The AVCA has released the 2017 Division III preseason coaches poll with Calvin on top, collecting 1,573 points and 62 first place votes. The closest team to Calvin is Emory who is starting the year ranked #2 with 1,395 points and one first place vote.
Calvin finished off their 2016 season with a 33-1 record and the NCAA Division III national title over #3 Washington-St. Louis in straight sets. Calvin will return Sarah DeVries, who will be a sophomore in 2017 along with senior Jenna Lodewyk. DeVries produced a .400 hitting percentage in the NCAA Tournament, while Lodewyk dished out an average of 38 assists per match.
The top-five of the poll mixed up their positionings slightly, with the top-three remaining the same. Northwestern (Minn.) jumped up two spots to #4 while Southwestern (Texas) fell one spot and Cal Lutheran fell two. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps improved three positions from the season ending ranking to #7, trading with Texas-Dallas.
In the back half of the top-25, Ohio Northern improved to #22 from #24 while La Verne dropped to #25 from #22.
| RANK | SCHOOL | POINTS | 2016 RECORD | FINAL RANK |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Calvin (62) | 1573 | 33-1 | 1 |
| 2 | Emory (1) | 1395 | 33-6 | 2 |
| 3 | Washington-St. Louis | 1358 | 27-11 | 3 |
| 4 | Northwestern (Minn.) | 1323 | 34-5 | 6 |
| 5 | Southwestern (Texas) | 1291 | 34-5 | 4 |
| 6 | Cal Lutheran | 1201 | 27-5 | 5 |
| 7 | Claremont-Mudd-Scripps | 1126 | 23-4 | 10 |
| 8 | Colorado College | 1018 | 28-6 | 9 |
| 9 | Mary Washington | 1001 | 31-4 | 8 |
| 10 | Texas-Dallas | 982 | 32-3 | 7 |
| 11 | Wittenberg | 932 | 22-6 | 13 |
| 12 | Wisconsin-Whitewater | 855 | 29-7 | 11 |
| 13 | Juniata | 815 | 26-7 | 12 |
| 14 | Trinity (Texas) | 720 | 27-8 | 16 |
| 15 | Hope | 672 | 25-6 | 15 |
| 16 | Eastern | 595 | 32-6 | 14 |
| 17 | Millikin | 530 | 28-12 | T-17 |
| 18 | Wisconsin-La Crosse | 415 | 23-6 | T-17 |
| 19 | Tufts | 379 | 27-4 | 20 |
| 20 | Hendrix | 315 | 25-8 | 21 |
| 21 | Elhmurst | 291 | 23-13 | 19 |
| 22 | Ohio Northern | 261 | 27-4 | 24 |
| 23 | Wisconsin-Oshkosh | 237 | 28-8 | 23 |
| 24 | Gustavus Adolphus | 174 | 24-8 | RV |
| 25 | La Verne | 153 | 22-7 | 22 |
Others receiving votes and listed on two or more ballots: DePauw 80; Ithaca 69; MIT 68; Dallas 61; Illinois Wesleyan 57; Carnegie-Mellon 53; Chicago 50; Randolph-Macon 42; Johnson & Wales (RI) 41; Wisconsin-Stevens Point 37; Springfield 31; St. Thomas (Minn.) 29; Christopher Newport 27; Stevens 25; SUNY Brockport 20; Wartburg 18; Bethel (Minn.) 14; UMass-Boston 12; Swarthmore 11; Wisconsin-Eau Claire 11; Ramapo 10; Clarkson 6; Heidelberg 6; Stevenson 6; Susquehanna 5; Johns Hopkins 4
16 teams mentioned on only one ballot for a total of 70 combined points.
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