"It is about where I thought we would be," head coach Dale Starr said. "The three teams ranked first through third all won 20 plus matches last year and finished ahead of us in 2009.

The coaches picked Long Island (21-14, 16-0) to repeat as NEC champions as the Blackbirds garnered five first-place votes. Sacred Heart (23-11, 12-4) received four first-place votes and came in second place in the poll. Following the Pioneers were Central Connecticut State (18-15, 12-4), the Colonials (14-20, 11-5), Bryant (11-23, 6-10), Fairleigh Dickinson (8-24, 5-11), Saint Francis (Pa.) (7-25, 4-12), Quinnipiac (4-25, 3-13) and St. Francis (N.Y.) (4-22, 3-13).

Robert Morris closed the 2009 season by winning 11 of its final 17 regular season matches, helping extend the Colonials' streak of consecutive NEC Tournament appearances to 11, the longest active run in the conference.

RMU will seek to extend this streak in 2010 under its first-year coach, Starr. Despite the change at the top, not everything will be different for the Colonials this season. Robert Morris has the benefit of calling on five returning starters and its primary libero from last year's team to help the squad in 2010.

Senior middle blocker Amanda Graham (Melbourne, Fla. / Eau Gallie), a 2009 All-NEC First Team selection, highlights the returnees after finishing second in the conference in hitting percentage (.332) and fourth in blocks (1.14/g) last season. Sophomore opposite Amanda Craig (Houston, Tex. / St. Agnes Academy) returns and will look to build on a strong freshman campaign in which she led the team in kills (251), finished third on the team in digs (244) and was named to the NEC All-Tournament Team. Additionally, seniors Corinne Moser (Meyersdale, Pa. / Meyersdale) (410 digs) and Charla Drabant (Wheaton, Ill. / Wheaton North) (81 kills and 101 digs), junior Hannah Veith (Columbus, Ohio / Worthington) (235 kills and 95 blocks) and sophomore Lindsey Monger (Rising Sun, Md. / Rising Sun) (148 kills and 117 digs) all return after playing key roles for the Colonials last year.

"I don't put a lot of stock in the preseason polls, so we will play the season out and see where we can be at the end of the season," Starr said. "I like our team, and I think we have a great chance to compete for an NEC title. It should be a very competitive and exciting season in the NEC."

RMU opens its 2010 schedule Friday, August 27, when it hosts Radford in the first of four matches it will play in the Duquesne / Robert Morris Invitational.

2010 NEC Volleyball Preseason Coaches Poll

(first place votes in parentheses)

1. Long Island (5)

2. Sacred Heart (4)

3. Central Connecticut State

4. Robert Morris

5. Bryant

6. Fairleigh Dickinson

7. Saint Francis (Pa.)

8. Quinnipiac

9. St. Francis (N.Y.)