BRIDGEPORT, W.Va. — The Point Park volleyball team was voted fifth in the Mountain East Conference Preseason Volleyball Poll, the league office announced on Monday afternoon.
 
Point Park is coming off a record of 7-20 in 2024, the program's first year competing in NCAA Division II and the Mountain East Conference. The Pioneers will have several new contributors this fall but return junior libero Mia Arndt and leading blocker and middle hitter Patricia Calero-Irizarry.
 
Wheeling University and the University of Charleston are the Mountain East Conference divisional favorites for the upcoming season.

The preseason poll results were compiled via a vote of the conference's 11 head coaches.

Wheeling, which has won or shared the MEC North Division title in all 12 years of the conference's existence, received nine first-place votes. The Cardinals finished 27-11 overall and 12-2 in MEC play last season, and advanced to the NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional Championship before falling to top-seed Gannon.

Charleston received seven first-place votes to lead the MEC South Division. The Golden Eagles are coming off a 25-8 season, including a 12-3 record in conference play. UC finished second to West Virginia State in the South last season and fell to Wheeling in the MEC Volleyball Championship semifinals. West Virginia State is the reigning South Division champion and ended Wheeling's run of MEC Volleyball Championships in tournament play. The Yellow Jackets beat the Cardinals, 3-1, to earn the MEC's automatic berth to the NCAA Division II tournament in 2024.

In the North Division, Wheeling is followed in the preseason poll by Fairmont State, West Liberty, Frostburg State and Point Park. Fairmont State and West Liberty each received a first-place vote. In the South Division, UC is followed by West Virginia State, Concord, West Virginia Wesleyan, Glenville State and Davis & Elkins. In addition to UC, West Virginia State garnered three first-place votes in the south, while Concord had one first-place tally.

The 2025 Point Park volleyball season is set to begin on Friday, Sept. 5 at the Hall of Fame City Classic hosted by Walsh University. The Pioneers open the season against Walsh at 10 a.m.