NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - The University of Dayton volleyball team has been predicted to claim the 2019 Atlantic 10 Conference Championship title according the preseason poll voted on by the league's 10 head coaches, which was announced Tuesday preceding the start of the season on August 30. 

VCU was picked second after winning the regular season title last year, followed by Saint Louis. La Salle was fourth in the poll with 62 points, followed by George Washington (54), Duquesne (52), and Fordham (30) while Davidson and Rhode Island rounded out the poll with 25 and 24 points, respectively.

Dayton was 12-2 in conference play and 23-8 overall in 2018 beating VCU 3-2 in the championship final for the top spot and the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. The Flyers return four starters from last year's Atlantic 10 Championship team, including 2018 Rookie of the Year, Alli Papesh. Also returning for 2019 is 2018 AVCA Honorable Mention All-America setter/right-side hitter Brooke Westbeld, who posted five triple doubles which ranked second-most in all of NCAA DI. UD made the program's 13th appearance in the NCAA Tournament last season after defeating A-10 regular-season champ VCU in five sets in the tournament title match.

The 2019 Atlantic 10 Volleyball Championship will be played at Rhode Island's Keaney Gymnasium November 22-24. The winner of the championship will advance to the NCAA tournament. Every game of the 2019 championships will be streamed live on ESPN+.

2019 Atlantic 10 Volleyball Preseason Poll
Number in parenthesis indicates first-place votes

1. Dayton (8) 98
2. VCU (2) 92
3. Saint Louis 71
4. La Salle 63 
5. George Washington 52
6. Duquesne 51
7. George Mason 48
8. Davidson 30
9. Fordham 28
10. Rhode Island 2