Amanda Henneman Selected ECC Volleyball Preseason Player of the Year

West Babylon, N.Y. – Molloy topped the East Coast Conference Volleyball preseason coaches' poll released on Wednesday, despite earning fewer first-place votes than the poll's runner-up, Daemen. The conference's coaches have also selected Bridgeport standout, Amanda Hennemann (Nova Petropolis, Brazil), as the ECC Preseason Player of the Year.

Molloy received three first place votes and 45 points to top the poll. After no conference season in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Lions enter 2021 as the defending ECC and NCAA East Region Champion after winning both titles during the 2019 campaign. Molloy brings back two starters from its championship squad, including reigning ECC Rookie of the Year, Chye Davis. The Lions' roster also includes Kassie Akouri-Tejedor, an LIU Post transfer and former two-time ECC All-Conference honoree, and Emily Meyer, who returns to Molloy after ranking third in the conference in service aces during the 2017 season.

Daemen comes in second in the poll with 42 points despite finishing with more first place votes than Molloy. The Wildcats return just three players who saw extensive action in 2019 but have also added a handful of talented transfers. Among the newcomers are Maggie Burns, who was the Mountain East Conference Rookie of the Year in 2019 at Urbana University, and Caitlyn Meyer, a four-year letter winner at Division I James Madison University who was named to the All-CAA Tournament Team as a senior.

Bridgeport is next at No. 3 with 36 points. The Purple Knights were runner-up to Molloy in both the ECC and NCAA East Region Championships in 2019. Three All-Conference honorees suit up again for Bridgeport this season with Emily Burford, Amanda Keller, and Hennemann back for another go-around.

Hennemann earns the Preseason Player of the Year honor after being named to the ECC All-Conference and Division II Conference Commissioner's Association (D2CCA) First Teams in 2019. The outside hitter ranked third in the conference with 356 kills and fifth with 3.04 kills per set. She also added 33 service aces, 302 digs, and 38 total blocks on the year.   

Mercy rounds out the expected playoff teams with a fourth place finish in the poll. The Mavericks look to advance to the ECC tournament for the second straight season after making their first appearance since 2008 during the 2019 campaign.

Roberts Wesleyan and Queens are next in the No. 5 and No. 6 spots. D'Youville wraps up the poll at No. 7 as the ECC's newest member competes at the Division II level for the first time in the 2021 season. 

2021 ECC Volleyball Preseason Poll

( ) - first place votes

ECC Preseason Player of the Year: Amanda Hennemann, Gr., OH, Bridgeport