Sept. 28, 2010

Contact: Adam Samson, NAIA Sports Information and Media Services Intern, asamson@naia.org

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – After a jam-packed week of volleyball, only five teams managed to stay put in this week’s Tachikara-NAIA Volleyball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll, the NAIA announced Tuesday. Fresno Pacific (Calif.) reinforced why it has stayed on top of the Top 25 poll for 39-straight weeks now garnering all 24 first-place votes. The Sunbirds defeated then-No. 4 Concordia (Calif.) 25-23, 25-17, 22-25, 25-16 and sent the Eagles back three spots to No. 7. Lee (Tenn.) moved up one position to No. 2 with 662 points. Biola (Calif.) made the biggest leap out of any team in the Top 25, moving up six spots to No. 3 after upsetting two top-10 squads. Coming in at No. 4 is Northwestern (Iowa), who remains undefeated with 20 wins and cracking into the top five is Texas at Brownsville, who sports a 14-0 overall record.

Spending four straight weeks on the brink of jumping into the Top 25, Lindenwood (Mo.) finally makes its move, entering the poll at No. 24. Point Loma Nazarene (Calif.) re-enters the Top 25 after beginning the season at No. 14 in the preseason poll. The team taking the biggest hit in this week’s ratings is Lubbock Christian (Texas), who fell five spots to No. 18.

Fresno Pacific (14-0, 6-0 Golden State Athletic Conference) rounded up 684 points and secured another quality win over then-No. 4 Concordia at home on Sept. 25. Keke Wang and Lisa Shilling had 20 and 11 kills, respectively, while the Eagles were held to a .189 attack percentage. In comparison, the Sunbirds hit .378 and Shilling led the charge with a .611 hitting percentage. The No. 1-ranked Sunbirds lead the NAIA in assists per game (14.13), hitting percentage (.356) and kills per game (14.8). Fresno Pacific won’t take a break from the tough conference schedule as it faces No. 10 Azusa Pacific (Calif.) Tuesday.

Lee (14-0, 4-0 Southern States Athletic Conference) jumped up one spot in the rankings to No. 2. The last time the Lady Flames were ranked second was in 2004 when the team went 44-0 to finish regular-season play. Lee extended its current winning streak to 14 by defeating SSAC foe Columbia (S.C.) 25-14, 25-15, 25-16 on Sept. 25. Arlene Ferreira posted a double-double with 10 kills and 10 digs and hit a .474. Statistically, the Lady Flames rank third nationally with a .319 hitting percentage, third in kills per game with 14.11 and eighth in assists per game with 12.53. The next test for Lee will come against Southern Wesleyan (S.C.) (8-4, 2-1 SSAC) on Tuesday.

Biola (Calif.) leapfrogged the two top-10 GSAC opponents it defeated in the rankings this week. Kim Russell recorded a double-double on the road with 14 kills and 10 digs as the Eagles upset then-No. 7 Azusa Pacific (Calif.) 25-23, 25-22, 23-25, 25-23 on Sept. 21. Biola hosted an undefeated California Baptist team on Sept. 25 and came out on top 20-25, 25-21, 25-23, 25-16. Outside hitter Christine Douglas racked up 19 kills, two blocks and a .333 hitting percentage in the win over California Baptist. Up next for the Eagles is Westmont (Calif.), who dropped out of the Top 25 this week, but is still receiving votes.

No. 4 Northwestern (Iowa) continues to climb in the rankings. Following a five-match week that included four at the Bruin/Premier Volleyball Classic hosted by No. 21 Bellevue (Neb.), the Red Raiders came out unscathed and are currently 20-0 and 4-0 in Great Plains Athletic Conference play. Northwestern defeated No. 19 Dordt (Iowa) on Sept. 22 in four sets 20-25, 25-21, 25-20, 25-18. At the tournament, the Red Raiders were taken to five sets in their last two games, the first against Bellevue 25-22, 25-19, 19-25, 19-25, 15-6, and then by Lindenwood 25-17, 24-26, 25-23, 22-25, 15-10. Northwestern is set to host Sioux Falls (S.D.) on Tuesday.

Texas at Brownsville (14-0, 5-0 Red River Athletic Conference), who has been a member of the NAIA since 2006, continues to write the Scorpion record books as it moves into the No. 5 spot. The volleyball squad’s No. 6 ranking in the previous polls was the highest of any Texas at Brownsville sport. The Scorpions win over Texas College on Sept. 25 marked the 42nd-straight regular season win. Talita Milasauskas, who finished with nine kills, nine digs and a .818 hitting percentage and Ana Guerra, who finished with two solo blocks and hit .615, led the Scorpions to a 25-12, 25-7, 25-14 win.

Fifteen conferences are represented in the Top 25 with the GSAC leading all leagues with six ranked schools. The GPAC has the second-most schools present in the Top 25 with three.

The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences/independent/unaffiliated groups. The next poll will be announced on Oct. 5.

For more information on NAIA volleyball, click here.

Others receiving votes: Georgetown (Ky.) 114; Rocky Mountain (Mont.) 77; Indiana-East 70; Madonna (Mich.) 66; Westmont (Calif.) 58; Westminster (Utah) 36; Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio) 34; Wayland Baptist (Texas) 11; Evangel (Mo.) 10; Shawnee State (Ohio) 9; Ozarks (Mo.) 8; Morningside (Iowa) 6; Spring Arbor (Mich.) 3; Grand View (Iowa) 1; Indiana Wesleyan 1; Friends (Kan.) 1; Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) 1; Oklahoma City 1; Baker (Kan.) 1; Shorter (Ga.) 1; Walsh (Ohio) 1