The Lewis-Clark State College women's volleyball team was ranked ninth again for the fifth straight week in the Tachikara-NAIA Volleyball Coaches' Top 25 final poll , which is just fine with the Warriors.
By virtue of being ranked in the top 12, the Warriors will receive a first-round bye at the NAIA national tournament and will head straight into poll play.
The final poll, as well as the 36 national qualifiers, were announced on Sunday. After the top 12 ranked teams, the remaining 24 teams will play in 12 loser-out matches to decide the remaining 12 teams that advance to pool play. Those 12 first-round matches will be played this Saturday, while the remaining portion of the national tournament will take place Nov. 30-Dec. 3 in Sioux City, Iowa.
This is the fourth straight year LCSC has qualified for the national tournament after winning the Frontier Conference tournament title, which the Warriors did on Saturday night at LCSC Activity Center when they swept Carroll for the title.
This year, however, the Warriors won't be the lone representative from the conference. Despite losing to Carroll in the semifinals, Rocky Mountain only fell one spot in the national poll to No. 19 and earned the final of eight at-large berths to the national tournament. Rocky Mountain will play host to unranked Jamestown of North Dakota in the opening round next Saturday.
There was very little movement among the top 10 ranked teams in the poll as only Columbia College and Cal Baptist University switched places. Columbia of Missouri is fifth, while Cal Baptist is sixth.
The Warriors are 28-1 on the season and are only one of four teams in the NAIA with one or no losses.
The 24 teams that advance to Sioux City will be divided into six four-team round-robin pools. The top two teams from each pool then advance to the single-elimination portion of the tournament. In the past three seasons, LCSC's season has come to an end in pool play.
Although pool pairings won't be set until after next Saturday's contests, going by the poll, LCSC will likely be placed in the same pool at No. 4-ranked Northwestern College of Iowa, one of two undefeated NAIA teams at 35-0. The other two members of LCSC's pool will likely coming from the winners of matches on Saturday.
The 28-1 mark is the best winning percentage LCSC has taken into the national tournament. This is LCSC's 11th trip to the national tournament.
Below are the NAIA first-round pairings, the NAIA qualifiers, and the final NAIA Top 25 poll.
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2010 NAIA Volleyball National Championship Opening Round - Nov. 20 - On-Campus Sites
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Match 1
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Union (Ky.) at Embry-Riddle (Fla.)
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Match 2
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Malone (Ohio) at Indiana Tech
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Match 3
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Holy Names at Southern Oregon
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Match 4
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Trinity Christian (Ill.) at Doane (Neb.)
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Match 5
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St. Thomas-Houston (Texas) at College of Idaho
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Match 6
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St. Ambrose (Iowa) at Dordt (Iowa)
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Match 7
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Dillard (La.) at Point Loma Nazarene (Calif.)
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Match 8
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Jamestown (N.D.) at Rocky Mountain (Mont.)
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Match 9
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Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) at Lindenwood (Mo.)
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Match 10
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St. Xavier (Ill.) at Bellevue (Neb.)
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Match 11
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Oklahoma City at Friends (Kan.)
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Match 12
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Indiana East at Shawnee State (Ohio)
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Team
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Record^
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Qualification
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National Championship
Appearances |
Record
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Titles
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Azusa Pacific (Calif.)
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28-6
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At-Large
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9
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24-11
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1
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Bellevue (Neb.)
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33-11
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Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament champion
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5
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7-10
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Biola (Calif.)
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25-8
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At-Large
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10
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35-18
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Briar Cliff (Iowa)
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20-14
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Host berth
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1
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-
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California Baptist
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29-5
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At-Large
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14
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48-18
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2
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College of Idaho
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22-5
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At-Large
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6
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8-12
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Columbia (Mo.)
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38-2
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American Midwest Conference Tournament champion
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17
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65-35
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3
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Concordia (Calif.)
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22-8
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At-Large
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6
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22-6
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Dillard (La.)
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20-11
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Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Tournament champion
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1
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-
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Doane (Neb.)
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25-6
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At-Large
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9
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11-22
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Dordt (Iowa)
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32-7
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At-Large
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9
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20-17
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Embry-Riddle (Fla.)
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30-2
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The Sun Conference Tournament champion
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1
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-
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Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.)
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18-10
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TranSouth Athletic Conference Tournament champion
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2
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0-1
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Fresno Pacific (Calif.)
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28-2
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Golden State Athletic Conference Tournament champion
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20
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89-23
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5
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Friends (Kan.)
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32-8
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Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament champion
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3
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0-5
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Holy Names (Calif.)
