2016 Tachikara-NAIA Volleyball Coaches' Top 25 Poll - No. 2
EOU No. 6, NU No. 20, CRB No. 24, CI RV
By Nikki Sherrill, Communications and Sports Information Intern
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – After making their first appearance at No. 1 in the last poll, Midland (Neb.) is once again in the top spot. The Warriors have claimed 19 first-place votes and 560 total points in this week’s poll. Midland remains in the No. 1 spot after maintaining its undefeated record at 14-0. The third coaches’ Top 25 Poll will be released Oct. 4.
Top 25 Highlights (historical information dates back to 2000):
- In only their second appearance at No. 1 in the history of the polls dating back to 2000, Midland (Neb.) once again has the top spot in the poll. The Warriors remain undefeated this season at 14-0 and earned 19 first-place votes to be selected as the No. 1 team for a second consecutive week.
- The Warriors opened up play in the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) and went 3-0 against No. 4 Hastings (Neb.), No. 17 Doane (Neb.) and (RV) Briar Cliff (Iowa). On the season, Midland has beaten 11 ranked or receiving votes teams.
- Remaining in the No. 2 spot, and receiving the other first-place vote, is Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) which also has a perfect record at 12-0. The rest of the top five has stayed the same from the last poll with No. 3 Westmont (Calif.), No. 4 Hastings and No. 5 Viterbo (Wis.) all maintaining their positions.
- Nearly the entire top 10 has gone without change this week. No. 6 Eastern Oregon, No. 7 Park (Mo.) and No. 8 MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) each have kept their placement moving forward through another poll.
- No. 9 Dordt (Iowa) made the biggest jump this week at five spots, while the negative movement is highlighted by No. 19 Carroll (Mont.), which slid back three spots.
- Two newcomers to this week’s poll include No. 20 Northwest (Wash.) and No. 25 Lewis-Clark State (Idaho). Both teams started out the season receiving votes and now have found their way into the Top 25.
- Three teams remain undefeated through competition so far with No. 1 Midland (14-0), No. 2 Lindsey Wilson (12-0) and No. 3 Westmont (15-0) all heading into this week with perfect records.
- Overall, 12 of the 21 conferences are represented throughout the Top 25. The GPAC once again has the most representation with four teams, including two in the top five. The North Star Athletic Association and Cascade Collegiate Conference each have three teams from their conference in the poll.
- The 2015 national champions, Columbia (Mo.), remain unranked after falling out of the No. 1 spot in the first regular season poll. The national runner-up Missouri Baptist has maintained their appearances in the poll coming in at No. 15 this week.
- Former member Fresno Pacific (Calif.) has the most No. 1 appearances with 70, followed by former member National American (S.D.) with 33
- No. 13 Biola (Calif.), which had been ranked among the top 10 in 41-consecutive polls, holds the longest active streak in the Top 25 at 114-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. 2 (Sept. 20)
| RANK |
LAST WEEK^ |
SCHOOL (1ST PLACE VOTES) |
2016 Record |
TOTAL POINTS |
| 1 |
1 |
Midland (Neb.) (19) |
14-0 |
560 |
| 2 |
2 |
Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) (1) |
12-0 |
537 |
| 3 |
3 |
Westmont (Calif.) |
15-0 |
525 |
| 4 |
4 |
Hastings (Neb.) |
11-2 |
507 |
| 5 |
5 |
Viterbo (Wisc.) |
15-2 |
491 |
| 6 |
6 |
Eastern Oregon |
13-1 |
469 |
| 7 |
7 |
Park (Mo.) |
15-1 |
454 |
| 8 |
8 |
MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) |
14-4 |
427 |
| 9 |
14 |
Dordt (Iowa) |
9-3 |
406 |
| 10 |
10 |
Georgetown (Ky.) |
15-2 |
395 |
| 11 |
9 |
Grand View (Iowa) |
10-3 |
383 |
| 12 |
11 |
Lourdes (Ohio) |
10-3 |
364 |
| 13 |
15 |
Biola (Calif.) |
13-5 |
328 |
| 14 |
18 |
Oklahoma City |
13-3 |
321 |
| 15 |
13 |
Missouri Baptist |
13-4 |
315 |
| 16 |
17 |
Madonna (Mich.) |
14-3 |
304 |
| 17 |
20 |
Doane (Neb.) |
12-4 |
259 |
| 18 |
19 |
Bellevue (Neb.) |
12-5 |
255 |
| 19 |
16 |
Carroll (Mont.) |
12-4 |
229 |
| 20 |
NR |
Northwest (Wash.) |
8-3 |
202 |
| 21 |
21 |
St. Thomas (Fla.) |
13-2 |
201 |
| 22 |
23 |
Jamestown (N.D.) |
8-5 |
194 |
| 23 |
25 |
Indiana Wesleyan |
15-1 |
173 |
| 24 |
24 |
Corban (Ore.) |
7-4 |
142 |
| 25 |
NR |
Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) |
6-4 |
93 |
Dropped from the rankings: College of Idaho (No. 12); Montana Tech (No. 22)
Others receiving votes: College of Idaho 69; Concordia (Neb.) 69; Coastal Georgia 55; Peru State (Neb.) 45; Warner (Fla.) 37; Columbia (Mo.) 34; Morningside (Iowa) 27; Cumberlands (Ky.) 22; Montana Tech 21; Our Lady of the Lake (Texas) 9; Briar Cliff (Iowa) 8; Ottawa (Kan.) 5; Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio) 4.