BROOKLYN, N.Y. — Second-year head coach Kai Dugquem and the LIU men's volleyball are looking to repeat their successes from last season when they won the inaugural NEC men's volleyball championship.

The Sharks received five first-place votes and were picked first in the preseason coaches' poll released by the Northeast Conference on Tuesday morning.

After LIU, Daemen was selected second (one first-place vote), followed by Saint Francis U (one first-place vote), Sacred Heart, Merrimack, FDU and D'Youville.
 
"We are excited to start up this coming season, receiving the most number one votes is humbling and pushes us to work even harder in the gym," Dugquem said. "It is humbling to receive this recognition with all of the talent in the conference."

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Key players for the Sharks include Gio Collazo, Kasey Clouet and Jack Sarnowski.
 
Collazo was the team's MVP last season at outside hitter. He tallied a team-high 170 digs, 48 kills and 20 aces in 27 matches.  


Clouet, a 6-6 middle blocker, led the NEC and ranked 10^th in Division I in blocks per set with 1.046. In 27 matches he recorded 64 kills, 41 digs and a team-high 91 blocks.
 
Sarnowski is a key transfer at setter from Division II King University in Bristol, Tenn. In his four seasons at King he tallied 2,163 assists, 286 digs, 79 kills and 111 blocks in 62 career matches.

"It is great to see the hard work these young athletes are putting in this season be acknowledged by others," Dugquem said. "We are looking forward to starting the season and showing the world our brand of volleyball."

The Sharks open up their season on Jan. 10 at Concordia Irvine at 10 p.m. est.