2025 Northeast Conference Women's Volleyball Preseason Coaches Poll                   1. LIU (4)                 2. FDU (3)                 3. Saint Francis U (2)                 4. Chicago State                 5. Mercyhurst                 6. Stonehill                 7. CCSU                 8. New Haven                 9. Le Moyne                First place votes in parentheses

Bridgewater, NJ — According to the Northeast Conference’s women’s volleyball head coaches, the winningest program in league annals is going to need a bigger boat… or trophy case.
 
By the slimmest of margins, the Sharks of LIU are projected to reclaim the throne and hoist the NEC Tournament trophy for the second time since 2023. 
 
Claiming a league-leading four first-place votes in the 2025 NEC Preseason Coaches’ Poll, LIU does have company at the top of the poll, though. 
 
Separated by just one top vote with three and two, respectively, FDU and Saint Francis U will be swarming with the Sharks, as both programs look to raise banners in their home gymnasiums for the first time ever. 
 
Taking second and third in the projected order-of-finish, the Knights and Red Flash were followed in fourth by defending league champion Chicago State. Mercyhurst was slotted to finish fifth and Stonehill was picked sixth. 
 
Rounding out the 2025 preseason poll was Central Connecticut (seventh), league newcomer New Haven(eighth) and Le Moyne (ninth). 
 
There’s a new head coach in Brooklyn, and it’s a face that is a familiar one in the circuit. In just his first season in the conference, Tony Trifonov made Chicago State’s NEC debut in 2024 a magical one, guiding the Cougars to the pinnacle of the NEC as regular season champs and tournament champions.
 
This year, he will look to repeat the feat, but as head coach of a storied LIU squad that has won 11 NEC regular season crowns and 12 NEC tournament titles since 2004.
 
But Trifonov is not the only one that will be making the journey from the Windy City to the Big Apple. Earning All-NEC Second Team status in her debut season in the NEC after she averaged 2.71 kills and 0.38 aces per set, opposite hitter Karly Klaer (St. Joseph, MI/St. Joseph (Chicago State) will be donning the Blue and Gold for her senior season in 2025. In addition, reigning NEC Rookie of the Year and four-time NEC Rookie of the Week honoree Bella Correia (Sao Paulo, Brazil/Colégio Marista Glória) looks to build off a sensational first year that saw her lead the Sharks in kills (174), kills per set (2.29) and points per set (2.74)
 
Since head coach David Nguyen’s arrival in Hackensack in 2022, FDU has been on the up and up. In his first season at the helm, the Knights not only ended a 13-year NEC postseason drought; they hoisted the NEC Tournament trophy and made the program’s first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance. Since then, FDU has finished second in the league’s regular-season standings and has made it to the tournament’s title match each year. Junior outside hitter Avery Bain (Pittsburgh, PA/Burrell) and senior linemate Kylie Nott (Rockwall, TX/Rockwall) — a pair of All-NEC second team all-stars — will look to guide the now perennial contender to another banner-raising season in 2025. 
 
Under head coach Sara Spielvogel, Saint Francis U has been knocking on the doorstep of the program’s first-ever NEC championship with tournament appearances in each of the last four seasons. 
 
Once again, the Red Flash attack will pack a potent one-two punch in 2025 with the return of two-time All-NEC first teamer Korrin Burns (Clarion, PA/Clarion Area) and Kori McClure (Westerville, OH/Westerville North), who made her debut on the league’s top team of all-stars in 2024. For the second time in as many years, Burns, a rising senior outside hitter, finished as the league’s statistical champion in kills by a wide margin. The scoring machine was the only NEC player to put up more than 4.00 points and 4.00 kills per set. With the help of McClure, who hit at a .311 clip and contributed 2.71 kills per set as a junior, the Red Flash caused headaches for the opposition after averaging a league-leading 12.61 kills per set.
 
After completing its transition to Division I, Stonehill is now eligible to earn the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

With the Skyhawks obtaining full DI status, Mercyhurst becomes eligible for the NEC’s postseason tournament, but cannot qualify for the NCAA Tournament until it completes its DI reclassification.

Newbie New Haven makes its league debut on the court in 2025. The Chargers are not eligible for the conference playoffs this season and the NCAA Tournament until 2028. 

The 2025 Women's Volleyball Championship will feature the top-four teams in the conference standings. The tournament will be held at the site of the home seed on Nov. 21 and Nov. 22.
 
About The Northeast Conference
Now entering its 45th season, the Northeast Conference is an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic association consisting of ten institutions of higher learning located throughout six states. Media coverage of the NEC extends to a number of the largest markets in the United States including New York (#1), Chicago (#3), Boston (#9). Hartford/New Haven (#32) and Syracuse (#88). Founded in 1981 as the basketball-only ECAC Metro Conference, the NEC has grown to sponsor 25 championship sports for men and women and now enjoys automatic access to 16 different NCAA Championships. NEC full member institutions include Central Connecticut, Chicago State, FDU, Le Moyne, LIU, Mercyhurst, New Haven, Saint Francis U, Stonehill and Wagner. For more information on the NEC, visit the league’s official website (www.northeastconference.org) and digital network (www.necfrontrow.com), or follow the league on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok, all @NECsports.