The Wash. U. Bears are 12-0 on the season and now currently ranked No. 6 in the country. (Photo: Thomas Grove)
DeMarcus Dixon
Staff Writer
Coming off a dynamite weekend, in which it swept all three games it played in Round 1 of the UAA Round Robin Tournament, the Washington University women’s volleyball team got some dynamic news Tuesday morning, when it found out it had skyrocketed up the national rankings and into the Top 10.
In fact, Wash. U. found out it had been ranked No. 6 in the country when the American Volleyball Coaches Association’s national poll came out. The Bears, who have won all 12 matches they’ve played so far this season, hadn’t been ranked in the top 10 since they finished the season No. 2 in the country, after advancing to the national championship game in 2016.
Wash. U. came into last weekend ranked No. 20, but made sure every coach around the country took notice, when they knocked off then-No. 6 ranked NYU in the first game of the UAA Round Robin, this past Saturday. The leap from No. 20 to No. 6 was the highest any one team had made in one week in nearly a decade.
Head coach Vanessa Walby won her 200th game at Wash. U. on Sunday, and the Bears remain just one of five unbeaten teams around the country.
There’s a very good chance Wash. U. may remain ranked in the top 10 the rest of the season. Their schedule, although always tough, doesn’t feature any other teams currently ranked in the top 25, and only three matches against teams that are even receiving votes in the most recent poll.
This week, Wash. U. will play three matches, all of them on the road. On Wednesday, the Bears will travel to Greenville, Ill., to play Greenville University. Then on Friday, Wash. U. will play two matches, one against Aurora University and another against Illinois Wesleyan.
The Bears’ next home matches will come in two weeks, when they’ll host the Wash. U. Invite, and play games against Luther College and Wisconsin-La Crosse.
AVCA DIVISION III COACHES POLL:
SEPTEMBER 20, 2022
| Rank | School (First-Place Votes Adjusted) | Total Points Adjusted | 2022 Record | Previous Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Claremont-Mudd-Scripps [90] | 2250 | 10-0 | 1 |
| 2 | Trinity (Texas) | 2108 | 8-2 | 3 |
| 3 | Northwestern (Minn.) | 2045 | 11-0 | 7 |
| 4 | Juniata | 1974 | 8-1 | 2 |
| 5 | Calvin | 1747 | 8-2 | 5 |
| 6 | Washington University | 1604 | 12-0 | 20 |
| 7 | Emory | 1471 | 7-3 | 4 |
| 8 | Wittenberg | 1428 | 9-2 | 16 |
| 9 | NYU | 1357 | 8-2 | 6 |
| 10 | Berry | 1306 | 7-2 | 12 |
| 11 | Otterbein | 1216 | 11-2 | 11 |
| 12 | Wisconsin-Stevens Point | 1184 | 10-1 | 21 |
| 13 | Wisconsin-Eau Claire | 1125 | 8-3 | 13 |
| 14 | Gustavus Adolphus | 1092 | 9-2 | 8 |
| 15 | Wisconsin-Whitewater | 1056 | 11-2 | 15 |
| 16 | Wesleyan (Conn.) | 956 | 7-0 | 17 |
| 17 | Hope | 913 | 8-3 | 9 |
| 18 | Albion | 801 | 12-0 | 22 |
| 19 | MIT | 627 | 8-1 | 18 |
| 20 | Colorado College | 542 | 8-3 | 10 |
| 21 | Augsburg | 499 | 9-1 | 24 |
| 22 | Babson | 406 | 8-1 | 23 |
| 23 | Birmingham Southern | 308 | 9-2 | 25 |
| 24 | Tufts | 260 | 4-2 | 19 |
| 25 | Johns Hopkins | 148 | 3-5 | 14 |
Others receiving votes and listed on two or more ballots: Chicago 81; Millikin 77; Ohio Northern 63; Springfield 56; Aurora 51; Illinois Wesleyan 49; Bethel (Minn.) 44; Ithaca 42; Transylvania 42; Stevenson 38; Susquehanna 32; Muskingum 28; Wartburg 20; UC Santa Cruz 16; Wisconsin-Oshkosh 14; Coe 12; Carnegie-Mellon 11; Whitworth 10; Carthage 9; Mary Hardin-Baylor 6; Christopher Newport 5
16 teams mentioned on only one ballot for a total of 120 combined points
Dropped Out: none
Next Poll: Sept. 27, 2022