LAREDO, Texas – With the 2014-15 seasons quickly approaching, the Heartland Conference announced its fall sports preseason polls – as voted on by each member school's head coaches and sports information directors – on Monday. Texas A&M International's volleyball program ranks No. 8 in the preseason poll.

The Dustdevils face a season-opening pair of Heartland Conference competitions to tip off the 2014 campaign. A year after finishing 3-25 overall and 2-16 in conference play, the Dustdevils will open play with hostings of the University of Texas of the Permian Basin on Sept. 4 and Lubbock Christian on Sept. 6.

All home matches will be played at the TAMIU Kinesiology and Convocation Building.

The Dustdevils face a 25-game schedule, including 16 Heartland matches. Notable non-conference competitions include a four-game appearance at the East Central/Southeast Oklahoma Tournament on Sept. 12-13 and home-and-away series against Texas A&M-Kingsville and Huston-Tillotson. TAMIU faces separate seven-game, four-game and five-game road trips in 2014 while bookending their season with the season-opening pair of home matches and a season-ending pair of hostings. The Dustdevils will close regular-season play at home against the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith on Nov. 6 and Dallas Baptist on Nov. 8.

The Dustdevils' full schedule can be found at http://www.godustdevils.com/schedule.aspx?path=wvball.

The Heartland poll ranked the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith No. 1, followed by Dallas Baptist, Lubbock Christian, St. Edward's and St. Mary's in the top 5. Newman, the University of Texas of the Permian Basin, TAMIU and Oklahoma Panhandle State rank Nos. 6-9.