2016 NECC PRESEASON POLL RELEASE
BEVERLY, Mass. – The Endicott men's volleyball team has been picked to repeat as the New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) champion for the fourth straight season after a vote by the league's coaches.
The Gulls received 48 votes total, including six out of seven first place votes, to finish ahead of Regis (40 votes, 1 first place vote), and Newbury (33) atop the 2016 NECC preseason poll. Elms (29), Daniel Webster (20), Southern Vermont (14), and Lesley (12) rounded out the remaining spots on the preseason poll standings.
For the last five years, Endicott has been picked as the NECC preseason favorite by the league's coaches dating back to 2012. The Gulls, who have collected 40 or more votes in each poll since the start of their run, have been a unanimous decision to claim the NECC title twice during that stretch (2012, 2014) and have also garnered six or more first place votes on four separate occasions. In 2013, Endicott tied Elms for first place honors in the NECC poll as both programs received 44 points, respectively. The Gulls went on to defeat the Blazers, 3-0 (27-25, 25-17, 25-20), in the NECC championship match that season.
Endicott will open up its 2016 season against two nationally ranked opponents in the Johnson & Wales University Tip-Off on January 22 & 23. The Gulls will begin the tournament versus the host Wildcats on Friday at 4 p.m. before they play No. 8 nationally ranked Rutgers-Newark at 6 p.m.
On Saturday, Endicott will wrap up tournament play with No. 1 nationally ranked Springfield College at 11 a.m. prior to its match versus Lasell College at 1 p.m. Endicott and Lasell both enter next weekend's JWU Tip-Off receiving votes in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Top-15 preseason poll alongside Springfield and Rutgers-Newark's national rankings.
NECC Preseason Poll
1. Endicott - 48 (6)
2. Regis - 40 (1)
3. Newbury - 33
4. Elms 29
5. Daniel Webster - 20
6. Southern Vermont - 14
7. Lesley - 12 For the latest on Endicott Athletics, follow the Gulls on social media on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
