CCC RELEASE

BIDDEFORD, Maine – With the season quickly approaching the predictions for the 2021 Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) have been unveiled in the preseason poll with the Suffolk volleyball team projected to finish eighth following a vote of the 10 head coaches, the league released Monday morning.  

The Rams enter the season, their fourth under the leadership of Scott Blanchard, coming off their winningest season in the record books with a 20-12 ledger. That mark, however, was over 656 days ago as Suffolk was sidelined, along with its new conference counterparts, in 2020 due to the global COVID-19 pandemic.   

Suffolk received 41 points in the poll, finishing above Nichols (18) and Curry (15), and just behind Western New England (46) and the University of New England (44), who were picked sixth and seventh, respectively.  

The top two slots were handed to the reigning conference champ Endicott and 2019 runner-up Roger Williams.  The Gulls, who compiled an unblemished league ledger the last time the teams took the hardwood, received eight of the 10 first place nods to finish with 98 points. The Hawks, meanwhile, picked up one first place pick to slid into second.  

Salve Regina (73), Wentworth (67) and Gordon (59) round out the third through fifth spots with the Fighting Scots earning one first-place vote.  

With nearly two years between matches, Blanchard has switched up his line-up quite a bit after players left due to graduation. A fresh recruiting class has joined the ranks to complement a handful of returners highlighted by juniors Kenzley Bell and Harmony Johnson. The pair, who earned starting roles as rookies during the historic 2019 campaign, will anchor a young Rams' roster that features 12 true freshmen and five sophomores, who have yet to compete collegiately. 

Suffolk gets the action going at Brandeis Wednesday, Sept. 1 at 6:00 p.m. The Rams will have close to a dozen matches to prep for their CCC debut, which is on the calendar for Tuesday, Sept. 21 against Roger Williams.