Ohio State squeaks by Long Beach to stay No. 1 in media poll

Ohio State remained atop the media poll following its first loss of the season — but barely did so.

Ohio State received the majority of first-place votes and finished two points ahead of Long Beach State for the No. 1 ranking in the newest Off the Block/Springbak, Inc. National Media Poll that was released on Tuesday.


The voting gap narrowing between these two teams comes days after Ohio State lost to UC Irvine to end its 42-match winning streak. The Buckeyes were the last remaining undefeated team in the nation and defeated the 49ers earlier this year as part of their MIVA-record winning streak.

This was the first time this season Ohio State was not the unanimous No. 1 ranked team. Long Beach State earned two first-place votes, while No. 3 BYU received the other first-place vote.

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UC Irvine following its road upset of Ohio State jumped one spot to No. 5.

Along with UC Irvine, there was other movement in the bottom half of the top-10 media poll.

USC for the first time this season earned a spot in the weekly poll as it was ranked No. 9 after it defeated Lewis last week. Lewis as a result of that loss and a loss to UCLA dropped two spots to No. 7.

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 10)
1. Ohio State — 102 (8) points
2. Long Beach State — 100 (2) points
3. BYU — 91 (1) points
4. Hawai’i — 79 points
5. UC Irvine — 65 points
6. UCLA — 57 points
7. Lewis — 38 points
8. Stanford — 23 points
9. USC — 13 points
10. Loyola — 12 points
Others receiving votes: Pepperdine 10; Ball State 7; Grand Canyon 5; Sacred Heart 2