2016 Tachikara-NAIA Volleyball Coaches' Top 25 Poll - No. 5
EOU No. 7, CRB No. 22, CI RV, NU RV
By Nikki Sherrill, Communications & Sports Information Intern
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Warriors of Westmont (Calif.) remain perfect on the season at 29-0 and keep hold of their their No. 1 spot in the Tachikara-NAIA Volleyball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll. With 18 first-place votes and 589 total points, Westmont is the top team in the country for a second-straight edition. The final regular-season Top 25 installment will be announced Monday, Nov. 14. The national championship qualifiers will also be announced Nov. 14 at 10 a.m. CDT via live selection show.
Top 25 Highlights (historical information dates back to 1999)
• In just its second appearance at the No. 1 spot in program history, Westmont (Calif.) gathered 18 first-place votes to remain as the top team in NAIA volleyball. The Warriors are 29-0 on the year and have set a new school record for regular season wins. Westmont has also claimed the Golden State Athletic Conference championship, giving it an automatic berth to the NAIA Volleyball National Championship in Sioux City, Iowa.
• Garnering the remaining three first-place votes is No. 2 Hastings (Neb.), which also stayed put in the poll. With 572 total points, the Broncos sit behind Westmont with a 22-2 record on the season. Hastings will likely be the No. 1 seed in the Great Plains Athletic Conference tournament next week. The Broncos are looking to return to Sioux City after falling in first-round last season to Georgetown (Ky.).
• The rest of the top five once again saw minor adjustments, as No. 3 Viterbo (Wis.) and No. 4 Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) both moved up one spot, while No. 5 Midland (Neb.) fell two places.
• This season, three different teams have taken the No. 1 ranking. Midland held steady the longest at three-straight polls.
• The top ten also brought on small changes, as No. 9 Grand View (Iowa) crawled up two spots to enter into the top ten. No. 9 Lourdes (Ohio) slid back one from its previous ranking.
• No. 17 Bellevue (Neb.) and No. 21 Columbia (Mo.) made the largest improvements in this edition, as they both moved forward four spots. No. 8 Dordt (Iowa) and No. 9 Grand View also made positive movements, sliding up two spots.
• Nine programs saw their rankings move backwards, but they still remained in the Top 25 – No. 5 Midland, No. 10 Lourdes, No. 11 Georgetown, No. 14 MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.). No. 16 Indiana Wesleyan, No. 19 Carroll (Mont.), No. 23 Jamestown (N.D.), No. 24 Madonna (Mich.) and No. 25 Montana Tech.
• Webber International (Fla.) is the lone team to fall out of the rankings this week after coming in at No. 24 in the last edition.
• Cornerstone (Mich.) is seeing time in the rankings for the first time since the 2013 season. The Golden Eagles come in at No. 20 this week.
• Westmont is the lone team remaining without a blemish this season. (RV) Central Methodist (Mo.) has 35 victories under its belt, the most in the NAIA so far this season.
• Overall, 11 of the 21 conferences are represented throughout the Top 25. The Great Plains Athletic Conference leads the way with four programs, while the North Star Athletic Association and American Midwest Conference both bring three teams.
• Former member Fresno Pacific (Calif.) has the most No. 1 appearances with 70, followed by former member National American (S.D.) with 33.
• No. 19 Biola (Calif.), which had been ranked among the top 10 in 42-consecutive polls, holds the longest active streak in the Top 25 at 116-straight appearances.
• There has only been one program that 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, 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 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”
- Frequency of polls occur 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 ratings calendar, click here.
2016 Tachikara-NAIA Volleyball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll-No. 5 (Nov. 1)
| RANK |
LAST WEEK^ |
SCHOOL (1ST PLACE VOTES) |
2016 Record |
TOTAL POINTS |
| 1 |
1 |
Westmont (Calif.) (18) |
29-0 |
589 |
| 2 |
2 |
Hastings (Neb.) (3) |
22-2 |
572 |
| 3 |
4 |
Viterbo (Wis.) |
34-2 |
555 |
| 4 |
5 |
Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) |
26-1 |
527 |
| 5 |
3 |
Midland (Neb.) |
22-2 |
517 |
| 6 |
6 |
Park (Mo.) |
29-1 |
502 |
| 7 |
7 |
Eastern Oregon |
25-2 |
478 |
| 8 |
10 |
Dordt (Iowa) |
19-6 |
445 |
| 9 |
11 |
Grand View (Iowa) |
25-6 |
431 |
| 10 |
9 |
Lourdes (Ohio) |
23-5 |
413 |
| 11 |
8 |
Georgetown (Ky.) |
26-6 |
389 |
| 12 |
12 |
Oklahoma City |
26-3 |
372 |
| 13 |
14 |
Missouri Baptist |
25-7 |
364 |
| 14 |
13 |
MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) |
24-6 |
350 |
| 15 |
16 |
Doane (Neb.) |
22-6 |
343 |
| 16 |
15 |
Indiana Wesleyan |
30-2 |
318 |
| 17 |
21 |
Bellevue (Neb.) |
27-9 |
279 |
| 18 |
17 |
Carroll (Mont.) |
19-6 |
248 |
| 19 |
19 |
Biola (Calif.) |
21-9 |
238 |
| 20 |
NR |
Cornerstone (Mich.) |
29-7 |
214 |
| 21 |
25 |
Columbia (Mo.) |
21-11 |
209 |
| 22 |
22 |
Corban (Ore.) |
19-5 |
190 |
| 23 |
20 |
Jamestown (N.D.) |
20-11 |
184 |
| 24 |
18 |
Madonna (Mich.) |
28-6 |
174 |
| 25 |
23 |
Montana Tech |
18-8 |
156 |
Dropped from the rankings: Webber International (Fla.) (24
Others receiving votes: College of Idaho 100; Webber International (Fla.) 65; Central Methodist (Mo.) 55; Northwestern (Iowa) 38; Campbellsville (Ky.) 29; Ottawa (Kan.) 28;
Northwest (Wash.) 25; Peru State (Neb.) 11; Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) 9; The Master’s (Calif.) 8; Mobile (Ala.) 3; St. Francis (Ill.) 3; St. Thomas (Fla.) 3