The UMSL Tritons have begun the new season 8-0, while the WashU Bears are 6-1. (Image courtesy: Primo Greenway)
Nora Nichols
Staff Writer
LEXINGTON, KY — After two weeks of play into the new season, two of the area’s best NCAA women’s volleyball teams are also two of the best teams in the country.
At least the voters at the American Volleyball Coaches Association seem to think so. That’s why both teams have been voted into the Top 10 in their respective national Top 25 polls.
The University of Missouri-St. Louis Tritons, who were preseason No. 10 and moved up to No. 8 in last week’s poll, moved up three more spots to No. 5 in this week’s AVCA/Taraflex Division II polls. It’s the highest the Tritons have ever been ranked.
That came after UMSL improved to 8-0 on the season, after earning four wins last weekend and sweeping each opponent it faced at Flagler Saints Classic in St. Augustine, Fla. The Tritons defeated Embry-Riddle, Flagler, Converse and in-state rival Missouri Southern to go 4-0.
UMSL, which is one of just six teams at the D2 level that remains unbeaten, will return to the court this Friday, where they’ll take on No. 25 Harding at 11:30 a.m., before facing crosstown rival and Great Lakes Valley Conference nemesis Maryville at 4:30 p.m. in the McKendree Bearcat Classic in Lebanon, Ill.
The Tritons will then face another pair of GLVC opponents, Illinois-Springfield and host school McKendree on Saturday.
WashU began last week ranked No. 14 in the AVCA Division III poll, but the Bears had a magnificent weekend at the East to West Battle in Claremont, Calif. WashU won all three of its matches, which included victories over then-No. 7 Johns Hopkins and then-No. 2 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, to go unbeaten.
This week, the 6-1 Bears jumped seven spaces — the most of any team in the country — to No. 7, which is the highest WashU has been ranked this early in a season since 2018.
WashU will get its next test on Wednesday, when it will go on the road to face crosstown rival Webster University in a match at Grant Gymnasium. That contest is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. and will be streamed live on Webster Athletics TV.
Sept. 11, 2023 AVCA/TARAFLEX Division II WVB Poll
| Rank | School (First-Place Votes Adjusted) | Total Points Adjusted | Record | Previous Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Concordia- St. Paul [41] | 1,169 | 8-0 | 2 |
| 2 | West Texas A&M [6] | 1,121 | 7-1 | 1 |
| 3 | Wayne State (NE) | 1,055 | 7-1 | 3 |
| 4 | Tampa | 1,025 | 6-0 | 4 |
| 5 | Missouri-St. Louis | 913 | 8-0 | 8 |
| 6 | St. Cloud State | 871 | 7-1 | 5 |
| 7-T | Minnesota Duluth | 801 | 7-1 | 7 |
| 7-T | Nebraska-Kearney | 801 | 9-0 | 10 |
| 9 | MSU Denver | 773 | 5-3 | 6 |
| 10 | Cal State San Bernardino | 710 | 7-1 | 9 |
| 11 | Southwest Minnesota State | 703 | 7-1 | 11 |
| 12 | Colorado Mesa | 619 | 8-0 | 14 |
| 13 | Central Washington | 514 | 6-2 | 23 |
| 14 | Chaminade | 505 | 11-0 | 20 |
| 15 | Washburn | 476 | 6-1 | 17 |
| 16 | Regis | 411 | 5-3 | 19 |
| 17 | West Florida | 384 | 3-4 | 13 |
| 18 | Northwest Missouri State | 300 | 5-3 | 15 |
| 19 | Wingate | 296 | 7-1 | 18 |
| 20 | Cal Poly Pomona | 266 | 7-1 | 24 |
| 21 | Cal State L.A. | 219 | 2-6 | 16 |
| 22 | Barry | 189 | 3-3 | 12 |
| 23 | Lewis | 175 | 5-3 | NR |
| 24 | Ferris State | 130 | 5-3 | NR |
| 25 | Central Oklahoma | 116 | 8-1 | NR |
Others receiving votes and listed on two or more ballots: Eckerd 78; Angelo State 52; Harding 49; Alaska-Anchorage 46; Rockhurst 45; Central Missouri 35; Western Washington 33; Quincy 29; Grand Valley State 26; Lynn 24; Seattle Pacific 23; Oklahoma Baptist 22; Missouri Western 18; Sonoma State 17; Clarion 16; Daemen 16; Findlay 16; Gannon 16; Spring Hill 16; Texas-Tyler 16; Winona State 16; Colorado School of Mines 13; Hillsdale 11; Biola 9; Anderson (S.C.) 8; Florida Southern 8; Simon Fraser University 8; Walsh 8; Point Loma 5
10 teams mentioned on only one ballot for a total of 57 combined points
Dropped Out: Alaska-Anchorage 21; Western Washington 22; Harding 25
Next poll: Sept. 18
Sept. 12, 2023 AVCA/TARAFLEX Division III WVB Poll
| Rank | School (First-Place Votes Adjusted) | Total Points Adjusted | Record | Previous Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Juniata [84] | 2,147 | 6-0 | 1 |
| 2 | Hope [2] | 2,045 | 6-0 | 3 |
| 3 | Wisconsin-Oshkosh | 1,790 | 10-0 | 8 |
| 4 | Claremont-Mudd-Scripps | 1,683 | 4-2 | 2 |
| 5 | Calvin | 1,662 | 6-1 | 4 |
| 6 | Northwestern (MN) | 1,637 | 4-1 | 5 |
| 7 | WashU | 1,618 | 6-1 | 14 |
| 8 | Johns Hopkins | 1,587 | 4-2 | 7 |
| 9 | Emory | 1,523 | 6-0 | 12 |
| 10 | Wisconsin-Whitewater | 1,393 | 6-1 | 9 |
| 11 | NYU | 1,262 | 6-1 | 11 |
| 12 | Trinity (TX) | 1,100 | 4-3 | 6 |
| 13 | MIT | 904 | 6-1 | 13 |
| 14 | Berry | 875 | 3-3 | 10 |
| 15 | Gustavus Adolphus | 852 | 7-1 | 18 |
| 16 | Transylvania | 815 | 6-2 | 16 |
| 17 | Cornell (IA) | 676 | 6-1 | 24 |
| 18 | Wesleyan (CT) | 659 | 4-0 | 20 |
| 19 | Tufts | 631 | 2-2 | 17 |
| 20 | Wisconsin-Stevens Point | 534 | 6-2 | 15 |
| 21 | Mary Washington | 499 | 6-0 | 22 |
| 22 | Mount St. Joseph | 425 | 6-0 | NR |
| 23 | Ohio Northern | 228 | 6-1 | NR |
| 24 | La Verne | 202 | 6-0 | NR |
| 25 | Ithaca | 155 | 4-2 | NR |
Others receiving votes and listed on two or more ballots: Wittenberg 137; Augustana (IL) 112; UC Santa Cruz 104; Williams 87; Carnegie-Mellon 65; Coe 65; North Park 53; Colorado College 46; Ohio Wesleyan 37; Southwestern (Texas) 35; Christopher Newport 32; Puget Sound 28; Wisconsin-Eau Claire 27; Washington & Lee 23; Babson 21; Pomona-Pitzer 20; Virginia Wesleyan 20; Otterbein 17; SUNY Cortland 15; Wisconsin-Platteville 13; Swarthmore 6; Case Western 2
10 teams mentioned on only one ballot for a total of 82 combined points.
Dropped Out: UC Santa Cruz 19; Wittenberg 21; Coe 23; Christopher Newport 25
Next Poll: Sept. 19