NECVA POLLS HOME
JERSEY CITY, NJ…Baruch College is the No. 1 ranked team in the North East Collegiate Volleyball Association Top 10 poll for the fourth consecutive week and the unanimous #1 team for the third week in a row as the Bearcats (25-2, 12-0 CUNYAC) continued to roll. Baruch, winners of 17 in a row thru matches of March 7, 2010, earned all 10 first-place votes and 100 points, winning three CUNYAC Division games against City Tech, CCNY and Brooklyn last week. Baruch also remains ranked #4 nationally.
The new No. 2 ranked team is Vassar College, which climbed one spot from a tie for third last week, and vaulted from ninth nationally, to fifth. The Brewers (15-6, 7-0 Metro), have won nine consecutive matches and are an incredible 23-2 all-time in the Metro Division since joining the league in 2008. Last week, the Brewers defeated SUNY New Paltz and New Jersey City in league play.
Endicott College (18-4, 8-0 New England) continues to win and the Gulls are now in their highest position ever in the conference poll, climbing from fifth to third. Endicott’s previous high was fourth on February 28, 2005. Last week the Gulls downed #10 Milwaukee School of Engineering and Regis and have now won 12 straight.
Rivier College (22-6, 9-1 GNAC) slips two spots, from second to fourth, down from 86 points to 67 this week. Rivier went 4-2 last week, defeating Lasell and Emerson in GNAC matches, and then #15 Nazareth and #8 Medaille in non-conference road matches, but lost in a neutral court match to Newbury and a league game against Emmanuel.
Medaille College (16-8, 8-0 Western) gained two points and one spot in the poll to fifth. The Mavericks defeated Newbury and D’Youville, but lost at home, 3-2, against Rivier.
Philadelphia Biblical University slides from a tie for third to sixth place and from 70 to 47 points. The Crimson Eagles (16-6, 5-0 Western) defeated Eastern Mennonite and D’Youville, but lost at New Paltz and vs. Sacred Heart.
MIT (21-7, 9-2 New England) remains seventh in the poll, going 4-1 overall last week, with wins over Newbury, Bard, Mount Saint Vincent and then #5 Carthage, with only a home loss in the MIT Invitational to #10 Milwaukee School of Engineering.
The biggest winner of the week was clearly Emmanuel College. The Saints (21-7, 9-1 GNAC) were a perfect 6-0 last week with wins over three nationally ranked teams, surging from three points last week to 37 in this week’s vote, good for a tie with MIT for seventh place. It’s only the sixth time the Saints have ever been ranked in the NECVA Poll and the second time this year and represents the best ranking ever. Emmanuel was previously eighth on January 30, 2006. Last week, the Saints handed then #6 Rivier their first-ever GNAC loss and downed #10 Milwaukee School of Engineering. Emmanuel added four wins at the MIT Invitational over New Haven, Bard, then #5 Carthage, and Mount Saint Vincent.
Ramapo (15-6, 7-1 Metro) continues to quietly have a solid year. The Roadrunners dropped from ninth to eighth this week, but gained nine points (22 to 31) after wins against Sage, then #13 SUNY New Paltz and NYU-Polytechnic, in league play.
Newbury (16-9, 9-1 New England) also dropped one spot, from ninth to 10th this week. The Nighthawks loss at MIT and then #8 Medaille, but defeated then #15 Nazareth on the road, before outlasting Rivier, 3-2, in a neutral site match.
SUNY New Paltz (11-11, 3-2 Metro) dropped out after a 1-3 week against solid opponents, but still received seven points. Nazareth (10-10) received one vote.
The NECVA will release its weekly Top 10 Poll each Tuesday, leading up to the 2010 NECVA championship, April 9-11, in Hyannis, Cape Cod, Massachusetts.
|
RK
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AVCA
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TEAM (#1 VOTES)
|
RECORD
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TOTAL PTS
|
LAST WEEK
|
LAST WEEK POINTS
|
|
1
|
#4
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Baruch College (10)
|
25-2
|
100
|
1
|
100
|
|
2
|
#5
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Vassar College
|
15-6
|
76
|
3t
|
70
|
|
3
|
#6
|
Endicott College
|
18-4
|
74
|
5
|
58
|
|
4
|
#7
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Rivier College
|
22-6
|
67
|
2
|
86
|
|
5
|
#9
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Medaille College
|
16-8
|
56
|
6
|
54
|
|
6
|
#8
|
Philadelphia Biblical
|
16-6
|
47
|
3t
|
70
|
|
7
|
#13
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MIT
|
21-7
|
37
|
7
|
40
|
|
7
|
#10
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Emmanuel College
|
21-7
|
37
|
RV
|
3
|
|
9
|
#14
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Ramapo College
|
15-6
|
31
|
8
|
22
|
|
10
|
NR
|
Newbury College
|
16-9
|
17
|
9
|
19
|
Dropped Out: #10 SUNY New Paltz
Also Receiving Votes: SUNY New Paltz (11-11), 7; Nazareth College (10-10), 1.
Note: Points represent total out of 10. A team voted No. 1 on a ballot receives 10 points, No. 2 receives 9 points, No. 3 receives 8 points, and so forth.
ABOUT THE NECVA:
The North East Collegiate Volleyball Association, the largest known single-sport conference in the United States, is in its 16th year of competition during the 2010 season as a leading Division III men’s volleyball conference. Founded in 1995 as the Metro Conference, it became known as the NECVA in 1998. Currently comprised of 44 colleges and universities stretching across 10 states from New Hampshire to Virginia, Albertus Magnus College, Daniel Webster College, Emerson College and St. Joseph’s College (Brooklyn) joined the conference for the 2009 campaign. New teams in 2010 include Regis College and Sage Colleges.
The league is divided into five smaller divisions: CUNY (8), GNAC (7), Metro (10), New England (9), and Western (9) with one associate member. Each week, schools from the five divisions nominate athletes and then vote for the divisional Player and Rookie of the Week awards. The conference sports information office then selects the NECVA Player and Rookie honors from each of these five divisional winners.
The NECVA holds an annual 16-team conference tournament each April with the top two schools in each division and six at-large selections earning berths. The NECVA champion receives one of four automatic bids to the Molten Division III Final Four in April.
2010 POLL VOTERS:
Tim Byram, Endicott College (NE Division); Paul Dill, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (NE Division); Patrick Dorywalski, Stevens Institute of Technology (Metro Division); Bill Gorman, Wentworth Institute of Technology (NE Division); Keith Koch, Medaille College (Western Division); Craig Kolek, Rivier College (GNAC Division); John Neves; Baruch College (CUNYAC Division); Ira Thor, NECVA Assistant Commissioner for Athletic Communications/New Jersey City University; Don Vanderbeck, Ramapo College (At-large voter); Cal Wickens, Nazareth College (Western Division); Chris Wright, Emmanuel College (GNAC Division).