BEVERLY, Mass. - October 11, 2017 - Johnson & Wales (R.I.), the 16th-ranked team in NCAA Division III according to the AVCA, tops the third NEWVA Regional Poll for the second straight week. JWU (19-0, 8-0 GNAC) received all six first place votes from head coaches representing women's volleyball conferences around New England.
The first of three NCAA Regional Polls will be unveiled on Wednesday, October 18. The final NEWVA Regional Poll will come out on November 15, 2017 following the NCAA New England regional tournament.
NEWVA REGIONAL POLL NO. 3
1. No. 16 (AVCA) Johnson & Wales (R.I.) (19-0, 8-0 GNAC) | 90 points | six first place votes
2. Tufts (13-4, 7-0 NESCAC) | 83 points
3. No. 15 MIT (20-1, 7-0 NEWMAC) | 79 points
4. Wesleyan (Conn.) (15-1, 6-0 NEWMAC) | 67 points
5. Babson (16-4, 5-2 NEWMAC) | 66 points
6. Middlebury (12-3, 5-1 NEWMAC) | 59 points
7. Springfield (13-5, 4-3 NEWMAC) | 52 points
8. Roger Williams (13-6, 5-0 CCC) | 46 points
9. Bowdoin (9-7, 6-1 NESCAC) | 45 points
10. Wellesley (13-3, 8-0 NEWMAC) | 42 points
T-11. Clark (11-8, 4-4 NEWMAC) | 27 points
T-11. Endicott (11-8, 4-1 CCC) | 27 points
13. Coast Guard (12-7, 4-4 NEWMAC) | 19 points
14. Plymouth St. (14-7, 2-1 LEC) | 7 points
15. Amherst (11-6, 2-4 NESCAC) | 5 points
Also receiving votes: Wentworth (2, 20-2, 4-1 CCC), Keene St. (2, 17-3, 3-0 LEC), UMass Boston (1, 7-11, 3-0 LEC)
THE TOP FIVE
1. No. 16 (AVCA) Johnson & Wales (R.I.) (19-0, 6-0 GNAC) | 90 points | six first place votes
AVCA No. 1-ranked Wittenberg (15-0) and No. 16 JWU (19-0) are the only unbeaten teams remaining in NCAA Division III. The Wildcats continued to shutout their opponents by sweeping through GNAC rivals St. Joseph (Conn.), Lasell, and Albertus Magnus. They have no dropped a set since the opening date of competition, a 3-1 win over NYU at the Kean Tournament. For the second time in three weeks, sophomore middle Kate Walker captured GNAC Player of the Week honors after averaging 4.00 kills and 2.00 blocks per set and a .700 hitting percentage. JWU has a challenging week ahead with two conference matches (Regis and Emmanuel) while taking on NEWVA-ranked Clark and UMass Boston, who is receiving votes.
2. Tufts (13-4, 7-0 NESCAC) | 83 points
Tufts went 3-0 this past week including a pair of road NESCAC victories over Amherst and Trinity (Conn.) to up their recent win streak to seven matches. Tufts and Amherst battled to five sets last Friday evening. An 18-kill effort from junior outside Mackenzie Bright helped the Jumbos control the deciding fifth-set with a 15-8 set win. Tufts is home against NEWVA-ranked No. 6 Middlebury before traveling to Endicott for a tri-match with the No. T-11 Gulls and WPI on Saturday.
3. No. 15 (AVCA) MIT (20-1, 7-0 NEWMAC) | 79 points
AVCA No. 15 MIT won in straight sets over Emmanuel and NEWVA No. T-11 Clark to make it five wins in-a-row since their loss to JWU back on September 29 handed the Engineers their only loss of 2017. MIT hosts SUNY Oneonta on Saturday, October 14 and travels to NEWVA No. 10 Wellesley on Tuesday, October 17 in their next matches of the season.
4. Wesleyan (Conn.) (15-1, 6-0 NEWMAC) | 67 points
Wesleyan (Conn.) went 3-0 last week, including impressive wins over Union (N.Y.) in four sets and NEWVA No. 6 Middlebury in five sets. Wesleyan, along with Tufts, remain the only unbeaten teams in the NESCAC. Wesleyan faces NESCAC foes Colby and Bates on the road this weekend.
5. Babson (16-4, 5-2 NEWMAC) | 66 points
After defeating both NEWVA No. T-11 Endicott and No. 14 Plymouth St. in a tri-match last Saturday, both in four sets, Babson suffered their second NEWMAC loss of 2017 courtesy of a 3-1 Wheaton (Mass.) victory on the Lyons home court. The Beavers will look to get back on track next Tuesday, October 17 with a road test against NEWVA No. 7 Springfield.
UPCOMING RANKED VS RANKED
Wednesday, October 11
No. 14 Plymouth St. at ARV UMass Boston, 6:00 p.m.
No. 15 Amherst at No. T-11 Clark, 7:00 p.m.
Friday, October 13
No. T-11 Endicott at No. 10 Wellesley, 4:30 p.m.
ARV UMass Boston at No. 8 Roger Williams, 5:00 p.m.
No. T-11 Clark at No. 1 Johnson & Wales (R.I.), 5:30 p.m.
No. 6 Middlebury at No. 2 Tufts, 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, October 14
No. T-11 Clark vs ARV UMass Boston (at JWU), 10:00 a.m.
ARV UMass Boston at No. 1 Johnson & Wales (R.I.), 12:00 p.m.
No. 2 Tufts at No. T-11 Endicott, 4:30 p.m.
Tuesday, October 17
No. 3 MIT at No. 10 Wellesley, 7:00 p.m.
No. 5 Babson at No. 7 Springfield, 7:00 p.m.
* Rankings are the most recent NEWVA Regional rankings
CONFERENCE LEADERS AROUND NEW ENGLAND
Commonwealth Coast Conference
No. 8 Roger Williams (13-6, 5-0 CCC) | NEWVA wins over Wellesley (9/9), Endicott (9/30), Springfield (10/7) | Oct. 13 vs ARV UMass Boston, 5:00 p.m.
Great Northeast Athletic Conference
No. 1 Johnson & Wales (R.I.) (19-0, 8-0 GNAC) | NEWVA wins over Bowdoin (9/16), Rivier (9/23), MIT (9/29) | Oct. 11 vs Regis (Mass.), 7:00 p.m.
Little East Conference
Keene St. (17-3, 3-0 LEC) | NEWVA win over Rivier (9/8, 9/26) | Oct. 12 at Colby-Sawyer, 7:00 p.m.
Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference
Worcester St. (15-6, 4-0 MASCAC) | Oct. 12 at UMass Dartmouth, 6:00 p.m.
North Atlantic Conference
Maine Maritime (12-9, 2-0 NAC) | Oct. 11 vs UMaine Presque Isle, 5:30 p.m.
New England Collegiate Conference
Elms (11-9, 2-0 NECC) | Oct. 12 vs Smith, 6:00 PM
New England Small College Athletic Conference
No. 2 Tufts (13-4, 7-0 NESCAC) | NEWVA wins over Bowdoin (9/19), UMass Boston (9/26), Rivier (10/4), Amherst (10/6) | Oct. 13 vs No. 6 Middlebury, 7:00 p.m.
New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference
No. 10 Wellesley (13-3, 8-0 NEWMAC) | NEWVA wins Endicott (9/9), Springfield (9/30), Clark (10/3), UMass Boston (10/6) | Oct. 13 vs No. T-11 Endicott, 4:30 p.m.