Aug. 1, 2007

EDISON, N.J. - The Marist volleyball team was picked to finish fifth in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference preseason poll, which was released on Wednesday by the conference office. Marist, which earned 58 points in the poll, earned a fifth-place finish in the 2006 regular season - its highest since joining the MAAC in 1997.

Fairfield, which won last year's regular-season title, was picked to finish first with 99 points. Siena, which won last year's MAAC Tournament, was chosen to finish second with 91 points. Fairfield's Lindsey Lee, who was named MAAC Offensive Player of the Year in 2006, was named Preseason Player of the Year.

Marist will begin its season at the Sun Bowl Invitational in El Paso, Texas on August 24-25. The Red Foxes finished last season 11-19 overall and 8-10 in the MAAC under Head Coach Tom Hanna, a 1991 Marist graduate.

2007 MAAC Preseason Poll
(First-place votes in parentheses)
1-Fairfield (9), 99
2-Siena (1), 91
3-Manhattan, 71
4-Canisius, 61
5-Marist, 58
6-Loyola, 50
7-Iona, 45
8-Saint Peter's, 31
9-Rider, 26
10-Niagara, 18

2007 Preseason All-MAAC Team
Jessica Stackhouse, Canisius
Lindsey Lee, Fairfield
Katie Mann, Fairfield
Barbie Thistle, Fairfield
Sherrytta Stokes, Manhattan
Nadiege Honore, Siena
Burgandy McCurty, Siena

2007 MAAC Preseason Player of the Year: Lindsey Lee, Fairfield