Niagara Picked First By MAAC Volleyball Coaches
MAAC Sports
Edison, NJ - The two-time defending MAAC Volleyball
champions Niagara University have been selected to win a third straight MAAC
Volleyball title as the Purple Eagles finished first on the coaches' preseason
poll.
Niagara, who won the 2009 and 2010 MAAC Volleyball Championships, finished on
top of the poll with 98 points. Canisius College received 81 points to finish
second. Fairfield University finished third with 73 points. Manhattan College was
fourth with 67. Marist College rounded out the top five with 63 points,
followed by Siena College (49), Iona College (46), Loyola University Maryland (40),
Rider University (19), and Saint Peter's College (14).
Niagara's Michelle James was selected as the Preseason Player of the Year. James
was voted to the All-MAAC First Team in 2009 and 2010. She was also named MAAC
Setter of the Year the past two seasons after leading the conference with 10.77
assists per set in 2009 and 10.11 assists per set in 2010. James was named the
MAAC Co-Rookie of the Year in 2008.
Joining James on the Preseason All-MAAC Team are teammates Amanda Wilken and
Hannah Hedrick, Canisius' Samantha Good and Allyson Severyn, Marist's Grace
Hill, and Siena's Taylor Akana.
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Coaches Poll
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Preseason All-MAAC Team
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1) Niagara
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98
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Allyson Severyn, Canisius
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2) Canisius
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81
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Samantha Good, Canisius
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3) Fairfield
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73
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Grace Hill, Marist
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4) Manhattan
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67
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Amanda Wilken, Niagara
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5) Marist
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63
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Hannah Hedrick, Niagara
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6) Siena
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49
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Michelle James, Niagara
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7) Iona
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46
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Taylor Akana, Siena
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8) Loyola
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40
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9) Rider
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19
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Preseason Player of the Year
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10) Saint Peter's
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14
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Michelle James, Niagara
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