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| Photo courtesy of GW Volleyball (Facebook) |
From our friends at GW Athletics...
The George Washington volleyball team ranked fourth out of 10 teams in the Atlantic 10 Preseason Coaches' Poll, the league office announced on Tuesday. GW received 73 points in a vote conducted by the conference's 10 head coaches. Defending champion Duquesne was picked first (98 points), followed by Saint Louis (83) and Dayton (78). The Colonials ranked ahead of Rhode Island (58), VCU (57), George Mason (35), Fordham (29), conference-newcomer Davidson (28) and La Salle (11.)
The Colonials enter their fourth season under the direction of head coach Amanda Ault after returning to the Atlantic 10 Championship last season for the first time since 2011. GW won 10 conference games last season, the most since 2002, and defeated Rhode Island in the quarterfinals of the A-10 championship for its first postseason victory since 2008.
GW returns nine letterwinners and welcomes a quartet of freshmen into the fold for the 2014 season, which opens on Aug. 29-30 at the George Washington Invitational at the Charles E. Smith Center. Senior Kelsey Newman and sophomore Chidima Osuchukwu, both selections to the Atlantic 10 All-Conference Second Team last season, highlight the returning players.
Newman led the Colonials with 267 kills as a junior and is 262 kills shy of joining the 1,000-kill club. Osuchukwu, also named to the Atlantic 10 All-Rookie team last season, enjoyed a breakout freshman season with 260 kills. She also led the Atlantic 10 with 33 solo blocks and ranked second in the conference and 48th in Division I with a .365 attack percentage.
The Colonials hold a record of 26-9 at home in three seasons under Coach Ault.
Click here to see the Atlantic 10 Preseason Poll.
