Courtesy: NAIA
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Park (Mo.) claimed the No. 1 spot in the latest edition of the 2018 NAIA Women’s Volleyball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll, the national office announced on Tuesday. The 5-0 Pirates moved up four spots from No. 5.
Grand View (Iowa) and Columbia (Mo.) made big jumps to join the Top 5, climbing from No. 9 to No. 2 and No. 14 to No. 3 respectively. Preseason No. 1 Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) fell to No. 4 after dropping to 8-2 on the year. Viterbo (Wis.) rounded out the top group, falling one spot to No. 5.
Top 25 Highlights (historical information dates back to 2000):
– The Pirates opened the season with an undefeated 5-0 record. Park not only has an undefeated match record but also is undefeated in sets as each of their five wins were won in three sets.
– Park is led by returners Dana Gomes and Nada Meawad who were both named setter and attacker of the week respectively for the week of Aug. 27 – Sept. 3. See release here
– New to the poll this week: Rocky Mountain (Mont.), Vanguard (Calif.), Providence (Mont.), Embry-Riddle (Ariz.), Saint Francis (Ind.) and The Master’s (Calif.)
– Lindsey Wilson holds the longest active streak in the Top 25 with 59 total appearances. The last 28-consecutive appearances have been in the top five.
– There has only been one program that has been able to maintain the No. 1 ranking for an entire season, with former member Fresno Pacific (Calif.) accomplishing the feat in 2004, 2008 and 2009.
Poll Methodology
– The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences, Association of Independent Institutions and Unaffiliated Groups.
– The Top 25 is determined by a points system based on how each voter ranks the best teams. A team receives 30 points for each first-place vote, 29 for second place and so on through the list.
– The highest and lowest ranking for each team (a non-rating is considered a low rating) is removed and the team’s ranking will be recalculated with an additional point added to each team for every ballot (including discounted ballots) that the teams appear on.
– Teams that receive only one point in the ballot are not considered “receiving votes”
– The frequency of polls occurs bi-weekly. This policy was approved by the National Administrative Council (NAC) for the 2016-17 academic season. This change will allow raters the opportunity to consider a larger body of work in between rating periods.
– For the complete rating calendar, click here.
2018 Women’s Volleyball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll – No. 1 (Sept. 4)
| RANK | LAST WEEK | SCHOOL [1st Place Votes] | RECORD | POINTS |
| 1 | 5 | Park (Mo.) [17] | 5-0 | 528 |
| 2 | 9 | Grand View (Iowa) [1] | 7-0 | 508 |
| 3 | 14 | Columbia (Mo.) | 5-1 | 487 |
| 4 | 1 | Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) [1] | 8-2 | 486 |
| 5 | 4 | Viterbo (Wis.) | 8-3 | 440 |
| 6 | NR | Rocky Mountain (Mont.) | 11-1 | 439 |
| 7 | 6 | Westmont (Calif.) | 8-1 | 422 |
| 8 | 11 | Midland (Neb.) | 8-2 | 418 |
| 9 | 3 | Missouri Baptist | 11-2 | 395 |
| 10 | 13 | Southern Oregon | 10-0 | 385 |
| 11 | 10 | Hastings (Neb.) | 4-0 | 366 |
| 12 | 2 | Dordt (Iowa) | 5-1 | 338 |
| 13 | NR | Vanguard (Calif.) | 11-1 | 306 |
| 14 | 7 | College of Idaho | 6-4 | 296 |
| 15 | NR | Providence (Mont.) | 7-1 | 289 |
| 16 | 7 | Northwestern (Iowa) | 7-3 | 254 |
| 17 | NR | Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) | 10-1 | 238 |
| 18 | 17 | Georgetown (Ky.) | 6-1 | 205 |
| 19 | NR | Saint Francis (Ind.) | 11-2 | 195 |
| 19 | 20 | Madonna (Mich.) | 5-0 | 195 |
| 21 | 15 | Eastern Oregon | 6-4 | 183 |
| 22 | 18 | Doane (Neb.) | 6-2 | 153 |
| 23 | 12 | Montana Tech | 6-5 | 129 |
| 24 | 21 | Bellevue (Neb.) | 5-3 | 125 |
| 25 | NR | The Master’s (Calif.) | 10-3 | 111 |
Dropped from the rankings: No. 19 Corban (Ore.), No. 25 Jamestown (N.D.), No. 23 Ottawa (Kan.), No. 22 Indiana Wesleyan
Others receiving votes: Corban 102, SAGU (Texas) 95, Aquinas (Mich.) 73, Central Methodist (Mo.) 65, Jamestown 52, McPherson (Kan.) 51, Saint Xavier (Ill.) 27, Reinhardt (Ga.) 23, Campbellsville (Ky.) 23, Lourdes (Ohio) 22, William Woods (Mo.) 8, Ottawa (Kan.) 7, Xavier (La.) 4, Trinity Christian (Ill.) 3
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