LOUDONVILLE, NY – Siena Volleyball has been projected to finish seventh among 10 teams in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference standings in the 2023 MAAC Volleyball Preseason Coaches' Poll that was released on Friday.
The top spot drew a tie between Marist and the defending MAAC champions Quinnipiac, who each received a league-high 85 votes including three first-place votes apiece. Marist senior outside hitter Sasha van der Merwe was chosen as the MAAC Preseason Player of the Year.
Fairfield and Iona earned the third and fourth place positions with 76 (one first-place vote) and 70 points, respectively, followed by Canisius (57 points, one first-place vote) and Rider (51 points, one first-place vote).
Siena picked up 49 points with one first-place vote. The Saints are coming off a season in which it reached the MAAC Semifinals against top-seeded Fairfield and went 10-8 in MAAC play to finish tied for fifth in the regular season standings.
Rounding out the top 10 were Niagara (40) followed by Manhattan and Saint Peter's (17 apiece).
Coach
Simone Asque-Favia enters her second season at the helm after guiding the Saints to a six-win improvement from the previous season.
Siena returns 11 student-athletes including All-MAAC Second Team selection
Sara Wagner, one of the top facilitators in
Claire Isaksen, defensive stalwart
Ece Emrullah and three-year letterwinner
Meghan Johnsson. Asque-Favia has added two transfers and six freshmen to this year's squad as well.
This is the 50
th season of Siena volleyball overall and the 45
th varsity season. The season begins anew on Friday, August 25 at the Hofstra Invitational against the hosts at 6 p.m. This marks the earliest start to a season since 2018. The Saints will also take on the defending MEAC Champions Delaware State, a 24-game winner who qualified for the NCAA Tournament last season, and NJIT on August 26.
| 2023 Volleyball Preseason Coaches' Poll |
| T1 |
Marist |
85 (3) |
| T1 |
Quinnipiac |
85 (3) |
| 3 |
Fairfield |
76 (1) |
| 4 |
Iona |
70 |
| 5 |
Canisius |
57 (1) |
| 6 |
Rider |
51 (1) |
| 7 |
Siena |
49 (1) |
| 8 |
Niagara |
40 |
| T9 |
Manhattan |
17 |
| T9 |
Saint Peter's |
17 |
| Preseason Player of the Year |
| Sasha van der Merwe - Marist |
| Preseason All-MAAC Team |
| Player |
Position |
Year |
Institution |
| Ella Bourque |
Setter |
So. |
Canisius |
| Hope Matschner |
Libero |
Sr. |
Iona |
| Jen Soto |
Middle Blocker |
Sr. |
Iona |
| Jordan Newblatt |
Outside Hitter |
Sr. |
Marist |
| Sasha van der Merwe |
Outside Hitter |
Sr. |
Marist |
| Aryanah Diaz |
Outside Hitter/Opposite |
Gr. |
Quinnipiac |
| Ginevra Giovagnoni |
Outside Hitter |
So. |
Quinnipiac |
