Women's Volleyball selected to finish in a tie for first place in NACC Preseason Poll

MILWAUKEE, Wis. -- Concordia Wisconsin was selected to finish in a tie for first place with Aurora in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference Preseason Poll, as voted on by the league's head coaches and athletic communicators. The Falcons and Spartans have met in each of the last two NACC Tournament Championship matches.

Concordia Wisconsin received 14-first place votes and 324 points, while Aurora had 12 first-place votes and 324 points.

The Falcons captured their second-straight NACC crown last season by posting another perfect 11-0 mark en route to a 28-3 record overall in 2017. CUW also won the league tournament to earn a trip to the NCAA Division III Championship.

The Spartans finished one game back of CUW in the 2017 regular-season standings with a 10-1 record in NACC play. Aurora (26-8 overall) was tripped up by the Falcons in the NACC Tournament final but was awarded an at-large berth to the NCAA Division III Championship.

Edgewood, which was the only other school to record a top-two vote (both second place), ended up third with 272 points. Dominican was fourth with 253 points, Lakeland fifth with 225 and Wisconsin Lutheran was sixth with 212. Concordia Chicago followed in seventh with 182 points, Benedictine eighth with 148 and MSOE ninth with 139. Marian (103), NACC newcomer Illinois Tech (91), Alverno (60) and Rockford (33) rounded out the final four spots in the poll.

The NACC's regular season standings determine the teams that qualify for the six-team conference tournament, while the tournament champion receives the league's automatic bid to the NCAA III Championship Tournament.

2018 NACC Women's Volleyball Preseason Poll

First-place votes in parentheses
Voted by the conference's head coaches and sports information directors
13-12-11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 point scale used