The Southwestern University Volleyball team is ranked 18th in the American Volleyball Coaches Association Division III Preseason Coaches Poll.
The Pirates earned the 18th spot coming off their bid to the NCAA Tournament in 2021, reaching the tournament for the first time since 2017. The Pirates advanced past Washington & Lee in the first round but gave up the second round to Berry College. Berry, who would go all the way to the quarter-finals, is ranked 6th in the 2022 AVCA Preseason Poll, just under fellow SCAC team, Trinity University.
The 2022 Pirates team will return two 2021 All-SCAC players including senior middle blocker Riley Brantley and senior outside hitter Emma White, who is coming off a season where she earned NCAA Regional All-Tournament Team honors, AVCA All-Region Honorable Mention, the SCAC Elite 19 award and was named SCAC All-Tournament Team. Returning for the Pirates as well is junior middle blocker Andie Valenzuela who earned a SCAC All-Tournament nomination in 2021.
The Pirates will face eight teams throughout their schedule that received preseason top 25 votes including four teams who made the top 25 list. To view the Pirates' full schedule, click here.
AVCA DIVISION III PRESEASON COACHES POLL:
AUGUST 19, 2022
| Rank | School (First-Place Votes Adjusted) | Total Points Adjusted | 2022 Record | Previous Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wisconsin-Eau Claire (72) | 2165 | 0-0 | NR |
| 2 | Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (11) | 2125 | 0-0 | NR |
| 3 | Calvin (4) | 2074 | 0-0 | NR |
| 4 | Juniata | 1903 | 0-0 | NR |
| 5 | Trinity [Texas] (1) | 1811 | 0-0 | NR |
| 6 | Berry (1) | 1742 | 0-0 | NR |
| 7 | NYU | 1536 | 0-0 | NR |
| 8 | Emory (1) | 1460 | 0-0 | NR |
| 9 | Johns Hopkins | 1341 | 0-0 | NR |
| 10 | Hope | 1239 | 0-0 | NR |
| 11 | MIT | 1163 | 0-0 | NR |
| 12 | Wartburg | 1095 | 0-0 | NR |
| 13 | Tufts | 1061 | 0-0 | NR |
| 14 | Colorado College | 1020 | 0-0 | NR |
| 15 | Northwestern (Minn.) | 961 | 0-0 | NR |
| 16 | Wisconsin-Whitewater | 877 | 0-0 | NR |
| 17 | Otterbein | 795 | 0-0 | NR |
| 18 | Southwestern (Texas) | 660 | 0-0 | NR |
| 19 | Gustavus Adolphus | 627 | 0-0 | NR |
| 20 | Bethel (Minn.) | 519 | 0-0 | NR |
| 21 | Wesleyan (Conn.) | 458 | 0-0 | NR |
| 22 | Susquehanna | 409 | 0-0 | NR |
| 23 | Ohio Northern | 335 | 0-0 | NR |
| 24 | Transylvania | 270 | 0-0 | NR |
| 25 | Chicago | 214 | 0-0 | NR |
Others receiving votes and listed on two or more ballots: Aurora 134; Babson 102; Wisconsin-Stevens Point 95; Christopher Newport 91; Wittenberg 89; Mary Hardin-Baylor 88; Whitworth 76; Bowdoin 68; Wisconsin-Oshkosh 61; SUNY Cortland 56; Springfield 47; UC Santa Cruz 44; Denison 36; Pacific Lutheran 31; Carnegie-Mellon 27; Cornell (Iowa) 26; Texas-Dallas 26; Birmingham Southern 25; Haverford 24; Carthage 22; Clarkson 22; Mount Union 18; Stevenson 18; Middlebury 17; Stevens 14; Augsburg 13; Scranton 12; Coe 10; Mary Washington 10; Wisconsin-La Crosse 9; Washington & Lee 8; Endicott 2.
13 teams mentioned on only one ballot for a total of 69 combined points.
Next Poll: September 6, 2022