Off the Block releases new Division II coaches poll

Photo courtesy of North Greenville athletics

Jonathan Bates | Associate Editor

The biggest riser in the Division II coaches poll this week is No. 7 North Greenville, who moved up two spots in the poll released on Wednesday morning.

The Crusaders have won their last five matches and have won a program-best 18 matches in coach Fred Battenfield’s final season.

The ConfCarolinas regular season champs clinched a double-bye in the conference tournament, when coach Battenfield won his 100th match at the school last Saturday.

<

North Greenville leads ConfCarolinas with 1.55 aces per game, 11.88 kills per game and a .201 opponent attack percentage. Individually, the Crusaders are led by middle attacker Michael de la Cruz who leads the team with 75 blocks, 38 aces and a .409 attack percentage.

No. 1 Lewis garnered all nine first-place votes this week. The top six remain the same from last week, and no teams dropped from the poll.

This will be the final poll of the regular season, but we will conduct one final poll at the conclusion of the season.

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 25 Division II teams determines the weekly rankings for the Division II National Coaches Poll.

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

Off the Block Division II Coaches Poll

RankTeamRecordPointsPreviousTrend
1Lewis 15-1190 (9)1
2Concordia-Irvine10-14782
3McKendree14-10753
4Lincoln Memorial17-7614
5Lindenwood8-13545
6Mount Olive 14-6356
7North Greenville 18-5289+2
8Limestone 17-8237-1
9Daemen13-5219-1
10Charleston8-131610

Also receiving votes: King 11, Queens 1

Dropping out: None