With 61 total points and five first-place votes, the Denver Pioneers were picked for the sixth-consecutive season to take the regular-season crown in The Summit League volleyball preseason coaches’ poll released Wednesday by league officials.
Denver is the five-time defending regular-season champion and edged the reigning 2018 Summit League Tournament champion South Dakota by two points to take the top spot. The Coyotes, who look to replace 2018 Summit League Player of the Year Hayley Dotseth, held second place with 59 total points and the remaining four first-place votes.
Only eight points behind the Coyotes was Omaha with 51 total points as the Mavericks claimed third place for the second straight season. In a tie for fourth place with 35 points was Purdue Fort Wayne and Oral Roberts, while North Dakota (31 points) edged in-state rival North Dakota State (29 points) for the fifth. Rounding off the 2019 rankings was South Dakota State (No. 8; 13 points) and Western Illinois (No. 9; 10 points).
