Concordia-Irvine drops out of Division II coaches poll for first time all year

Jonathan Bates | Off the Block associate editor

Concordia-Irvine started off the season with six straight losses, and now 17 matches into the season the Eagles only have one victory versus another Division I/II team – Grand Canyon.

No. 1 Lewis received all 11 first place votes this week, something they have achieved six times out of eight weeks this season.

Lewis has not lost a game in their last six matches. This past weekend, the Flyers defeated a pair of MIVA foes on the road – Ohio State and No. 4 McKendree. Middle attacker TJ Murray was honored as the Off the Block middle attacker of the week for his 21 kills (while attacking at a .563 clip) and 10 total blocks. This coming weekend, Lewis travels to Loyola-Chicago in a match should go a long way to determining the MIVA regular season champion.

No. 2 Barton defeated conference foe, Mount Olive, and non-conference foe Queens last week. Angelos Mandilaris had 28 kills, 11 digs, and four aces this past weekend and won ConfCarolinas player of the week honors for the second time this year. The junior opposite leads the team with 190 kills this year, and has at least nine kills in but one match this year. This Friday, the Bulldogs travel to Belmont Abbey for a ConfCarolinas match.

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No. 3 UC San Diego split the pair of Northern California matches this past weekend – defeated Division III power, UC Santa Cruz, while falling to MPSF member, Stanford. The Tritons swept the conference awards of the week – Collin Shannon won player of the week honors, Ryan Lew won defensive player of the week honors, and Blake Crisp won freshman of the week honors. This Friday, UC San Diego travels to UC Santa Barbara for a Big West conference match.

No. 4 McKendree lost both of their matches this past weekend, to Loyola and No. 1 Lewis. Francisco Comas was named Off the Block Libero of the Week on the strength of his 25 combined digs, including 15 against Loyola. The Bearcats travel to Columbus for a pair of conference matches versus Ohio State.

No. 5 Lincoln Memorial was scheduled to play matches versus fellow independents, Daemen and Alderson Broaddus, but the tri-match was canceled due to the lack eligible players for Alderson Broaddus. The Railsplitters are scheduled to play Queens, Cumberland, and Alderson Broaddus this weekend, all at home.

Also receiving votes this week are Concordia-Irvine, King, and Lindenwood

Both NCAA Division I and NCAA Division II men’s volleyball programs compete for the same national championship. The AVCA National Coaches Poll ranks the top 15 Division I-II men’s volleyball teams and is released each Monday during the regular season.

A national voting committee comprised of coaches from the more than 20 Division II teams determines the weekly rankings for the Division II National Coaches Poll.

Off the Block is a website that launched in 2011 and is the nation’s leader in college men’s volleyball coverage.

The Division II National Coaches Poll will be released on the Off the Block website every Tuesday during the regular season.

Off the Block Division II Coaches Poll

RankTeamRecordPointsPreviousTrend
1Lewis13-455 (11)1
2Barton11-3442
3UC San Diego6-10273
4McKendree6-7204
5Lincoln Memorial7-69RV+1

Others receiving votes: Concordia-Irvine 7, King 2, Lindenwood 1
Dropped out: Concordia-Irvine