NEW HAVEN, Conn. - - After narrowly missing out on the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Tournament last season, the Wilmington University volleyball team will look to make the leap back into the postseason this year and were ranked fifth in the South Division of the 2018 CACC Volleyball Preseason Coaches Poll.
The Wildcats finished tied for fourth in the South Division last year with a 10-9 CACC record, but fell in a tiebreaker to Goldey-Beacom to narrowly miss the postseason. The Wildcats finished 14-18 overall in 2017.
The two teams that played for the 2017 CACC Tournament Championship a season ago claim the top spots in each division to start the year, as defending champion Caldwell came away with the most votes (92) over Jefferson (90). Caldwell and Jefferson each picked up eight first place votes among the league's 14 head coaches.
In the South Division, Holy Family earned five first place votes and 83 total points to finish second behind Jefferson. Georgian Court picked up the final first place vote of the South Division and finished with 67 points to claim the third spot. Goldey-Beacom is the final team predicted to come out of the South Division for the CACC Tournament in fourth place with 49 points.
The Wildcats earned 46 points to sit in fifth while Chestnut Hill (36 points) and USciences (20) round out the South Division.
Caldwell leads the North Division with 92 points but is followed closely by Post's six first place votes and 88 total points. Nyack is in third place with 66 points while Bloomfield rounds out the expected CACC Tournament participants from the North with 56 points.
Concordia (37 points), Dominican (27 points), and Felician (26 points) rounds out the rest of the North Division.
The Wildcats are the first Wilmington team to take flight in the 2018 fall season, as they head to Franklin Pierce to on Friday, August 24 and 25 to take part in the Raven First Serve Invitational. Their first day of competition consists of matches against Grand Valley State and California (Pa.).
AGATE
2018 CACC VOLLEYBALL PRESEASON COACHES POLL
North Division
1. Caldwell University – 92 (8)
2. Post University – 88 (6)
3. Nyack College – 66
4. Bloomfield College – 56
5. Concordia College – 37
6. Dominican College – 27
7. Felician University – 26
South Division
1. Jefferson – 90 (8)
2. Holy Family University – 83 (5)
3. Georgian Court University – 67 (1)
4. Goldey-Beacom College – 49
5. Wilmington University – 46
6. Chestnut Hill College – 36
7. University of the Sciences – 20