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Ball State has earned a ranking in the National Media Poll for the first time this season.
The Cardinals jumped to the final spot of the top-10 Off the Block/Springbak, Inc. National Media Poll that was released Tuesday.
Ball State on the road defeated Lindenwood and Quincy to move into a tie for fourth place in the MIVA. In addition, the Cardinals have won five of their last seven MIVA matches and had a six-match winning streak in the opening month of the season.
The MIVA had a season-high four teams in the media poll. Ohio State remained the unanimous No. 1 and Lewis stayed at No. 5 for the second straight week, while Loyola dropped one spot to No. 8.
Along with Ohio State and Lewis, the top five in the rankings remained unchanged with Long Beach State at No. 2, BYU at No. 3 and Hawai’i at No. 4.
UC Irvine also jumped ahead of UCLA to No. 6 in the rankings after defeating the Bruins in a fifth-game overtime on Friday.
The Off the Block/Springbak, Inc. National Media Poll is the only rankings in NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball solely determined by media members. The 10 teams receiving the most votes are ranked in the National Media Poll, while other schools earning votes but finishing outside of the top 10 are considered teams receiving votes.
Off the Block is a website that started in January 2011 and has become the nation’s leader in college men’s volleyball coverage. Springbak, Inc. is the official sponsor of the National Media Poll and produces high performance footwear used by professional athletes from the NFL, NBA, MLB and U.S. Olympic teams and the top college teams in the nation.
OFF THE BLOCK/SPRINGBAK, INC. NATIONAL MEDIA POLL (Week 8)
1. Ohio State — 100 (10) points
2. Long Beach State — 88 points
3. BYU — 81 points
4. Hawai’i — 70 points
5. Lewis — 56 points
6. UC Irvine — 45 points
7. UCLA — 42 points
8. Loyola — 33 points
9 Stanford — 19 points
10. Ball State — 6 points
Others receiving votes: Pepperdine 4; USC 4; CSUN 1; Sacred Heart 1