2019 Centennial Conference Preseason Poll
HAVERFORD, Pa. – The Haverford College volleyball team has been predicted sixth in the 2019 Centennial Conference preseason poll, the conference office announced in a release on Monday morning. The annual preseason poll is decided solely by a vote of the conference's head coaches, and coaches were not allowed to vote for their own programs.
Haverford received a total of 51 voting points, pulling into a sixth-place tie with Muhlenberg. Franklin & Marshall was predicted to usurp Johns Hopkins for the conference crown after reaching the NCAA tournament with an at-large bid a season ago, taking 98 total voting points and nine first place votes. The Blue Jays took home 90 total points and the remaining two first place tallies.
McDaniel (79 points), and Swarthmore (78 points) were predicted to reprise their strong seasons from a year ago, while Gettysburg (61 points) was tabbed as the conference's final playoff squad.
Washington College (32 points), Dickinson (29 points), Ursinus (26 points), and Bryn Mawr (10 points) were picked eighth through 11th, respectively, to close out the poll.
Haverford returns all but graduated captain Natalie Pisch to a young roster that will be jockeying for a postseason berth in 2019 in Head Coach Drew Hargrave's fourth season at the helm. The Fords large first year class gained a wealth of valuable experience in 2018, with six newcomers playing in 20 or more matches during the camapgin.
Seniors Julia Gallagher-Teske and Sara Matsumura will both be in sight of milestones as the season begins. Gallagher-Teske finished her third season with 299 total blocks, the third-most in program history, and also ranks second in program history with 0.98 blocks per set. Matsumura finished her junior season with 1,432 digs, good for ninth in Haverford history. Matsumura's 4.7 career digs per set mark is the program's third-best output through three seasons.
The Fords open up the season at home on Saturday in the annual Haverford Invitational, hosting Wells and Vassar on Saturday, August 31 before returning on Sunday, September 1 for matchups with Eastern and Medaille.