Purple Knights Grab Second Place In The North Division In CACC Preseason Volleyball Coaches' Poll

New Haven, Conn.-Last year's conference finalists, Bloomfield College (North) and Thomas Jefferson University (South) topped their respective divisions in the 2022 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) Women's Volleyball Preseason Coaches' Poll, which was announced on Wednesday by Commissioner Dan Mara. The Rams, who won the CACC Championship last season with a victory over the Bears in the league final, was first in the South Division with 64 points and six first-place votes, while BC was tops in the North Division with 74 points and five first-place nods. The voting for the poll was conducted by the league's 13 head coaches in the sport. 

The University of Bridgeport and Post University rounded out the top three in the North in second and third place, respectively. UB, which enters its first season as a member of the CACC in 2022-23, earned 67 points and seven first-place votes. Post received 60 points and one vote for the top spot in the division.

Holy Family University, which claimed the CACC South Division Regular Season Championship and a spot in the NCAA Tournament in 2021, was second in the South in the 2022 preseason poll with 56 points and four first-place votes. Wilmington University closed out the top three in the South in third place with 53 points (3 1st-place votes).

The 2022 season gets underway next weekend, Thursday, Aug. 25 through Sunday, Aug. 28, with several conference teams in action. The regular season will be a buildup to the 2022 CACC Championship, which will begin on Monday, Nov. 7 with the quarterfinals, hosted by the top two finishers in each division, followed by the semifinals and championship final on Nov. 12-13, at Holy Family University in Philadelphia. The winner of the CACC Championship will earn the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Division II East Region Tournament the following weekend at a site to be determined.

The Purple Knights, led by head coach Gary Mullin, who enters season number eight in the Park City, open the 2002 season with a tri-match in Flushing, New York hosted by Queens (N.Y.) College, along with the University of New Haven on Friday, August 26.  Bridgeport will opens its home and CACC slates with a big contest on Wednesday, September 7 versus Bloomfield College at 7:00 p.m. in Hubbell Gym.

2022 CACC WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL PRESEASON COACHES POLL
North Division
1. Bloomfield College 74 (5)
2. University of Bridgeport 67 (7)
3. Post University 60 (1)
4. Felician University 54
5. Dominican College 44
6. Caldwell University 32
7. Nyack College 26 

South Division
1. Thomas Jefferson University 64 (6)
2. Holy Family University 56 (4)
3. Wilmington University 53 (3)
4. Georgian Court University 47
5. Chestnut Hill College 26
6. Goldey-Beacom College 21

() - First-Place Votes

ABOUT THE CACC
The Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference is an NCAA Division II Conference composed of 13 institutions in Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. The member institutions are Bloomfield College, University of Bridgeport, Caldwell University, Chestnut Hill College, Dominican (N.Y.) University, Felician University, Georgian Court University, Goldey-Beacom College, Holy Family University, Nyack College, Post University of Waterbury, Thomas Jefferson University, and Wilmington University.