll, as voted upon by the league's head coaches.
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WINTHROP, Mass. – Fresh off its No. 3 spot in the AVCA Division III national top-15 rankings, Wentworth Institute of Technology has been selected atop the 2023 GNAC Men's Volleyball Preseason Poll, as voted upon by the league's head coaches. The Leopards received six of a possible nine first-place votes and 77 points overall in the poll.
Last spring, WIT head coach Evin Giglio's program claimed its third GNAC Championship in a five-year span, receiving the GNAC's automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament, where the Leopards defeated St. John Fisher and Rutgers-Newark en route to its second-ever appearance in the national semifinals.
Lasell University, which ranks No. 14 in the AVCA D3 national rankings, finished second in the GNAC poll with the other three first-place votes and 75 points. The Lasers have become regionally and nationally recognized in recent seasons, having advanced to the GNAC Championship contest in 2022 and 2017.
The two programs will go head-to-head in GNAC play on March 2 and April 8, while Wentworth opens up the 2023 campaign next Tuesday, January 17 against Emmanuel, and Lasell opens up against MIT on Jan. 21.
Longtime GNAC powerhouse Rivier University slotted third in the GNAC Preseason Poll with 64 points overall. The Raiders won back-to-back conference chamoionships in 2018 and 2019 under head coach Craig Kolek.
Making up the remainder of the poll were Regis College, Emmanuel College, Elms College, Emerson College, Colby-Sawyer College, and Dean College.
2023 GNAC Men's Volleyball Preseason Poll
The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 14 member institutions and over 3,500 student-athletes across the New England region. Founded in 1995, the GNAC annually sponsors and administers 22 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunity and community involvement in an effort to enhance the student-athlete experience.
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