The first place votes in the Division III poll were split among four teams this week, with No. 1 Calvin garnering 64 of the 70 votes. No. 2 Johnson & Wales (R.I.), No. 3 Wittenberg and No. 4 Colorado College earned two, three and one vote respectively.
Last week, six teams earned first place votes, with Calvin notched 51, Johnson & Wales 9, Wittenberg 5 and Colorado College 3. No. 6 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and No. 7 Juniata received a vote apiece.
In the week 8 poll, the top eight teams held their positions. Calvin is No. 1 for the eighth straight poll, after being ranked No. 2 in the preseason listing.
The biggest movers of the week were Berry, which dropped from No. 16 to No. 20, and MIT, which fell from 21 to 25. Berry went 2-1 on the week, topping Covenant (3-1) and Millsaps (3-0), before falling via sweep to Birmingham-Southern. MIT posted a 2-2 record, topping Wellesley (3-0) and Williams (3-1), before dropping four-set decisions to Middlebury and Tufts on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Mary Hardin-Baylor climbed three spots to No. 21. The team went 3-0, with a five set win over Austin College and sweeps of Sul Ross State and Howard Payne.
New to the poll this week is Bowdoin (22-1), which checked in at No. 22 after receiving votes last week. The Polar Bears went 4-0 last week, sweeping Bates, Bridgewater State and Coast Guard and edging Wellesley in five sets to move to program-best 22-1 mark.
| Rank | School (First-Place Votes) | Total Points Adjusted | 2018 Record | Previous Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Calvin (64) | 1737 | 23-1 | 1 |
| 2 | Johnson & Wales (R.I.) (2) | 1618 | 24-1 | 2 |
| 3 | Wittenberg (3) | 1582 | 18-2 | 3 |
| 4 | Colorado College (1) | 1489 | 26-2 | 4 |
| 5 | Thomas More | 1440 | 25-2 | 5 |
| 6 | Claremont-Mudd-Scripps | 1384 | 20-3 | 6 |
| 7 | Juniata | 1338 | 20-3 | 7 |
| 8 | Emory | 1216 | 18-5 | 8 |
| 9 | Gustavus Adolphus | 1121 | 23-2 | 10 |
| 10 | Trinity (Texas) | 1111 | 20-5 | 9 |
| 11 | Chicago | 1075 | 25-3 | 11 |
| 12 | Washington-St. Louis | 1002 | 18-5 | 12 |
| 13 | Wisconsin-Eau Claire | 916 | 25-2 | 14 |
| 14 | Illinois Wesleyan | 818 | 19-5 | 15 |
| 15 | Hope | 745 | 22-5 | 13 |
| 16 | Texas-Tyler | 613 | 21-1 | 17 |
| 17 | Pacific Lutheran | 563 | 17-3 | 18 |
| 18 | Wisconsin-Whitewater | 541 | 21-5 | 20 |
| 19 | Ithaca | 482 | 18-5 | 19 |
| 20 | Berry | 462 | 19-3 | 16 |
| 21 | Mary Hardin-Baylor | 329 | 22-2 | 24 |
| 22 | Ohio Northern | 311 | 17-7 | 23 |
| 23 | Christopher Newport | 162 | 19-4 | 22 |
| 24 | Bowdoin | 131 | 22-1 | NR |
| 25 | MIT | 89 | 22-4 | 21 |
Others receiving votes and listed on two or more ballots: Cal Lutheran 49; Wesleyan (Conn.) 45; Texas-Dallas 40; Mary Washington 39; Carnegie-Mellon 36; Aurora 32; Carthage 31; St. Thomas (Minn.) 24; Southwestern (Texas) 22; St Benedict (Minn.) 19; Amherst 17; Chapman 16; Johns Hopkins 16; Otterbein 15; Northwestern (Minn.) 10; Tufts 9; Birmingham Southern 8; Marymount 8; Middlebury 8; Muskingum 7; Susquehanna 4
Six teams mentioned on only one ballot for a total of 20 combined points.
Dropped Out: Johns Hopkins 25
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