ITHACA, N.Y. – After finishing third in the Ivy League in 2018, the Cornell women's volleyball team has been selected to place third in 2019, the Ivy League announced Thursday in its annual preseason poll.

The Big Red, who received a total of 91 points in the preseason poll, are coming off a season that saw the team go 14-10 overall and 9-5 in conference play, posting the most conference wins since the 2008 campaign. After a pair of third place Ivy League finishes in 2017 and 2018, Cornell will look to climb the ladder this season.

Standing in their way will be preseason Ivy League favorite, Princeton, who received a league-high 10 first place votes and a total of 120 points. Yale, the 2018 Ivy League Champion, will also be a tough competitor, being selected second with five first place votes and 117 points. Harvard received the final first place vote, and was chosen to finish behind Cornell in fourth with 80 points.

Led by Trudy Vande Berg, who enters her fourth season at the helm of the Big Red volleyball program, Cornell returns a total of 16 letter winners from 2018, including four All-Ivy League performers. Seniors Jenna Phelps and Samanta Arenas and sophomore Jillienne Bennett will be faces to watch after earning second team All-Ivy League honors last season. Senior libero Lily Barber will be a guiding force for the Big Red defense, coming off of an All-Ivy League honorable mention nod in 2018.

Action will get underway for the Cornell Volleyball team on Sept. 6-7 when they host the Cornell Invitational at Newman Arena. The Big Red's first contest will be against Youngstown State on Friday, Sept. 6 at 7 p.m. Cornell will then square off against Niagara at 11 a.m. and Hartford at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 7.

Ivy League Volleyball Preseason Poll
1. Princeton (10) – 120
2. Yale (5) – 117
3. Cornell – 91
4. Harvard (1) – 80
5. Dartmouth – 55
6. Brown – 45
7. Columbia – 44
8. Penn – 24