AVCA names Rivier as the Pre-Season #7 in the Country
(Lexington, KY) After an outstanding 2012 season in which the Rivier University Men's Volleyball team captured their 5th straight Great Northeast Athletic Conference Regular Season and Tournament Championships and made an appearance in the first ever NCAA Division III Men's Volleyball Championships, the Raiders have been ranked #7 in the AVCA Pre-Season Poll.
Rivier finished the 2012 campaign with an overall record of 25-9 and fell in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to UC-Santa Cruz, the then #2 team in the country. The Banana Slugs are currently ranked 4th.
The reigning NCAA Champions, Springfield College, is the oveall #1 team in the country followed by Carthage and Juniata. Springfield College received 14 first place votes while both Carthage and Juniata received one a piece. UC-Santa Cruz and Stevens round out the top five.
Here is the top 15 Pre-Season Poll released by the America Volleyball Coaches Association:
AVCA Division III Men's Top 15 Coaches Poll
2013 Preseason Coaches Poll: January 8, 2013
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Rank |
School (First-Place Votes) |
Total Points |
2012 Record |
2012 Final Rank |
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1 |
Springfield (14) |
236 |
33-5 |
1 |
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2 |
Carthage (1) |
203 |
29-6 |
2 |
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3 |
Juniata (1) |
189 |
28-11 |
5 |
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4 |
UC Santa Cruz |
175 |
17-7 |
3 |
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5 |
Stevens |
169 |
28-8 |
6 |
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6 |
Nazareth |
162 |
27-9 |
4 |
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7 |
Rivier |
145 |
25-9 |
7 |
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8 |
NYU |
124 |
20-9 |
8 |
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9 |
MIT |
107 |
26-9 |
10 |
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10 |
Medaille |
94 |
25-9 |
9 |
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11 |
Vassar |
78 |
19-11 |
12 |
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12 |
Kean |
60 |
25-11 |
14 |
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13 |
Baruch |
54 |
24-17 |
13 |
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14 |
Hunter |
31 |
26-9 |
11 |
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15 |
Elmira |
21 |
22-18 |
15 |
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Others Receiving Votes and appearing on two or more ballots: Emmanuel 19; SUNY New Paltz 15; Elms 10; MSOE 2
Four teams mentioned on only one ballot for a total of 23 combined points.
** The AVCA does not recognize any rankings below 15 in the poll as it is not possible when voters only select the top 15 teams and only teams with two or more votes are listed. It would be accurate and logical to say "listed" instead of "ranked" in the poll for spots below 15.
Poll Conducted and Distributed by the American Volleyball Coaches Association
