WALTHAM, Mass. – The Bentley University Falcons are ranked seventh in Northeast-10 Conference women's volleyball preseason coaches' poll, which was released by the conference on Tuesday.

The Falcons, who were edged out by Saint Anselm College by a single point for sixth place, tied for sixth in the NE10 a year ago, finishing at 8-6 in the conference and 11-18 overall.

Defending East Region champion American International topped the rankings, receiving eight first-place votes and 185 points. The University of New Haven followed with four and 179, and the top five also included Le Moyne College,  Adelphi University and Pace University.

Fourth-year Bentley coach Joey Pacis returns 11 players from last year's team, including sophomore Dani Milner (Plano, Texas/The Greenhill School), who led the team in kills (2.87) and points (3.3) per set. Also back are senior libero Celia Cristofoli (Hudson, Ohio/Hudson HS), the team-leader in digs (4.56) and aces (36), and the squad's top two blockers, sophomore Rachel Bruno (San Diego, Calif./Frances Parker HS) and senior McKenna Buck (Renton, Wash./Holy Names Acad.).

The 2017 Bentley schedule will kick off with the Falcons hosting the Hoffman Memorial Tournament Sept. 1-2.  It also features a tournament the following weekend at Rollins College in Florida and a total of five matches against teams that qualified for the NCAA tournament in 2016.

NORTHEAST-10 CONFERENCE PRESEASON COACHES POLL

(first place votes in parentheses)