Buffalo Bulls Volleyball Roundup

I wasn't going to do a volleyball roundup before the first dig, set, or spike, but we've got just enough that I think it's worthwhile.

This is your preseason Volleyball Roundup.

Volleyball starts on Friday! Woo! UB is hosting a five-team tournament to start the season, and will welcome an intriguing mix of schools: Pennsylvania's Lehigh, local rival Canisius, in-state rival Siena, and power conference representative Ole Miss. The Bulls will play on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, but your best bet if you don't want to make multiple trips to campus this weekend is to start your Saturday early, or to extend it, by catching either the 12 noon or 7 pm matches on Saturday.

We'll start our roundup with two season previews, one a couple weeks old from yours truly, and one just a few days young from FanPoster Paige Miller:

2014 UB Volleyball Preview - Bull Run

As a result, Sunahara inherits a team that has top-flight MAC talent at several skill positions while also a surprising amount of experience among the younger contributors despite losing six seniors to graduation last year. Sunahara's extensive resume and history of success at Cincinnati was always going to earn him more than a single season or two to set up his program, but it certainly seems like things are falling into place for the Bulls to hit the ground running.

Looking forward to the 2014 UB Volleyball Season - Bull Run

Fearless Predictions — Buffalo goes .500 in the MAC and advances to the Conference Tournament. Danny White does not fire Coach Sunahara. Bishop, Scott and Hatchett earn All-MAC awards. Karch Kiraly does not make an appearance at Alumni Arena.

Of course, don't forget that the team has a new coach:

Buffalo hires Assistant Olympic Coach Reed Sunahara to Lead Volleyball - Bull Run

And enjoy one final season preview, this from the MAC website:

The Mid-American Conference - MAC Volleyball Preview: Buffalo Bulls

While the Bulls do have many new pieces for the 2014 season, Coach Sunahara will look to put together the winning combination and bring the success to Buffalo that he has brought to every other stop in his impressive coaching career.

Also from the MAC, Sunahara's legacy and UB's returning depth commands respect in the preseason poll, as the Bulls are picked to finish second in the East, and Tahleia Bishop has been named to the Preseason All-MAC East team:

The Mid-American Conference - MAC Announces 2014 Volleyball Preseason Coaches Poll

Bishop Named Preseason All-MAC; Bulls Picked Second In East - Buffalo

In the week ahead, UB faces off with Lehigh Friday at 7:00, Siena Saturday at noon, Canisius Saturday at 7:00, and Ole Miss Sunday at 1:00, all at Alumni Arena.

Finally, let's have some fun. You'll find a poll below, which we'll also publicize on Twitter. Reed Sunahara is the newest UB coach. What color shirt will he wear in his Bulls debut?