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For the first time in the media poll’s recent history, Harvard is a nationally ranked team.
Harvard received eight votes and jumped ahead of Hawai’i for the No. 10 spot in the latest top 10 national media poll released Tuesday.
Check out this week’s top 10 men’s volleyball media poll and my ballot with explanations on why I ranked each team where I did.
Let the debate begin on who are the best teams in the nation.
Volleyball Magazine Men’s Division I-II Top 10 Poll
1. UC Irvine — 100 (10) points
2. Long Beach State — 86 points
3. BYU — 83 points
4. Ohio State — 60 points
5. Pepperdine — 59 points
6. Stanford — 56 points
7. UCLA — 41 points
8. Cal State Northridge — 27 points
9. Penn State — 18 points
10. Harvard — 8 points
Others receiving votes: Hawai’i, Lewis
My Volleyball Magazine Men’s Division I-II Top 10 Poll ballot
1. UC Irvine (14-3, 11-3 MPSF)
Last week’s results: defeated Hawai’i twice
The Anteaters are on a nation-best 10 match winning streak and are playing its best volleyball heading into its match against No. 3 BYU on Friday
2. Long Beach State (12-4, 10-3 MPSF)
Last week’s results: defeated Cal State Northridge
Outside attacker Taylor Crabb is second in the nation averaging 4.28 kills per game. Midway through the season, Crabb is a legitimate candidate for national player of the year.
3. BYU (11-3, 10-2 MPSF)
Last week’s results: defeated Pacific and Stanford
Outside attackers Taylor Sander and Ben Patch combined for 51 kills in an epic five-game victory against Stanford on Saturday. When both these outsides are playing well, the Cougars are near impossible to beat.
4. Ohio State (11-2, 4-0 MIVA)
Last week’s results: Juniata
It wasn’t a repeat of 2009 when Ohio State lost to Juniata. Instead it another quiet weekend in Columbus, Ohio, as the Buckeyes winning streak continues to grow.
5. Pepperdine (8-5, 8-5 MPSF)
Last week’s results: defeated UC Santa Barbara, lost to UCLA
Pepperdine suffered its first home loss of the season getting swept by UCLA. Don’t expect the Waves to lose many more at home.
6. Stanford (10-6, 7-6 MPSF)
Last week’s results: lost to BYU
Watching Stanford play this year just reminds you that it will be the heavy favorite to win the NCAA championship next year.
7. Harvard (9-2, 5-1 EIVA)
Last week’s results: defeated Rutgers-Newark and NJIT
The Crimson not only are on a six-match winning steak — it hasn’t lost a game since Feb. 5.
8. Penn State (12-3, 5-1 EIVA)
Last week’s results: defeated George Mason and Princeton
These were two wins Penn State needed after its conference loss to Harvard. This EIVA season won’t be a waltz for Penn State, but still expect them to be in contention for a Final Four spot.
9. Lewis (11-5, 7-0 MIVA)
Last week’s results: defeated Ball State and IPFW
Outside attacker Jay Petty is starting to fully recover from the torn shoulder labrum that he played with during the postseason last year. That’s not good news for the rest of the MIVA.
10. UCLA (11-8, 7-6 MPSF)
Last week’s results: defeated Pepperdine
UCLA has back-to-back wins for the first time since the beginning of the season. Things are starting to turn around for the Bruins after a few rough weeks.
ON THE BUBBLE
Cal State Northridge — The Matadors looked primed to make a return to the MPSF Tournament for the second consecutive year.