2012 Tachikara-NAIA Volleyball Coaches? Preseason Top 25 Poll
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - After winning its first NAIA Volleyball National Championship in 2011, Texas at Brownsville enters the 2012 season as the top ranked team in the Tachikara-NAIA Volleyball Coaches' Preseason Top 25 poll, the national office announced Tuesday. The Scorpions captured 20 of the 22 first-place votes and tallied 621 points to earn the No. 1 ranking.
Last season's runner-up, Concordia (Calif.) comes in at No. 2 and received the last two first-place votes. Lee (Tenn.) and Columbia (Mo.) follow Concordia (Calif.) as they are tied at No. 3. Biola (Calif.) rounds out the top five, as it is ranked fifth.
Seven teams that were not ranked in last season's final poll, No. 16 Madonna (Mich.), No. 20 Lindsey Wilson (Ky.), No. 21 Carroll (Mont.), No. 22 Cornerstone (Mich.), No. 23 Cal State San Marcos, No. 24 Westmont (Calif.) and No. 25 Indiana East, all made the jump into the preseason Top 25. The Crusaders made the biggest jump as they were receiving votes in last time.
The Golden State Athletic Conference placed the most teams in the preseason poll with four: No. 2 Concordia (Calif.), No. 5 Biola (Calif.), No. 10 Vanguard (Calif.) and No. 24 Westmont (Calif.).
The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences and Independents. The first regular-season poll will be announced on Sept. 4.
Notes: (All information as of 2000) Texas at Brownsville's 10 No. 1 rankings are the fourth-most all-time ... Former member, Fresno Pacific (Calif.) has the most No. 1 appearances with 70, followed by former member National American (S.D.) with 32 and Columbia (Mo.) with 20 ... Texas at Brownsville has been ranked No. 1 in 10 of the last 13 weeks... Seven teams who were not ranked in the final poll last season enter 2012 in the Coaches Poll... The top four teams in the preseason poll were all participants in the semifinals of the 2011 National Championship... Westmont (Calif.) returns to the Coaches' Top 25 poll for the first time since September 21, 2010... Cornerstone (Mich.) makes its first appearance in the Coaches' Top 25 poll for the first time since 2007... After receiving votes last season, Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) makes its first appearance in the Coaches' Top 25 poll.
2012 Tachikara-NAIA Volleyball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll – Preseason| RANK | LAST Time^ | SCHOOL (1ST PLACE VOTES) | 2011 RECORD | TOTAL POINTS |
| 1 | 1 | Texas at Brownsville (20) | 32-2 | 621 |
| 2 | 2 | Concordia (Calif.) (2) | 38-2 | 603 |
| 3 | 3 | Lee (Tenn.) | 34-3 | 569 |
| 3 | 4 | Columbia (Mo.) | 38-4 | 569 |
| 5 | 5 | Biola (Calif.) | 27-13 | 545 |
| 6 | 6 | Embry-Riddle (Fla.) | 30-6 | 526 |
| 7 | 9 | Rocky Mountain (Mont.) | 30-5 | 503 |
| 8 | 10 | Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) | 23-6 | 483 |
| 9 | 13 | Indiana Wesleyan | 36-6 | 457 |
| 10 | 14 | Vanguard (Calif.) | 23-14 | 439 |
| 11 | 15 | Taylor (Ind.) | 31-9 | 417 |
| 12 | 17 | Spring Hill (Ala.) | 40-3 | 386 |
| 13 | 19 | Grand View (Iowa) | 39-10 | 369 |
| 14 | 22 | Missouri Baptist | 36-7 | 362 |
| 15 | 20 | MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) | 30-9 | 310 |
| 16 | RV | Madonna (Mich.) | 30-10 | 306 |
| 17 | 24 | Kansas Wesleyan | 27-11 | 292 |
| 18 | 21 | Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) | 28-11 | 290 |
| 19 | 25 | Bellevue (Neb.) | 29-7 | 257 |
| 20 | RV | Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) | 31-3 | 215 |
| 21 | RV | Carroll (Mont.) | 18-8 | 181 |
| 22 | RV | Cornerstone (Mich.) | 31-5 | 161 |
| 23 | RV | Cal State San Marcos | 29-8 | 140 |
| 24 | RV | Westmont (Calif.) | 10-16 | 128 |
| 25 | RV | Indiana East | 37-9 | 123 |
Others receiving votes: Park (Mo.) 93; Indiana Tech 89; College of the Ozarks (Mo.) 89; Georgetown (Ky.) 87; Baker (Kan.) 59; Viterbo (Wis.) 59; Point Park (Pa.) 57; Campbellsville (Ky.) 26; Grace (Ind.) 22; Robert Morris (Ill.) 13; Great Falls (Mont.) 12; The Master’s (Calif.) 9; Evangel (Mo.) 8; Tabor (Kan.) 6; Asbury (Ky.) 5; La Sierra (Calif.) 5; Davenport (Mich.) 4.
^ 2011 Tachikara-NAIA Volleyball Coaches’ Postseason Top 25 Poll
