Though no team from the New York Region found its way on to the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Pre-Season Top 25, the Clarkson University Volleyball team was one of four squads from the region to receive votes in the opening poll for the 2017 season.

The Golden Knights, who received six votes for the top 25, joined Ithaca College, Stevens Institute of Technology and the College at Brockport as New York Region teams that gained votes for national notice.

Clarkson finished 2016 with a record of 22-15 thanks to a fifth straight Liberty League title. The Knights also won at least one game in the NCAA Tournament for the seventh straight year when they ousted fourth-seeded Susquehanna in three straight sets last November. Clarkson returns four starters, as well as its starting libero, which includes three Liberty League All-Stars, with two receiving AVCA All-Region honors and one (senior middle hitter Rachael Aird) being named an AVCA All-American.

Clarkson was ranked in the top 25 at one point during each of the last five seasons, with its highest ranking coming at the midway point of 2014 (11th). The top ending point to any season came in 2015, when the Knights finished 13th in the nation.

Like many teams across the nation, Clarkson is shortening its schedule and will play just 26 regular-season matches in 2017. Despite the shorter string, the Knights will still be facing top competition throughout the year, taking on three squads ranked in the pre-season top 25 (Wittenberg, Millikin, and Ohio Northern) as well as three other squads that received votes in the poll but were ranked outside the top 25 (St. Thomas, Heidelberg, and Ithaca). Clarkson opens the season on the West Coast, playing four matches on the campus of the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington.