Top 25 Poll - Postseason
Nov 03, 2011
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Texas at Brownsville celebrated its first-ever National Championship in Sioux City, Iowa, on Dec. 3 and was rewarded with the No. 1 ranking in the postseason Tachikara-NAIA Volleyball Coaches' Top 25 Poll, the national office announced Tuesday. The Scorpions grabbed all 20 first-place votes for 560 points on the way to their ninth top-ranking in school history - all this season.
Texas at Brownsville is back atop the poll after spending eight weeks at No. 1 from Sept. 6 to Oct. 25, before being knocked off its perch by Concordia (Calif.) with the release of the poll on Nov. 1. The Scorpions regained control of the NAIA volleyball world by pulling off the minor upset of the No. 1 Eagles, 25-20, 20-25, 25-19, 25-20, to win the banner at the Tyson Events Center. Sophomore outside hitter Danica Markovic took Tachikara Tournament Most Valuable Player honors after posting 69 kills in Texas at Brownsville's six wins at the National Championship.
With 542 points, Concordia settles for No. 2 a day after sweeping NAIA Player and Coach of the Year honors. The Eagles breezed to the title match, winning 36-straight until falling to the Scorpions. No. 3 Lee (Tenn.) and No. 4 Columbia (Mo.) follow with 524 and 506 points, respectively. Both squads appeared in the national semifinals. Rounding out the top five is Biola (Calif.), who pulled off one of the National Championship's only upsets when it defeated then-No. 4 Embry-Riddle (Fla.). The Eagles notched 483 points.
No. 7 College of Idaho made the biggest splash of teams within the poll as the Lady Yotes jumped five spots thanks to wins over No. 13 Indiana Wesleyan and then-No. 7 Rocky Mountain (Mont.) at the National Championship. Biola made the leap from No. 9 in the final Top 25 to fifth in the postseason poll. No. 21 Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) is up four spots for its highest ranking in program history. No. 22 Missouri Baptist spiraled back seven spots after losing all three of its matches at the National Championship final site.
New to the poll are No. 20 MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.), No. 23 Morningside (Iowa) and No. 24 Kansas Wesleyan. MidAmerica Nazarene and Kansas Wesleyan are making their first-ever appearances in the Top 25, while Morningside is ranked for the first time since being rated 24th in the final 2009 poll. Cal State San Marcos, Carroll and Oklahoma Baptist were the three teams to drop out of the rankings. Oklahoma Baptist had been ranked in every poll this season until the postseason edition.
The Golden State Athletic Conference (GSAC) has now placed the most teams of any league in each poll this season. Representing the GSAC in the postseason poll are Concordia, Biola, No. 8 Azusa Pacific (Calif.), No. 11 Fresno Pacific (Calif.), No. 14 Vanguard (Calif.) and No. 18 Point Loma Nazarene (Calif.). Five conferences are tied for the second-most Top 25 squads with two each.
The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences and independents.
Notes: (All information as of 2000) Texas at Brownsville's nine No. 1 rankings are the fourth-most all-time ... Fresno Pacific has the most No. 1 appearances with 70, followed by former NAIA member National American (S.D.) with 32 and Columbia (Mo.) with 20 ... Azusa Pacific (Calif.) extended its NAIA-leading poll-streak to 84 consecutive ... Sixteen teams have been ranked in every poll this season ... There have been 40 different teams that have appeared in the Top 25 in 2011 ... Five schools have been rated in the top 10 of every poll this season: Azusa Pacific, Columbia, Embry-Riddle (Fla.), Lee and Texas at Brownsville ... No. 5 Biola (Calif.) is back in the top five for the first time since being rated No. 5 in the preseason poll ... No. 1 Texas at Brownsville and No. 2 Concordia (Calif.) are tied for the fewest losses among ranked teams with two ... Three teams spent at least one week as the No. 1 team this season, including Texas at Brownsville, Concordia with three appearances and Fresno Pacific with one appearance.
Texas at Brownsville is back atop the poll after spending eight weeks at No. 1 from Sept. 6 to Oct. 25, before being knocked off its perch by Concordia (Calif.) with the release of the poll on Nov. 1. The Scorpions regained control of the NAIA volleyball world by pulling off the minor upset of the No. 1 Eagles, 25-20, 20-25, 25-19, 25-20, to win the banner at the Tyson Events Center. Sophomore outside hitter Danica Markovic took Tachikara Tournament Most Valuable Player honors after posting 69 kills in Texas at Brownsville's six wins at the National Championship.
With 542 points, Concordia settles for No. 2 a day after sweeping NAIA Player and Coach of the Year honors. The Eagles breezed to the title match, winning 36-straight until falling to the Scorpions. No. 3 Lee (Tenn.) and No. 4 Columbia (Mo.) follow with 524 and 506 points, respectively. Both squads appeared in the national semifinals. Rounding out the top five is Biola (Calif.), who pulled off one of the National Championship's only upsets when it defeated then-No. 4 Embry-Riddle (Fla.). The Eagles notched 483 points.
No. 7 College of Idaho made the biggest splash of teams within the poll as the Lady Yotes jumped five spots thanks to wins over No. 13 Indiana Wesleyan and then-No. 7 Rocky Mountain (Mont.) at the National Championship. Biola made the leap from No. 9 in the final Top 25 to fifth in the postseason poll. No. 21 Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) is up four spots for its highest ranking in program history. No. 22 Missouri Baptist spiraled back seven spots after losing all three of its matches at the National Championship final site.
New to the poll are No. 20 MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.), No. 23 Morningside (Iowa) and No. 24 Kansas Wesleyan. MidAmerica Nazarene and Kansas Wesleyan are making their first-ever appearances in the Top 25, while Morningside is ranked for the first time since being rated 24th in the final 2009 poll. Cal State San Marcos, Carroll and Oklahoma Baptist were the three teams to drop out of the rankings. Oklahoma Baptist had been ranked in every poll this season until the postseason edition.
The Golden State Athletic Conference (GSAC) has now placed the most teams of any league in each poll this season. Representing the GSAC in the postseason poll are Concordia, Biola, No. 8 Azusa Pacific (Calif.), No. 11 Fresno Pacific (Calif.), No. 14 Vanguard (Calif.) and No. 18 Point Loma Nazarene (Calif.). Five conferences are tied for the second-most Top 25 squads with two each.
The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences and independents.
Notes: (All information as of 2000) Texas at Brownsville's nine No. 1 rankings are the fourth-most all-time ... Fresno Pacific has the most No. 1 appearances with 70, followed by former NAIA member National American (S.D.) with 32 and Columbia (Mo.) with 20 ... Azusa Pacific (Calif.) extended its NAIA-leading poll-streak to 84 consecutive ... Sixteen teams have been ranked in every poll this season ... There have been 40 different teams that have appeared in the Top 25 in 2011 ... Five schools have been rated in the top 10 of every poll this season: Azusa Pacific, Columbia, Embry-Riddle (Fla.), Lee and Texas at Brownsville ... No. 5 Biola (Calif.) is back in the top five for the first time since being rated No. 5 in the preseason poll ... No. 1 Texas at Brownsville and No. 2 Concordia (Calif.) are tied for the fewest losses among ranked teams with two ... Three teams spent at least one week as the No. 1 team this season, including Texas at Brownsville, Concordia with three appearances and Fresno Pacific with one appearance.
| RANK | LAST WEEK | SCHOOL (1ST PLACE VOTES) | 2011 RECORD | TOTAL POINTS |
| 1 | 2 | Texas at Brownsville (20) | 32-2 | 560 |
| 2 | 1 | Concordia (Calif.) | 37-2 | 542 |
| 3 | 3 | Lee (Tenn.) | 34-3 | 524 |
| 4 | 5 | Columbia (Mo.) | 39-4 | 506 |
| 5 | 9 | Biola (Calif.) | 27-13 | 483 |
| 6 | 4 | Embry-Riddle (Fla.) | 30-6 | 467 |
| 7 | 12 | College of Idaho | 27-5 | 452 |
| 8 | 6 | Azusa Pacific (Calif.) | 31-8 | 435 |
| 9 | 7 | Rocky Mountain (Mont.) | 30-5 | 420 |
| 10 | 8 | Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) | 23-6 | 389 |
| 11 | 10 | Southern Oregon | 23-6 | 382 |
| 12 | 11 | Fresno Pacific (Calif.) | 17-13 | 370 |
| 13 | 13 | Indiana Wesleyan | 36-5 | 342 |
| 14 | 14 | Vanguard (Calif.) | 23-14 | 323 |
| 15 | 18 | Taylor (Ind.) | 31-9 | 293 |
| 16 | 18 | Point Loma Nazarene (Calif.) | 20-10 | 290 |
| 17 | 16 | Spring Hill (Ala.) | 40-3 | 275 |
| 18 | 17 | Indiana Tech | 34-8 | 243 |
| 19 | 22 | Grand View (Iowa) | 39-10 | 221 |
| 20 | RV | MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) | 30-9 | 206 |
| 21 | 25 | Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) | 28-11 | 183 |
| 22 | 15 | Missouri Baptist | 36-7 | 182 |
| 23 | RV | Morningside (Iowa) | 26-9 | 147 |
| 24 | RV | Kansas Wesleyan | 27-11 | 134 |
| 25 | 21 | Bellevue (Neb.) | 29-7 | 120 |
Others receiving votes: Cal State San Marcos 119; Oklahoma Baptist 116; Carroll (Mont.) 55; Indiana East 33; Eastern Oregon 27; Point Park (Pa.) 16; Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) 15; Madonna (Mich.) 11Shorter (Ga.) 7; Doane (Neb.) 6; College of the Ozarks (Mo.) 5; Baker (Kan.) 4; Robert Morris (Ill.) 4; Cornerstone (Mich.) 1; Asbury (Ky.) 1; La Sierra (Calif.) 1; Lubbock Christian (Texas) 1; Viterbo (Wis.) 1; Westmont (Calif.) 1; Georgetown (Ky.) 1; Jamestown (N.D.) 1; Wiley (Texas) 1; Evangel (Mo.) 1; Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) 1; Grace (Ind.) 1.
