Men's Volleyball picked GNAC #1; Raiders will start season No. 8 Nationally

(Nashua, N.H.) The Rivier University Men's Volleyball program received five of a possible eight first-place votes as they were selected to capture their eighth consecutive Great Northeast Athletic Conference Championship and was ranked No. 8 in the country as both the GNAC and American Volleyball Coaches Preseason Polls were released on Tuesday.

The Raiders finished 29-7 overall and 15-1 in GNAC play a year ago, advancing to the NCAA Tournament where they fell to Carthage in five sets. Rivier was also ranked No. 1 at one point last winter in the AVCA Division III National Poll.

The program will return eleven student-athletes from a year ago including All-American senior Chris Markuson (Cupertino, Calif.) and 2014 GNAC Rookie of the Year, sophomore Tyler Blank (Rochester, N.Y.). 2006 AVCA National Coach of the Year, Craig Kolek will remain as the Head Coach for the Raiders for his 19th consecutive year.

Click here to see the Great Northeast Athletic Conference Poll

Click here to see the AVCA National Poll

The 2015 GNAC Tournament will get underway with first round action on April 7, with the semifinals and Championship, at high seeds throughout, schedule for April 9 and April 11. The champion will receive the league's automatic berth to the 2015 NCAA Men's Volleyball Championship.

The Raiders' season kicks off on January 31st when the team hosts the 2015 Live Free or Die Classic against Kean University, Newbury College and Endicott College.