2016 Tachikara-NAIA Volleyball Coaches' Top 25 Poll-No. 1
EOU No. 6, CI No. 12, CRB No. 24, SOU RV
By Nikki Sherrill, Communications and Sports Information Intern
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Warriors of Midland (Neb.) received 580 total points and 11 first-place votes to earn the No. 1 spot in the first regular-season Tachikara-NAIA Volleyball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll, the national office announced Tuesday. The Warriors made a five spot jump with an undefeated 11-0 record so far in the 2016 season. The second coaches’ top 25 poll will be released on Sept. 20.
Top 25 Highlights (historical information dates back to 2000):
- This is the first time the Midland Warriors have been ranked No. 1 in program history, dating back to 2000. The Warriors are undefeated this season at 11-0 and earned 11 first place votes to receive the top spot.
- In the preseason poll, the Warriors were ranked No. 6 after losing in the quarterfinals in the NAIA Volleyball National Championship last season. They finished with a 33-4 overall record.
- Coming in second and earning nine first-place votes is Lindsey Wilson (Ky.), which is also undefeated at 9-0 this season. The only other team to get first-place votes in this poll was No. 5 Viterbo (Wisc.), which earned one.
- The rest of the top five includes some large movement as No. 3 Westmont (Calif.) jumped up 13 spots from No. 16 after posting an 11-0 record. Coming in at No. 4 is Hastings (Neb.), which remains in the top five.
- There are eight newcomers in this poll including No. 9 Grand View (Iowa), No. 16 Carroll (Mont.), No. 18 Oklahoma City, No. 19 Bellevue (Neb.), No. 20 Doane (Neb.), No. 21 St. Thomas (Fla.), No. 22 Montana Tech and No. 24 Corban (Ore.). Defending national champion Columbia (Mo.) finds itself out of the top 25, as well as preseason No. 18 Southern Oregon and No. 20 Evangel (Mo.)
- Overall, 13 of the 21 conferences are represented throughout the Top 25. The Great Plains Athletic Conference leads the way with four schools receiving rankings in the Top 25.
- Defending champions, Columbia (Mo.) have dropped out of the top 25 for the first time since 2007’s preseason poll.
- Former member Fresno Pacific (Calif.) has the most No. 1 appearances with 70, followed by former member National American (S.D.) with 33
- No. 15 Biola (Calif.), which had been ranked among the top 10 in 41-consecutive polls, holds the longest active streak in the Top 25 at 113-straight
- 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. 1 (Sept. 6)
| RANK |
LAST WEEK^ |
SCHOOL (1ST PLACE VOTES) |
2016 Record |
TOTAL POINTS |
| 1 |
6 |
Midland (Neb.) (11) |
11-0 |
580 |
| 2 |
3 |
Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) (9) |
9-0 |
570 |
| 3 |
16 |
Westmont (Calif.) |
11-0 |
542 |
| 4 |
5 |
Hastings (Neb.) |
6-1 |
535 |
| 5 |
4 |
Viterbo (Wisc.) (1) |
7-2 |
528 |
| 6 |
8 |
Eastern Oregon |
8-1 |
493 |
| 7 |
12 |
Park (Mo.) |
7-1 |
468 |
| 8 |
10 |
MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) |
10-1 |
456 |
| 9 |
NR |
Grand View (Iowa) |
5-1 |
422 |
| 10 |
7 |
Georgetown (Ky.) |
5-1 |
407 |
| 11 |
14 |
Lourdes (Ohio) |
5-3 |
401 |
| 12 |
11 |
College of Idaho |
6-4 |
355 |
| 13 |
2 |
Missouri Baptist |
9-4 |
344 |
| 14 |
13 |
Dordt (Iowa) |
6-2 |
342 |
| 15 |
19 |
Biola (Calif.) |
8-5 |
339 |
| 16 |
NR |
Carroll (Mont.) |
11-2 |
321 |
| 17 |
17 |
Madonna (Mich.) |
8-1 |
302 |
| 18 |
NR |
Oklahoma City |
6-2 |
277 |
| 19 |
NR |
Bellevue (Neb.) |
7-5 |
233 |
| 20 |
NR |
Doane (Neb.) |
10-3 |
230 |
| 21 |
NR |
St. Thomas (Fla.) |
11-1 |
211 |
| 22 |
NR |
Montana Tech |
8-4 |
179 |
| 23 |
25 |
Jamestown (N.D.) |
5-4 |
143 |
| 24 |
NR |
Corban (Ore.) |
6-2 |
134 |
| 25 |
23 |
Indiana Wesleyan |
10-1 |
126 |
Dropped from the rankings: Columbia (Mo.) (No. 1); Southern Oregon (No. 18); Evangel (Mo.) (No. 20)
Others receiving votes: Columbia (Mo.) 105; Peru State (Neb.) 98; Our Lady of the Lake (Texas) 61; Coastal Georgia 54; Warner (Fla.) 36;
Southern Oregon 35; Cumberlands (Ky.) 30; The Master’s (Calif.) 28; Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio) 22; Briar Cliff (Iowa) 18; Texas Wesleyan 15; Evangel (Mo.) 5; Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) 5.