Women's Volleyball Picked to Finish Ninth in the Atlantic 10

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- The Fordham women's volleyball team has been selected to finish ninth in the Atlantic 10 this season with the release of the annual preseason poll, it was announced Monday by the league. The poll was conducted among the conference's 10 head volleyball coaches.

Dayton was picked to repeat as the Atlantic 10 champion in 2015, after receiving eight first-place votes and 88 points in the poll, just ahead of second-place George Washington, who registered two first-place votes and 79 points. Saint Louis was chosen to finish third in the poll with 74 points.

Rhode Island was picked to finish fourth by the coaches with 58 points and VCU was just behind their fellow Rams with 57 points for fifth place in the poll. Duquesne, the 2013 A-10 Champion, was selected sixth (48 points) and George Mason was seventh (30 points). Davidson, the Rams and La Salle rounded out the poll, respectively.

Fordham's season begins this Friday, Aug. 28 at the FGCU Hilton Garden Inn/Homewood Suites Classic in Fort Myers, Fla. The Rams will take on Presbyterian at 2:30 p.m., before playing two matches Saturday, Aug. 29 against Florida Gulf Coast (12:30 p.m.) and New Orleans (3:30 p.m.)

Conference play begins Friday, Sept. 25, and the 2015 Atlantic 10 Championship will be played at GW's Charles E. Smith Center Nov. 20-22. The semifinals and finals of the 2015 Championship will air on live television on American Sports Network (ASN).
 
2015 Atlantic 10 Conference Volleyball Preseason Poll
Number in parenthesis indicates first-place votes.

1. Dayton (8)                   88
2. George Washington (2) 79
3. Saint Louis                  74
4. Rhode Island               58
5. VCU                           57
6. Duquesne                   48
7. George Mason            30
8. Davidson                    23
9. Fordham                    21
10. La Salle                     17

 
About the Atlantic 10 Conference
The Atlantic 10 Conference was founded in 1975 and consists of 14 diverse members across eight states and Washington, D.C. The mission of the Atlantic 10 is to provide an enhanced student-athlete experience through 21 nationally competitive championship sports. The basketball-centric conference is committed to integrity, educational excellence and providing quality equitable championship experiences for its student-athletes, coaches, and support staff. The membership consists of Davidson College, the University of Dayton, Duquesne University, Fordham University, George Mason University, The George Washington University, La Salle University, the University of Massachusetts, the University of Rhode Island, University of Richmond, St. Bonaventure University, Saint Joseph's University, Saint Louis University and Virginia Commonwealth University. For more information, visit www.atlantic10.com.