NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – Dayton has been selected as the favorite to repeat as the Atlantic 10 Conference volleyball champion, according the preseason poll voted on by the league's 10 head coaches. The poll was announced Thursday preceding the start of the season, which will be contested in the spring this year.
The Flyers received 98 points and eight first-place votes in the poll. VCU, last year's regular-season champion, was picked second with 87 points and two first-place votes, followed by Saint Louis in third with 84 points. George Washington was fourth in the poll with 65 points, followed by Duquesne (46), Davidson (45), Rhode Island (37), and La Salle (36). Fordham and George Mason rounded out the poll, respectively.
Dayton is coming off a season in which it won 22 matches and made its second-consecutive and 14th overall appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Flyers return junior outside hitter Jamie Peterson, the 2019 Atlantic 10 Player of the Year, who led the A-10 with 4.58 kills/set and 5.41 points/set, and
sophomore middle blocker Amelia Moore, the 2019 A-10 Rookie of the Year,
VCU has claimed the last three regular-season titles as well as the 2017 A-10 championship, and have a fourth A-10 crown in their sights. The Rams will be led by returnees Paula Neciporuka, a senior outside hitter, junior setter Dani Jo David and junior libero Alyna Draper.
The Billikens took eventual champion Dayton to five sets as the No. 3 seed in the 2019 semifinals. Saint Louis returns five starters, including a pair of seniors in Maya Taylor and Kennedy Cordia that earned Second Team All-Conference honors last season.
The 2020-21 Atlantic 10 Volleyball Championship will be played the weekend of April 2-3 and will be held on the campus of the highest seed. The winner of the championship will advance to the NCAA tournament. Select regular-season matches and A-10 Championship matches will be streamed live on ESPN+.
2020-21 Atlantic 10 Volleyball Preseason Poll
Number in parenthesis indicates first-place votes
- Dayton - 98 (8)
- VCU - 87 (2)
- Saint Louis - 84
- George Washington - 65
- Duquesne - 46
- Davidson - 45
- Rhode Island - 37
- La Salle - 36
- Fordham - 33
- George Mason - 19