Having won its last 13 matches, the Lewis-Clark State College volleyball team has enjoyed a steady rise in the Tachikara-NAIA Volleyball Coaches’ Top 25 poll over the past month. In this week’s poll, announced on Tuesday, the Warriors were ranked No. 7.
Topping the poll for the second consecutive week is Concordia (Calif.) which claimed all 21 first-place votes. In second is Texas at Brownsville, in third Columbia, fourth Lee, fifth Embry-Riddle, and sixth Azusa Pacific.
The College of Idaho lost to No. 12-ranked Southern Oregon in five sets last week and dropped from No. 6 to No. 8.
Ironically, by moving to No. 7 the Warriors’ return to where they were ranked in the NAIA’s preseason poll back on Aug. 16. The Warriors hit their lowest ranking this season of fourteenth on Sept. 27, but have since ascended well into the nation’s top 10.
Lewis-Clark State, 19-3 overall, will take its new rank into the Frontier Conference Tournament this weekend in Helena, Mont. The Warriors, having won their fifth straight league title, are listed as the top seed and will play eighth-seeded Montana Tech on Friday at 11 a.m., Pacific time.
Other matches on Friday include fourth-seeded Westminster against No. 5 Great Falls at 1 p.m., No. 2 Rocky Mountain versus No. 7 Montana Western at 4 p.m., and then tournament host and third-seeded Carroll College will face No. 6 MSU-Northern at 6 p.m.
Conference members listed in the poll include Rocky Mountain College which moved from No. 10 to No. 9, and Carroll College which held tight at No. 24.
The final poll for the 2011 season will be released Sunday by 11 a.m., following the completion of the conference/independent/unaffiliated tournaments. The 24-team field for the 2011 NAIA Volleyball National Championship Opening Round will be announced Sunday by 4 p.m.
|
RANK
|
LAST WEEK
|
SCHOOL (1ST PLACE VOTES)
|
RECORD
|
TOTAL POINTS
|
|
1
|
1
|
Concordia (Calif.) (21)
|
30-1
|
591
|
|
2
|
2
|
Texas at Brownsville
|
24-2
|
571
|
|
3
|
3
|
Columbia (Mo.)
|
33-2
|
552
|
|
4
|
4
|
Lee (Tenn.)
|
27-2
|
535
|
|
5
|
5
|
Embry-Riddle (Fla.)
|
25-4
|
513
|
|
6
|
7
|
Azusa Pacific (Calif.)
|
25-6
|
494
|
|
7
|
8
|
Lewis-Clark State (Idaho)
|
19-3
|
470
|
|
8
|
6
|
College of Idaho
|
22-2
|
457
|
|
9
|
10
|
Rocky Mountain (Mont.)
|
24-4
|
437
|
|
10
|
13
|
Vanguard (Calif.)
|
21-10
|
428
|
|
11
|
9
|
Fresno Pacific (Calif.)
|
14-10
|
388
|
|
12
|
14
|
Southern Oregon
|
19-4
|
365
|
|
13
|
11
|
Biola (Calif.)
|
21-10
|
354
|
|
14
|
12
|
Taylor (Ind.)
|
27-6
|
335
|
|
15
|
15
|
Indiana Wesleyan
|
31-4
|
327
|
|
16
|
17
|
Point Loma Nazarene (Calif.)
|
16-8
|
294
|
|
17
|
16
|
Indiana Tech
|
31-5
|
285
|
|
18
|
19
|
Spring Hill (Ala.)
|
36-0
|
283
|
|
19
|
18
|
Missouri Baptist
|
32-4
|
281
|
|
20
|
20
|
Oklahoma Baptist
|
28-10
|
234
|
|
21
|
21
|
Bellevue (Neb.)
|
27-6
|
210
|
|
22
|
22
|
Grand View (Iowa)
|
36-7
|
183
|
|
23
|
23
|
Carroll (Mont.)
|
17-7
|
131
|
|
24
|
24
|
College of the Ozarks (Mo.)
|
28-7
|
116
|
|
25
|
RV
|
Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.)
|
22-7
|
88
|
Others Receiving Votes: La Sierra (Calif.) 81; Doane (Neb.) 73; Eastern Oregon 49; Indiana East 46; Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) 34; Cal State San Marcos 33; Madonna (Mich.) 32; Shorter (Ga.) 32; Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) 26; Point Park (Pa.) 18; Morningside (Iowa) 13; Baker (Kan.) 6; Grace (Ind.) 5; Westmont (Calif.) 4; Kansas Wesleyan 3; Asbury (Ky.) 3; Lubbock Christian (Texas) 1; Viterbo (Wis.) 1; The Master's (Calif.) 1; Saint Xavier (Ill.) 1; Georgetown (Ky.) 1; MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) 1; Evangel (Mo.) 1; St. Ambrose (Iowa) 1; Wiley (Texas) 1; Southern Nazarene (Okla.) 1; Campbellsville (Ky.) 1.
