Volleyball Rises to No. 20 in NAIA Poll
10.20.2009
The Taylor University volleyball team moved up four spots to No. 20 in the latest Tachikara-NAIA Coaches' Top 25 Volleyball Poll, the NAIA announced Tuesday.
Taylor (21-4) made the biggest leap of any team in the country by virtue of their 3-0 win over then-No. 15 Indiana Tech last Friday in the NAIA Match of the Week. Indiana Tech fell two spots to No. 17 in this week's poll.
Each of Taylor's four losses this season have come against teams ranked in the Top 25 of the national polls. The most recent defeat came last week against NCAA Div. II No. 12-ranked University of Indianapolis by a 3-1 margin.
Taylor has now appeared in the last 14 NAIA Top 25 polls dating back to October 14, 2008. The Trojans reached as high as No. 19 earlier this season, but the 259 points received in the current poll is a season high for head coach Brittany Smith's team.
Fresno Pacific (Calif.) still owns the top spot in the Top 25 poll. The Sunbirds received all 24 first place votes and 684 total points.
Taylor travels to Spring Arbor (Mich.) this Thursday at 7 p.m. A win for the Trojans will secure at least a share of the team's third straight Mid-Central College Conference regular season championship.