Lexington, Ky. – The preseason Division II Coaches Top-25 Poll was released Monday afternoon by the AVCA with the Northern State University Wolves slated at No. 24 overall. NSU garnered 122 points after finishing the 2016 season with a 16-12 record and final ranking of No. 21.
The Wolves are joined by NSIC institutions No. 1 Concordia-St. Paul, No. 2 Southwest Minnesota State, No. 5 Winona State, No. 7 Minnesota Duluth, No. 10 Augustana, and No. 13 Wayne State. The league has been a perennial powerhouse in Division II volleyball with numerous teams ranked in the top-25 throughout the season. In addition to the six NSIC opponents in league play, Northern will also face No. 15 Cal State San Bernardino and No. 19 Colorado School of Mines in the opening tournament of the 2017 season.
| Rank |
School (First-Place Votes) |
Total Points |
2016 Record |
2016 Final Rank |
| 1 |
Concordia - St. Paul (38) |
1149 |
35-2 |
1 |
| 2 |
Southwest Minnesota St. (4) |
1125 |
28-6 |
2 |
| 3 |
Nebraska-Kearney |
1040 |
35-2 |
5 |
| 4 |
Alaska-Anchorage (1) |
1002 |
34-3 |
3 |
| 5 |
Winona State (3) |
987 |
27-6 |
4 |
| 6 |
Palm Beach Atlantic (2) |
965 |
32-4 |
6 |
| 7 |
Minnesota Duluth |
937 |
25-5 |
7 |
| 8 |
Lewis |
824 |
29-8 |
10 |
| 9 |
Angelo State |
752 |
34-4 |
11 |
| 10 |
Augustana (SD) |
709 |
27-6 |
8 |
| 11 |
Wheeling Jesuit |
667 |
41-3 |
9 |
| 12 |
Western Washington |
631 |
23-8 |
14 |
| 13 |
Wayne State (Neb.) |
602 |
24-8 |
12 |
| 14 |
Ferris State |
570 |
30-6 |
16 |
| 15 |
Cal State San Bernardino |
495 |
25-5 |
17 |
| 16 |
Washburn |
432 |
28-6 |
13 |
| 17 |
Tampa |
415 |
23-9 |
24 |
| 18 |
Central Oklahoma |
395 |
30-4 |
15 |
| 19 |
Colorado School of Mines |
358 |
25-7 |
20 |
| 20 |
Metro State |
287 |
27-5 |
18 |
| 21 |
Central Missouri |
262 |
23-10 |
19 |
| 22 |
Concordia (CA) |
171 |
26-3 |
22 |
| 23 |
Rockhurst |
145 |
27-7 |
23 |
| 24 |
Northern State |
122 |
16-12 |
21 |
| 25 |
Tarleton State |
110 |
27-7 |
25 |
Others receiving votes and listed on two or more ballots: Florida Southern 75; NW Nazarene 69; West Florida 44; North Alabama 39; California Baptist 31; Grand Valley State 25; Saint Leo 22; South Carolina-Aiken 20; Central Washington 16; Wingate 12; NW Missouri State 10; American International 9; Flagler 8; Arkansas-Fort Smith 6; Ashland 6; Cedarville 4
