The 2018 season came to an end Saturday with Long Beach State taking the NCAA title in a five-set win over UCLA.
On Monday, the 49ers’ win was reflected in the final AVCA Top 15 rankings as LBSU capped a 15-poll reign atop the listings. Long Beach State took over the No. 1 spot in the poll on Week 2 (Jan. 15) and maintained it throughout the rest of the season.
NCAA runner-up UCLA moved into the No. 2 spot, while Final Four participant BYU dropped one spot to No. 3. Ohio State, which wrapped the season with a semifinal loss to LBSU, moved up two spots from No. 6 to No. 4.
Hawaii, which was left out of the seven team NCAA field got some peace in being ranked at No. 5, ahead of UC Irvine, which dropped to No. 6.
Harvard, which challenged UCLA in the NCAA final six, received votes in the final poll, but fell three points short of breaking into the rankings behind No. 15 Fort Wayne (22).
The remainder of the rankings No. 7 through No. 15 stayed the same from the Week 15-16 poll.
AVCA Division I-II Men’s Final Poll – May 7, 2018
| Rank | School (First-Place Votes) | Total Points Adjusted | 2018 Record | Previous Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Long Beach State (25) | 375 | 28-1 | 1 |
| 2 | UCLA | 349 | 26-8 | 3 |
| 3 | BYU | 317 | 22-7 | 2 |
| 4 | Ohio State | 296 | 25-6 | 6 |
| 5 | Hawai’i | 268 | 19-8 | 4 |
| 6 | UC Irvine | 265 | 21-10 | 5 |
| 7 | Loyola-Chicago | 216 | 23-7 | 7 |
| 8 | Pepperdine | 200 | 15-8 | 8 |
| 9 | CSUN | 166 | 16-11 | 9 |
| 10 | Lewis | 145 | 19-11 | 10 |
| 11 | Ball State | 124 | 18-12 | 11 |
| 12 | UC Santa Barbara | 101 | 11-13 | 12 |
| 13 | Concordia Irvine | 87 | 16-15 | 13 |
| 14 | Grand Canyon | 36 | 18-11 | 14 |
| 15 | Fort Wayne | 22 | 18-11 | 15 |
Others receiving votes and listed on two or more ballots: Harvard 19; King 7; Southern California 5
Rankings should reflect performance, so being ranked ahead of some team that shouldn’t have been there in the first place, I find no peace with that. MHO