Men's College Volleyball: Muskies net votes in poll
Sheboygan Press Media
The Lakeland College men's volleyball team is the first team outside the Top 15 of the American Volleyball Coaches Association NCAA Division III Preseason Coaches' Poll, which was released Tuesday.
The Muskies received 25 votes, placing them 16th of the schools receiving votes in the poll. Lakeland finished just outside the Top 15 in the final two polls last season after having been ranked for nine consecutive weeks from mid-February to mid-April.
Juniata (Pa.) University garnered the No. 1 ranking with 223 points and six first-place votes. The Eagles finished just ahead of second-place Stevens Institute of Technology (N.J.), which had 220 points and four first-place votes, while defending national champion Springfield (Mass.) College was third with 216 points and the remaining six first-place markers. State University of New York-New Paltz was fourth with 184 points and Carthage College rounded out the top five with 176 points.
Lakeland finished 21-8 overall last year in its first varsity season. The Muskies were ranked as high as fifth nationally and defeated then-No. 1 Juniata. Lakeland is scheduled to face nine of the 15 teams ranked in the preseason poll.
The Muskies are in their first year in the new Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League. Lakeland opens its season Jan. 24 against Milwaukee School of Engineering as part of a tournament hosted by Mount St. Joseph (Ohio) University in Cincinnati.