Marian University men’s volleyball received 174 total points to finish seventh in the NACC preseason poll, as voted on by the head coaches and athletic communication professionals of the conference.

After claiming the regular season and tournament championship a season ago, Dominican was picked as the favorite to win the conference with 324 total points and 15 first-place tallies.  Aurora also claimed a share of th regular season title and finished a close second with 319 points and nine first-place picks.  Benedictine and MSOE each received a first-place vote and finished at 274 and 273, respectively.  Concordia Wisconsin was the final institution above 200 points finishing fifth at 227.

The preseason picks for the NACC Tournament were rounded out by Illinois Tech (194), Marian (174), and Edgewood (158).  Concordia Chicago and Lakeland finished close together at 119 and 116 as the final schools with more than 100 points.  St. Norbert (98), Wisconsin Lutheran (53), and Rockford (37) closed out the poll.

The top eight teams at the end of the regular season will once again earn a spot in the conference tournament with the tournament champion earning an automatic bid into the NCAA Division III Tournament.

Marian opens the season at home with a triangular against Simpson and UW-Stevens Point Saturday, January 18.