Back-to-Back Reigning Champions Stony Brook Tabbed 2019 #AEVB Favorite
BOSTON – Back-to-back reigning America East volleyball champions and regular season champions Stony Brook has been chosen as the league’s 2019 preseason favorite. The next five teams stayed close and are only separated by just seven points. The voting was conducted by the conference’s seven head coaches, who were not permitted to vote for their own teams.
Stony Brook, which has won the title for the second time in as many years, received five first place votes to total 25 points. UAlbany received one first-place vote taking second with 19 points. Hartford, which reached the 2018 #AEVB championship game finished third with 15 points. New Hampshire (14), UMBC (12) and Binghamton (5) rounded out the poll.
Here is the full poll:
2019 America East Volleyball Preseason Poll
No. School Points (1st Place Votes)
1. Stony Brook 25 (5)
2. UAlbany 19 (1)
3. Hartford 15
4. New Hampshire 14
5. UMBC 12
6. Binghamton 5
Fourteen players who earned All-Conference or All-Rookie status last year will be back in 2019, including three first-team All-America East selections and four second-team All-America East selections. Three major award winners return, including Hartford’s Jenna Bridges (Player of the Year), Stony Brook’s LeAnne Sakowicz (Setter of the Year), and UAlbany’s Andersen Vaughan (Rookie of the Year).
The 2019 volleyball season begins on Friday, Aug. 30 with five of six teams in action. The 84-match conference schedule begins Sept. 27 and wraps up on Nov. 17. The top four teams in the conference standings will qualify for the America East Championship, which takes place Friday, Nov. 22 and Saturday, Nov. 23 or Saturday, Nov. 23 and Sunday, Nov. 24 at the No. 1 seed.
About America East: The America East provides its member schools and their athletic programs a platform upon which student-athletes can achieve both collegiate and life success through the promotion and nurturing of athletic excellence, academic achievement and leadership, on and off the field.
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