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16-10
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California Pacific Conference Tournament champion
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1
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-
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Indiana East
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39-3
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Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament champion
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2
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0-1
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Indiana Tech
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34-5
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Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Tournament champion
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3
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5-3
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Jamestown (N.D.)
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20-12
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Dakota Athletic Conference Tournament champion
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1
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-
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Lee (Tenn.)
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35-0
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Southern States Athletic Conference Tournament champion
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9
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11-20
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Lewis-Clark State (Idaho)
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28-1
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Frontier Conference Tournament champion
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11
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21-22
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Lindenwood (Mo.)
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33-12
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Heartland of America Athletic Conference Tournament champion
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3
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3-4
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Malone (Ohio)
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32-7
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American Mideast Conference Tournament champion
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1
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-
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Northwestern (Iowa)
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35-0
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Great Plains Athletic Conference Tournament champion
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10
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18-20
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Oklahoma City
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22-11
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Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament champion
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1
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-
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Point Loma Nazarene (Calif.)
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17-12
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At-Large
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13
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39-22
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Rocky Mountain (Mont.)
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22-7
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At-Large
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1
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-
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Shawnee State (Ohio)
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34-9
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Mid-South Conference Tournament champion
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3
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1-4
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Southern Oregon
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22-3
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Cascade Collegiate Conference Tournament champion
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6
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12-15
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St. Ambrose (Iowa)
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26-12
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Midwest Collegiate Conference Tournament champion
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6
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5-17
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St. Thomas (Texas)
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24-15
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Association of Independent Institutions Tournament champion
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3
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-
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St. Xavier (Ill.)
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23-13
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Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament champion
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2
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0-4
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Taylor (Ind.)
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34-6
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Mid-Central College Conference Tournament champion
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6
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9-13
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Texas at Brownsville
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34-1
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Red River Athletic Conference Tournament champion
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3
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6-4
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Trinity Christian (Ill.)
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28-7
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Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament runner-up
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1
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-
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Union (Ky.)
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25-12
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Appalachian Athletic Conference Tournament champion
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2
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0-1
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^As reported by conference raters on Nov. 14
2010 Tachikara-NAIA Volleyball Coaches' Top 25 Poll - Final
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LAST
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2010
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TOTAL
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RANK
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WEEK
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SCHOOL (1ST PLACE VOTES)
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RECORD
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POINTS
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1
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1
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Lee University (Tenn.) (20)
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35-0
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651
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2
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2
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University of Texas at Brownsville (3)
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34-1
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634
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3
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3
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Fresno Pacific University (Calif.)
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28-2
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607
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4
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4
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Northwestern College (Iowa)
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35-0
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589
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5
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6
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Columbia College (Mo.)
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38-2
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562
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6
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5
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California Baptist University
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29-5
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560
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7
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7
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Biola University (Calif.)
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25-8
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519
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8
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8
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Azusa Pacific University (Calif.)
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28-6
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492
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9
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9
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Lewis-Clark State College (Idaho)
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28-1
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487
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10
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10
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Taylor University (Ind.)
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34-6
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473
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11
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11
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Concordia University (Calif.)
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22-8
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441
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12
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12
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Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (Fla.)
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30-2
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437
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13
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14
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Indiana Institute of Technology
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34-5
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394
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14
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16
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Southern Oregon University
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22-3
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376
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15
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17
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Doane College (Neb.)
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25-6
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357
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16
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13
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College of Idaho
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22-5
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325
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17
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15
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Dordt College (Iowa)
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32-7
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314
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17
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19
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Point Loma Nazarene University (Calif.)
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17-12
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314
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19
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18
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Rocky Mountain College (Mont.)
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22-7
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258
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20
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25
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Lindenwood University (Mo.)
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33-12
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240
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21
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23
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Bellevue University (Neb.)
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33-11
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233
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22
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20
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Oklahoma Baptist University
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26-10
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231
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23
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RV
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Indiana Wesleyan University
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23-11
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161
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24
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RV
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Oklahoma City University
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22-11
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122
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25
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RV
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Aquinas College (Mich.)
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29-12
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121
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Others receiving votes: Shawnee State (Ohio) 109; Indiana East 94; Evangel (Mo.) 87; Madonna (Mich.) 48; Malone (Ohio) 43 Wayland Baptist (Texas) 36; Viterbo (Wis.) 33; Carroll (Mont.) 13; Georgetown (Ky.) 12; Saint Xavier (Ill.) 7; College of the Ozarks (Mo.) 7; Westmont (Calif.) 7; Lubbock Christian (Texas) 6; Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) 5; Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio) 3; Campbellsville (Ky.) 1; Hastings (Neb.) 1; Asbury (Ky.) 1; Missouri Baptist 1.
