TOWSON, Md. – The Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) has announced its preseason all-conference volleyball poll and awards ahead of the 2026 season.
 
Towson was picked to finish third with 83 points and two first-place votes in the preseason All-CAA poll. Charleston claimed the top spot in the preseason rankings with 95 points and five first-place votes. The Hofstra Pride finished second with 87 points and four first-place votes.
 
North Carolina A&T (67), Campbell (65) and Stony Brook (55) rounded out the projected CAA Championship seeds after finishing among the top six teams.
 
Northeastern (46), William & Mary (35), Elon (34), UNCW (28) and Hampton (10) filled out the table in the poll.
 
Middle blocker Malinah Purcell-Telefoni earned Preseason All-CAA Team distinction after pacing the league with 117 total blocks during her freshman campaign. Her 1.04 blocks per set mark ranked third among CAA players a season ago.
 
The American Samoa native amassed 182 kills, averaging 1.63 per set, on a .275 hitting percentage, also a top mark among 2025 league leaders. She added 24 service aces and 10 assists in 112 sets.
 
Outside hitter Taylor Pagan nabbed a Preseason All-CAA Honorable Mention. Despite missing ten matches a season ago, Pagan averaged 2.73 kills per set on a .231 hitting mark. In 64 sets, the Florida native totaled 175 kills, 14 assists and eight service aces.
 
The Tigers kick off the 2026 season in Columbia, Missouri for the Mizzou Invitational. They'll face Idaho (2 p.m. ET) and Missouri (8 p.m. ET) on Friday, August 28. Towson wraps up the weekend against Western Illinois on Saturday at 2 p.m.