Lexington, Ky. – The 2019 Northern State University volleyball team will open the season ranked No. 8 in the AVCA Top-25 Poll, following the Tuesday announcement by the organization. The Wolves earned 790 points after going 26-5 in 2018 with a final AVCA ranking of No. 10.
Northern State had now spent 55 consecutive weeks as a member of the top-25, which spans over five seasons of competition. The Wolves, who were picked to win the NSIC, are joined by league opponents No. 5 Concordia-St. Paul, No. 6 Minnesota Duluth, No. 9 Southwest Minnesota State, (RV) Wayne State, and (RV) Sioux Falls. In addition regional opponents No. 4 Washburn, No. 11 Nebraska Kearney, No. 17 Central Missouri, No. 22 Central Oklahoma, and (RV) Northwest Missouri State made the list proving the strength and prowess of the NCAA Central Region.
| RK. |
School |
Points |
2018 Rec. |
2018 Rank |
| 1 |
Tampa (43) |
1142 |
35-4 |
1 |
| 2 |
Cal State San Bernardino |
1040 |
28-3 |
4 |
| 3 |
Western Washington (1) |
1023 |
32-5 |
2 |
| 4 |
Washburn (2) |
981 |
33-5 |
3 |
| 5 |
Concordia - St. Paul |
931 |
24-9 |
6 |
| 6 |
Minnesota Duluth |
905 |
28-6 |
5 |
| 7 |
Lewis |
828 |
30-9 |
7 |
| 8 |
Northern State |
790 |
26-5 |
10 |
| 9 |
Southwest Minnesota State |
732 |
23-9 |
8 |
| 10 |
Tarleton State |
688 |
32-6 |
9 |
| 11 |
Nebraska-Kearney |
655 |
33-3 |
12 |
| 12 |
Ferris State |
561 |
27-5 |
14 |
| 13 |
Wheeling |
548 |
37-5 |
11 |
| 14 |
Rockhurst |
512 |
32-7 |
16 |
| 15 |
Palm Beach Atlantic |
487 |
29-5 |
13 |
| 16 |
Barry |
462 |
29-4 |
19 |
| 17 |
Central Missouri |
436 |
25-8 |
15 |
| 18 |
Drury |
369 |
28-7 |
17 |
| 19 |
Cal State L. A. |
288 |
22-6 |
22 |
| T-20 |
Cal Poly Pomona |
244 |
24-6 |
18 |
| T-20 |
Texas A&M-Commerce |
244 |
30-6 |
21 |
| 22 |
Central Oklahoma |
179 |
27-7 |
23 |
| 23 |
Central Washington |
144 |
23-6 |
25 |
| 24 |
West Florida |
125 |
26-8 |
24 |
| 25 |
Wingate |
104 |
32-2 |
20 |
Others receiving votes: Gannon 61; Colorado Mesa 58; Michigan Tech 55; Wayne State (Neb.) 49; Azusa Pacific 47; Sioux Falls 31; Colorado School of Mines 30; Ashland 26; Northwest Missouri State 26; Chaminade 25; Florida Southern 23; American International 19; Saint Leo 19; Angelo State 16; Hillsdale 16; Illinois-Springfield 12; Dixie State-Utah 6; Cal State San Marcos 5
