Marian University men’s volleyball received 132 points to finish ninth in the NACC preseason poll, as voted on by the head coaches and athletic communication professionals of the league.

Aurora was picked as a heavy favorite after earning the regular season and tournament titles a season ago.  The Spartans received 336 total points and 24 of the 26 first-place votes.  MSOE followed at 306 points and grabbed the final two first-place tallies.  Benedictine and Dominican were separated by only 10 points at 281 and 271, respectively.  Edgewood and Concordia Chicago each received 189 points and Illinois Tech was only six points behind that duo.  The final NACC Tournament spot, according to the preseason poll, went to Concordia Wisconsin at 153 points.

Marian was picked as the first team out of the conference tournament with 153 points followed by Wisconsin Lutheran at 120.  St. Norbert was the final institution to receive more than 100 points at 107.  Lakeland, 65, and Rockford, 34, closed out the preseason poll.

The top eight teams in the regular season will qualify for the NACC Tournament with the winner of the conference tournament earning an automatic bid into the NCAA Division III National Tournament.  Marian has qualified for the NACC Tournament six of the seven seasons the conference has hosted a postseason bracket.

Marian opens the season at the Jim Coleman Memorial Invitational, hosted by Wittenberg, January 16-17.  The Sabres will take on Westminster, Wittenberg, Thiel, and Eastern Mennonite over those two days.