The University of Delaware volleyball team has been picked to finish sixth in a preseason Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) poll, while senior middle blocker Alexa Swann has been selected honorable mention on the conference's preseason team.

The Blue Hens, who return four starters and 10 letter winners from the 2015 season, were selected sixth out of nine teams in the poll with 25 points.

Hofstra was picked to win the league with 56 points and four first place votes, while defending CAA champion University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW) was selected second with 52 points and one first place vote. Towson was picked third with 51 points and two first place votes, while James Madison was tabbed fourth with 49 points and two first place votes.

The College of Charleston came in fifth with 42 points, followed by the Blue Hens, William and Mary (20), Northeastern (16) and Elon (13).

Swann, a senior captain, ranked fourth in the CAA with 1.13 blocks per set and eighth with a .292 hitting percentage in 2015, when she started all 29 matches for the Blue Hens. She was third on the squad with 246 kills, including a career-high 19 at Charleston, and led UD with 128 blocks.

Swann has recorded 495 kills and 259 blocks during her first two years at Delaware, and is currently the school’s career leader by averaging 1.13 blocks per set.

UD, led by 15th-year head coach Bonnie Kenny, opens its 2016 season on Aug. 26-27 when the Blue Hens play three matches at Navy’s Kristen Dickmann Invitational in Annapolis, Maryland. UD kicks off the campaign with a 4:30 p.m. match against Coppin State on Friday, Aug. 26, before facing New Hampshire at 1 p.m. and Navy at 6:30 p.m. the following day.

The Blue Hens’ home opener will take place on Friday, Sept. 16, against Miami (Florida) at 7 p.m on the first day of the Delaware Invitational.

CAA volleyball preseason poll

1: Hofstra, 56 points (4 first place votes); 2. UNCW, 52 (1); 3. Towson, 51 (2); 4. James Madison, 49 (2); 5. College of Charleston, 42; 6. UD, 25; 7. William and Mary, 20; 8. Northeastern, 16; 9. Elon, 13.

CAA volleyball preseason team

Janey Goldman (RS, James Madison); Anna Holehouse (L/DS, Towson); Hannah Klemm (S, Hofstra); Veronika Kostova (OH, Hofstra); Jocelyn Kuilan (RS, Towson); Jessica Lewis (OH, Towson); Nicole Lott (OH, UNCW); Leticia Valente (MB, Hofstra).

Honorable Mention: Taylor Austin (DS, James Madison); Jamie Bredahl (S, Northeastern); Kennedy Madison (MB, Charleston); Anna Moss (MB, UNCW); Krissy Mummey (MB, Charleston); Alexa Swann (MB, UD).

Preseason Player of the Year: Janey Goodman (RS, James Madison).

For more on UD Athletics, see BlueHens.com.