Women's Volleyball 8/23/2017 1:28:00 PM Lea Sobieraski Athletic Communications Graduate Assistant

Women's Volleyball Picked Second In ECC Preseason Poll

2017 ECC WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL PRESEASON POLL
Rank	School	Pts.	2016 Record
1	NYIT (4)	60	29-6, 11-3 ECC
2	DAEMEN (3)	52	25-8, 13-1 ECC
3	Bridgeport	49	14-13, 10-4 ECC
4	LIU Post	46	15-13, 8-6 ECC
5	Molloy	27	6-24, 3-11 ECC
6	Queens	23	7-20, 3-11 ECC
7	Roberts Wesleyan	20	9-15, 6-8 ECC
8	Mercy	11	4-20, 2-12 ECC
( ) - first place votes

AMHERST, N.Y. – Coming off a momentous 2016 season that included the program's first East Coast Conference regular season championship and NCAA Tournament appearance, the Daemen College women's volleyball team was voted second in the ECC preseason poll which was released today from the conference headquarters in West Babylon, N.Y. following a vote of the league's eight head coaches.

Daemen earned 52 points in the coaches' voting, including three first-place nods. Reigning ECC Tournament champion New York Institute of Technology, which finished 2016 with a 29-6 record topped the poll with 60 points and four first-place votes. Bridgeport was tabbed third behind Daemen, earning 49 points and one first-place vote.

The Wildcats return eight players from last year's historic 25-8 squad, while welcoming six true freshmen to the mix. The 2016 campaign, which included a 13-1 mark in ECC play, was the 10th season in team history with at least 20 wins, and the team's first since 2013. Daemen got significant contributions from Kailey Ballou (Eden, N.Y./Eden) and Meghan Ballou (Eden, N.Y./Eden), Jess Kranz (Depew, N.Y./St. Mary's of Lancaster), Courtney Scanlan (Ellicottville, N.Y./Stony Brook University), Courtney Bernard (Lancaster, Ohio/Fairview) and Cristina Apostol (Bucharest, Romania/Targu Mures), all of whom return to this year's team.

"It is a compliment to all of our players that the ECC coaches have selected our team to maintain a highly competitive level of play," said second-year head coach Stephanie Albano, the reigning ECC Coach of the Year. "Every match will be a battle and we are looking forward to the competition that lies ahead of us."

Behind the top three, 2016 ECC Tournament qualifier Long Island University Post (46 points) was picked fourth in the poll. Molloy College (27 points), Queens College (23 points), Roberts Wesleyan College (20 points) and Mercy College (11 points) round out the poll.

In addition to releasing the preseason poll, the conference office also announced that NYIT's Allison Fowler, two-time ECC Setter of the Year, has been named the ECC Preseason Player of the Year.

Daemen opens its 2017 season on Friday, September 1 against Ursuline College, the team's first of three matches over two days at the Quality Inn Crimson Hawk Invitational hosted by Indiana University (Pa.). The Wildcats' ECC schedule begins by hosting Mercy College (Friday, September 22) and University of Bridgeport (Saturday, September 23) in a weekend back-to-back which closes out a three-match home-stand. The ECC Tournament will feature the top four teams in the final regular season standings, and it is slated for November 17 and 18 on the campus of the tournament's number one seed.

For continuing coverage and breaking news surrounding the Daemen volleyball team follow @DaemenAthletics and @DaemenVB on Twitter.

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Players Mentioned

#15 Cristina Apostol: MB; 6' 2"; Sophomore

#1 Kailey Ballou: L; 5' 7"; Junior

#2 Meghan Ballou: OH; 6' 0"; Sophomore

#9 Courtney Bernard: MB/RS; 6' 0"; Junior

#4 Jess Kranz: DS; 5' 8"; Sophomore

#7 Courtney Scanlan: OH; 6' 1"; Redshirt Junior

Players Mentioned

#15 Cristina Apostol
: 6' 2"; Sophomore
: MB

#1 Kailey Ballou
: 5' 7"; Junior
: L

#2 Meghan Ballou
: 6' 0"; Sophomore
: OH

#9 Courtney Bernard
: 6' 0"; Junior
: MB/RS

#4 Jess Kranz
: 5' 8"; Sophomore
: DS

#7 Courtney Scanlan
: 6' 1"; Redshirt Junior
: OH