Entering its second season of play in the Missouri Valley Conference, the Valparaiso University volleyball team has been picked to finish in fifth place in the conference in 2018, according to preseason polling of the conference’s head coaches.

Valpo totaled 53 points in the preseason polling to outpace Indiana State for the fifth position in the poll. Both of the MVC’s NCAA Tournament representatives from last season accounted for the top two spots in the poll, as UNI was picked to win the conference and earned seven first-place votes, while Missouri State garnered the other three first-place votes.

Valpo returns five starters and its libero among its 11 returning letterwinners, coming off of a fifth-place finish in The Valley last season. The regular season opens Aug. 24 at Eastern Illinois with matches against Fresno State and St. Francis (Pa.).