Oct. 19, 2010

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

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Fresno Pacific (Calif.) was awarded all 23 possible first-place votes to solidify its No. 1 standing in the Tachikara-NAIA Volleyball Coaches' Top 25 Poll, the NAIA announced Tuesday. All of the top-five squads retained their spots in the seventh edition of the regular-season ratings. Lee (Tenn.) checks in at No. 2 with 632 points, while Biola (Calif.) keeps plugging along at the No. 3 spot with 604 points. Northwestern (Iowa) remains undefeated at No. 4 with 585 points and staying put at No. 5 after suffering its first loss is Texas at Brownsville with 572 points.

Madonna (Mich.), who was ranked No. 21 in the preseason poll and started off at 3-5, has made its way back into the Top 25 at No. 22. The Crusaders (21-6, 9-1 Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference) rebounded from the slow start and have now won 14-straight matches dating back to Sept. 14, including wins over then-No. 12 Indiana Tech and then-undefeated Indiana East. Also finding a spot in this week's poll is Wayland Baptist (Texas) at No. 23. The Pioneers are listed among the Top 25 for the first time dating back to 2000. Falling out of the rankings are Carroll (Mont.) and Lubbock Christian (Texas).

In all, 14 teams shifted in the poll, with 10 improving and four sliding down in position. Azusa Pacific (Calif.), who last week took the biggest fall, reclaimed its spot at No. 8 and made the biggest jump.

At 21-0, 12-0 Golden State Athletic Conference, Fresno Pacific continues its dominance, sweeping its three opponents last week. The Sunbirds came out on top against NCAA Division I Cal-State Bakersfield, 25-23, 25-22, 25-18, on Oct. 12. Dennis Janzen and his squad easily defeated then-No. 15 Point Loma Nazarene (Calif.) 25-16, 25-19, 25-20 on Oct. 15 with the help of Maria Mandelbaum's 17 digs and Keke Wang and Martina Gregusova's 14 kills each. Fresno Pacific, who has been ranked No. 1 for 42-consecutive weeks, faces No. 3 Biola at home on Tuesday.

Lee extended its winning streak to 24 matches, defeating then-No. 11 Embry-Riddle (Fla.), Bellevue (Neb.) and No. 5 Texas at Brownsville at the SCAD Savannah (Ga.) Invitational over the weekend. Behind Arlene Ferreira's double-double with 22 digs and 12 kills, the Southern States Athletic Conference power swept Embry-Riddle 25-22, 25-16, 25-20. The Lady Flames then dished out another sweep to Bellevue, 25-15, 25-16, 25-19. In the final game of the tournament, Lee outlasted Texas at Brownsville in the NAIA Match of the Week 27-25, 16-25, 25-20, 25-23. Ferreira stepped up once again with 21 kills and 14 digs. Stephanie Todd recorded a double-double with 10 kills and 10 digs.

The third-ranked Eagles received a challenge at home on Oct. 14 with then-No. 8 Taylor (Ind.). With great defensive play from Emily Weingartner (31 digs) and Tavea Hampton (seven assisted blocks), the Eagles came out on top 25-15, 24-26, 25-18, 19-25, 15-4. Looking for its 11th-straight win, Biola faced its second top-10 team in a row in No. 10 Concordia (Calif.) and prevailed with a 14-25, 25-20, 25-15, 25-19 win on Oct. 16. Up next is No. 1 Fresno Pacific, who handed the Eagles their last loss on Sept. 14.

At No. 4, Northwestern is 27-0 and 11-0 in the Great Plains Athletic Conference and is one of three undefeated teams. The Red Raiders look to be in complete control throughout league play, winning in convincing fashion 25-15, 26-24, 25-12 over Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) on Oct. 12 and taking out Morningside (Iowa) on the road 25-23, 25-19, 17-25, 25-13 on Oct. 15. The Red Raiders have just five matches remaining before the start of the GPAC Tournament on Nov. 9.

Despite losing to second-ranked Lee, Texas at Brownsville (23-1, 9-0 Red River Athletic Conference) holds on to its spot at No. 5. The Scorpions travelled to Savannah, Ga., and came up short in its top-five matchup with the Lady Flames on Oct. 16. The Scorpions did grab wins over Mobile (Ala.), host SCAD Savannah and Shorter (Ga.), who was receiving votes in the last poll. The fifth-ranked Scorpions will have another shot at top-five contenders when it travels to California to take on No. 3 Biola, No. 1 Fresno Pacific and No. 10 Concordia on Oct. 28.

Thirteen 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. 26.

For more information on NAIA volleyball, click here.

2010 Tachikara-NAIA Volleyball Coaches' Top 25 Poll - Week 7

Others receiving votes: Carroll (Mont.) 123; Lubbock Christian (Texas) 96; Indiana East 85; College of the Ozarks (Mo.) 64; Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio) 43; Shawnee State (Ohio) 33; Bellevue (Neb.) 28; Indiana Wesleyan 12; Viterbo (Wis.) 10; Shorter (Ga.) 6; Baker (Kan.) 4; Walsh (Ohio) 1; Grand View (Iowa) 1; Oklahoma City 1; Westminster (Utah) 1; Campbellsville (Ky.) 1; Georgetown (Ky.) 1