Volleyball ranked No. 22 in AVCA Preseason poll
By Caleb Scott
ADA — The Ohio Northern volleyball team is ranked No. 22 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association preseason poll, released Tuesday afternoon.
Northern received 261 points in the poll.
Calvin (Mich.) topped the poll with 1,573 points and 62 first place votes, while Emory (Ga.) came in second with 1,395 points and one first place vote, and Washington (Mo.) rounded out the top-3 with 1,358 points.
Northern finished the 2016 season with a 27-4 record and a perfect 9-0 record in the Ohio Athletic Conference, while being ranked No. 24 in the final AVCA poll.
The Polar Bears open the season on Sept. 1 as it hosts the 39th Annual ONU Invitational at the ONU Sports Center and takes on Case Western Reserve at 2 pm.
AVCA Coaches Preseason Poll
Preseason - Aug. 15, 2017
| Rank | School (First Place Votes) | Points | 2016 Record | 2016 Final Ranking |
| 1. | Calvin (Mich.) | 1573 | 33-1 | 1 |
| 2. | Emory (Ga.) | 1395 | 33-6 | 2 |
| 3. | Washington (Mo.) | 1358 | 27-11 | 3 |
| 4. | Northwestern (Minn.) | 1323 | 34-5 | 6 |
| 5. | Southwestern (Tex.) | 1291 | 34-5 | 4 |
| 6. | Cal Lutheran | 1201 | 27-5 | 5 |
| 7. | Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (Cal.) | 1126 | 23-4 | 10 |
| 8. | Texas-Dallas | 1043 | 32-3 | 7 |
| 9. | Colorado College | 1018 | 28-6 | 9 |
| 10. | Mary Washington (Va.) | 1001 | 31-4 | 8 |
| 11. | Wittenberg | 932 | 22-6 | 13 |
| 12. | Wis.-Whitewater | 855 | 29-7 | 11 |
| 13. | Juniata (Pa.) | 815 | 26-7 | 12 |
| 14. | Trinity (Tex.) | 720 | 27-8 | 16 |
| 15. | Hope (Mich.) | 672 | 25-6 | 15 |
| 16. | Eastern (Pa.) | 595 | 32-6 | 14 |
| 17. | Millikin (Ill.) | 530 | 28-12 | t17 |
| 18. | Wis.-LaCrosse | 415 | 23-6 | t17 |
| 19. | Tufts (Mass.) | 379 | 27-4 | 20 |
| 20. | Hendrix (Ark.) | 315 | 25-8 | 21 |
| 21. | Elmhurst (Ill.) | 291 | 23-13 | 19 |
| 22. | Ohio Northern | 261 | 27-4 | 24 |
| 23. | Wis.-Oshkosh | 237 | 28-8 | 23 |
| 24. | Gustavus Adolphus (Minn.) | 174 | 24-8 | RV |
| 25. | La Verne (Cal.) | 153 | 22-7 | 22 |
Others receiving votes: DePauw 80; Ithaca 69; MIT 68; Illinois Wesleyan 57; Carnegie-Mellon 53; Chicago 50; Randolph-Macon 42; Johnson & Wales (RI) 41; Wisconsin-Stevens Point 37; Springfield 31; St. Thomas (Minn.) 29; Christopher Newport 27; Stevens 25; SUNY Brockport 20; Wartburg 18; Bethel (Minn.) 14; UMass-Boston 12; Swarthmore 11; Wisconsin-Eau Claire 11; Ramapo 10; Clarkson 6; Heidelberg 6; Stevenson 6; Susquehanna 5; Johns Hopkins 4