McKendree University Athletic Department issued the following announcement on Dec. 20
For the first time in program history, McKendree University men's volleyball made history on Monday as they were ranked 14th in the Preseason AVCA Division I-II Men's Poll.
The preseason national ranking is the first for the program in school history and the Bearcats were one of five teams from the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) ranked in the AVCA preseason Top 15 poll.
In this year's AVCA Preseason poll, the Bearcats earned 34 points to sit 14 points in front of Ball State, George Mason and NJIT, who each earned 20 points to sit tied for 15th and were 17 points behind No. 13 Ohio State, who earned 51 points.
Hawai'i opens the season ranked No. 1 in the preseason poll as they earned 263 points and 12 first place votes. UCLA is ranked No. 2 as they earned 250 points and a first place vote, while Pepperdine is third as they received 244 points and a first place vote.
In addition to Ball State and Ohio State, the other MIVA teams ranked by the AVCA in the preseason men's poll as Loyola-Chicago is ranked No. 7 and Lewis is ranked No. 8.
The Bearcats, who were tabbed to finish fifth in the Preseason MIVA poll, are scheduled to play a total of 12 matches against teams ranked in the 2022 Preseason AVCA Division I-II poll as McKendree will open the season with two matches at ninth-ranked Grand Canyon and will also play two matches each in MIVA play against Ohio State, Ball State, Loyola-Chicago and Lewis and host two matches on March 4-5 against Pepperdine.
During the 2021 season, McKendree, who is coached by Nickie Sanlin, posted an 11-6 overall record and went 9-5 in MIVA play. The Bearcats fell in the semifinals of the MIVA Tournament to Loyola-Chicago and were ranked as high as No. 6 in the AVCA poll during the season.
Original source can be found here.
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