KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Biola (Calif.) tops the third regular-season edition of the 2015 Tachikara-NAIA Volleyball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll, the national office announced Tuesday. The fourth installment will be released on Tuesday, Sept. 29.
Top 25 Highlights (historical information dates back to 2000):
• Biola locks down the No. 1 ranking for the third-consecutive week and third time in program history, dating back to 2000. The Eagles claimed 16-of-20 possible first place votes and 557 total points. No. 2 Viterbo (Wis.) claimed the remaining four first-place votes.
• No. 16 Westmont (Calif.) and No. 21 (tied) Montana Tech highlighted the positive movement within the poll, as both programs jumped two places.
• Biola (Calif.), which has been ranked among the top 10 in 44-consecutive polls, hold the longest active streak in the Top 25 at 114-straight. Columbia (Mo.) is next with 103-consecutive mentions.
• Three newcomers joined the Top 25: No. 18 Concordia (Neb.), No. 23 MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) and No. 25 The Master’s (Calif.).
• Eleven of the 21 NAIA volleyball conferences are represented in the poll. The Great Plains Athletic Conference leads all leagues with six ranked programs – No. 4 Midland (Neb.), No. 11 Northwestern (Iowa), No. 14 Dordt (Iowa), Concordia, No. 21 Hastings (Neb.) and No. 24 Doane (Neb.)
• Former member Fresno Pacific (Calif.) has the most No. 1 appearances with 70, followed by National American (S.D.) with 33.
• Biola, Concordia (Calif.), Northwestern (Iowa) and Texas at Brownsville were ranked among the top 10 in every edition in 2014.
• Only one program has been able to maintain the No. 1 ranking for an entire season, with Fresno Pacific 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 and the Association of Independent Institutions.
• 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 ratings) 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 appears on.
• Teams that receive only one point in the ballot are not considered “receiving votes”
• For the complete Top 25 calendar, click here.
2015 Tachikara-NAIA Volleyball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll – No. 3 (Sept. 22)
|
RANK |
LAST WEEK^ |
SCHOOL (1ST PLACE VOTES) |
2015 Record |
TOTAL POINTS |
|
1 |
1 |
Biola (Calif.) (16) |
12-0 |
557 |
|
2 |
2 |
Viterbo (Wis.) (4) |
13-0 |
545 |
|
3 |
3 |
Missouri Baptist |
14-1 |
524 |
|
4 |
4 |
Midland (Neb.) |
15-0 |
506 |
|
5 |
5 |
Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) |
14-3 |
484 |
|
6 |
6 |
Rocky Mountain (Mont.) |
12-4 |
470 |
|
7 |
7 |
Eastern Oregon |
11-1 |
453 |
|
8 |
8 |
Southern Oregon |
13-0 |
434 |
|
9 |
T9 |
Evangel (Mo.) |
16-0 |
412 |
|
10 |
T9 |
Vanguard (Calif.) |
9-4 |
393 |
|
11 |
11 |
Northwestern (Iowa) |
14-3 |
382 |
|
12 |
12 |
Columbia (Mo.) |
10-4 |
368 |
|
13 |
13 |
Coastal Georgia |
13-1 |
334 |
|
14 |
14 |
Dordt (Iowa) |
11-1 |
330 |
|
15 |
T16 |
Madonna (Mich.) |
12-3 |
295 |
|
16 |
18 |
Westmont (Calif.) |
11-2 |
292 |
|
17 |
15 |
Georgetown (Ky.) |
12-2 |
250 |
|
18 |
RV |
Concordia (Neb.) |
14-3 |
231 |
|
19 |
19 |
Park (Mo.) |
7-4 |
210 |
|
20 |
21 |
Wayland Baptist (Texas) |
13-3 |
197 |
|
T21 |
23 |
Montana Tech |
13-6 |
186 |
|
T21 |
20 |
Hastings (Neb.) |
10-6 |
186 |
|
23 |
RV |
MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) |
11-6 |
171 |
|
24 |
24 |
Doane (Neb.) |
10-6 |
108 |
|
25 |
RV |
The Master’s (Calif.) |
11-5 |
92 |
Dropped from the Top 25: Indiana Wesleyan (No. 16); Grand View (Iowa) (No. 22); Great Falls (Mont.) (No. 25).
Others receiving votes: Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio) 82; Carroll (Mont.) 69; Indiana Wesleyan 66; Grand View (Iowa) 57; Cornerstone (Mich.) 46; Oklahoma City 43; Great Falls (Mont.) 40; St. Thomas (Fla.) 34; Cumberlands (Ky.) 14; Ottawa (Kan.) 12; Mobile (Ala.) 11; Jamestown (N.D.) 10; Cardinal Stritch (Wis.) 10; College of Idaho 7; Our Lady of the Lake (Texas) 7; Bellevue (Neb.) 5; Davenport (Mich.) 3.
^Based off Coaches’ Poll from Sept. 14, 2015