Merrimack Volleyball Picked 9th in Preseason Poll

The volleyball team was picked ninth in the Northeast-10 Coaches’ Preseason Poll.

With largely a new squad led by first-year head coach TJ Hajjar, Merrimack opens its season on Sept. 3 with matches against Saint Anselm and Mercy.

The Warriors return four letterwinners from last season, including captains Brianna Trabucco of Canton and Nicole Duarte of Windham, N.H. Duarte is the lone senior on the squad to go with three juniors, one sophomore and seven freshmen.

New Haven, who captured last year’s NE-10 Championship, was picked first this year with 220 overall votes and 11 first-place votes. Pace, AIC, Adelphi and Bentley rounded out the top-five, with Stonehill, Lowell and Southern Connecticut finishing sixth through eighth.

Merrimack finished 12-14 overall last season, 9-6 in the conference, finishing eighth overall in the league.

The Warriors will play seven matches away from North Andover to open the season before hosting Southern New Hampshire in their first conference game on Sept. 15 at 7 p.m.