Oct. 5, 2010

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

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The top-six teams stood their ground and maintained position in the fifth edition of the Tachikara-NAIA Volleyball Coaches' Top 25 Poll, the NAIA announced Tuesday. At the same time, a top-10 team tumbled and dropped in the rankings dramatically. Fresno Pacific (Calif.) pulled in all 22 possible first-place votes for 622 points. Lee (Tenn.) continues to impress at the No. 2 spot with 602 points. Biola (Calif.) followed up its strong performances last week with two more Golden State Athletic Conference wins to secure its No. 3 position. Northwestern (Iowa), who has piled up 22 wins and remains unbeaten, is No. 4 with 557 points and Red River Athletic Conference powerhouse Texas at Brownsville comes in at No. 5 with 549 points.

Two new teams are entering the Top 25 for the first time in almost a decade: Rocky Mountain (Mont.) at No. 22 and College of the Ozarks (Mo.) at No. 23. Rocky Mountain is making its first appearance in the Top 25 since 2000 when it ended the regular season at No. 12. This week will mark the first time in the new millennium that College of the Ozarks has been ranked.

Making the biggest positive jump in the poll is No. 14 Point Loma Nazarene (Calif.), which climbed nine spots with its 25-19, 31-29, 25-19 upset bid over then-No. 7 Concordia (Calif.). Taking the biggest hit is Malone (Ohio), who dropped 15 spots and out of the Top 25. Bellevue (Neb.) was the only other team to drop out of the rankings.

On Sept. 28, Fresno Pacific took on its first top-10 opponent of the week when it hosted No. 8 Azusa Pacific (Calif.). The Sunbirds were taken to a fourth set for the second-straight game, but rebounded to win 28-26, 21-25, 25-19, 25-18. Fresno Pacific improved to 16-0, 8-0 in GSAC and took control of the standings with a road win at No. 6 California Baptist on Saturday. Martina Gregusova had 19 kills and Mariah Mandelbaum added 25 digs in the 10th-straight win over the Lancers 31-29, 16-25, 25-19, 25-16. Dennis Janzen and his Sunbirds continue to stay atop the national rankings statistically, leading the NAIA in hitting percentage with .336 and ranking second in kills per set and assists per set with 14.76 and 14.06, respectively.

Lee (17-0, 5-0 Southern States Athletic Conference) has not taken its foot off the pedal, sweeping its past 11 opponents. The last time the Lady Flames were taken into a fourth set was on Sept. 1 against Shorter (Ga.) at home. Lee will face that same Shorter squad, now 17-1, 3-1 SSAC, on Tuesday. The Lady Flames rank third nationally in kills per set with 14.19, fifth in hitting percentage at .309 and eighth in assists per game with 12.72.

Biola (Calif.) is riding high in the No. 3 spot. The Eagles defeated Westmont (Calif.) 28-26, 25-20, 25-15 on Sept. 28, followed by a 15-25, 25-16, 25-10, 25-19 win over Vanguard (Calif.) on Sept. 30. In the Vanguard match, outside hitter Christine Douglas put together a strong performance, leading the team with 26 kills and tacking on seven digs, two service aces and a .434 attack percentage. The Eagles will face San Diego Christian (Calif.) Tuesday, before taking on a hot Point Loma Nazarene team at home on Saturday.

Kyle Van Den Bosch and his fourth-ranked Red Raiders sit at 22-0 and 6-0 in Great Plains Athletic Conference action. Northwestern had two matches last week, sweeping both Sioux Falls (S.D.) and Concordia (Neb.). The Red Raiders were led by Hilary Hanno's 14 kills and five service aces in the 25-16, 25-23, 25-15 route of Sioux Falls on Sept. 28. In the 25-22, 25-21, 25-16 win over Concordia, Northwestern was guided by Kaitlin Beaver's 29 assists and six digs. Up next for the Red Raiders is a match on the road against Mount Marty (S.D.) on Wednesday.

Texas at Brownsville (16-0, 6-0 Red River Athletic Conference) is one of the five remaining undefeated teams in the NAIA and has earned its spot at No. 5. The Scorpions will hit the road for the remainder of the season after their three home matches this next week. Texas at Brownsville started its stretch with a win over Southwestern Assemblies of God (Texas) 25-9, 25-13, 25-15 on Oct. 2. Katharina Nobel had 10 kills in 13 attacks, giving her a .769 hitting percentage, along with six digs and two solo blocks. Danica Markovic also provided a double-double for the Scorpions with 15 digs and 12 kills. The next home match is against St. Thomas-Houston (Texas) for Breast Cancer Awareness Night on Friday.

Thirteen conferences are represented in the Top 25 with the GSAC leading all leagues with six ranked schools. The Frontier Conference and GPAC have the second-most schools present in the Top 25 with three each.

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. 12.

For more information on NAIA volleyball, click here.

2010 Tachikara-NAIA Volleyball Coaches' Top 25 Poll - Week 5

Others receiving votes: Bellevue (Neb.) 113; Georgetown (Ky.) 90; Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio) 71; Madonna (Mich.) 55; Indiana East 54; Westmont (Calif.) 37; Westminster (Utah) 25; Shawnee State (Ohio) 13; Wayland Baptist (Texas) 12; Walsh (Ohio) 11; Evangel (Mo.) 5; Campbellsville (Ky.) 3; Hastings (Neb.) 1; Indiana Wesleyan 1; Shorter (Ga.) 1; Friends (Kan.) 1; Malone (Ohio) 1; Oklahoma City 1; Union (Tenn.) 1; Spring Arbor (Mich.) 1; Grand View (Iowa) 1