BEVERLY, Mass. - October 11, 2017 - Wellesley (14-4, 8-1 NEWMAC) jumped four spots in the latest installment of the NEWVA Regional Poll into the No. 6 slot. Johnson & Wales (R.I.) continued to their stranglehold on the top position by receiving all eight first-place votes.
The first of three NCAA Regional Polls was also unveiled earlier today. The next NEWVA Regional Poll will come out on October 25, 2017.
NEWVA REGIONAL POLL NO. 4
1. No. 14 (AVCA) Johnson & Wales (R.I.) (23-0, 10-0 GNAC) | 120 points | eight first-place votes
2. Tufts (15-5, 8-0 NESCAC) | 108 points
3. No. 15 (AVCA) MIT (22-1, 8-0 NEWMAC) | 107 points
4. Wesleyan (Conn.) (16-2, 7-1 NESCAC) | 91 points
5. Babson (17-4, 6-2 NEWMAC) | 88 points
6. Wellesley (14-4, 8-1 NEWMAC) | 79 points
7. Roger Williams (15-6, 6-0 CCC) | 73 points
8. Springfield (14-8, 4-4 NEWMAC) | 68 points
9. Bowdoin (11-7, 7-1 NESCAC) | 55 points
10. Middlebury (14-5, 5-3 NESCAC) | 46 points
11. Endicott (14-9, 5-1 CCC) | 45 points
12. Clark (14-9, 5-4 NEWMAC) | 30 points
13. Coast Guard (15-9, 5-4 NEWMAC) | 25 points
14. Keene St. (19-3, 4-0 LEC) | 7 points
15. Plymouth St. (16-8, 2-2 LEC) | 6 points
Also receiving votes: Wentworth (5, 22-2, 4-1 CCC), UMass Boston (4, 8-14, 4-0 LEC), Amherst (1, 12-8, 3-5 NESCAC)
THE TOP FIVE
1. No. 14 (AVCA) Johnson & Wales (R.I.) (23-0, 10-0 GNAC) | 120 points | eight first-place votes
Johnson & Wales (R.I.) continues to sweep through the opposition as the Wildcats won four matches over the last week - Regis (Mass.), NEWVA No. 12 Clark, Emmanuel (Mass.) and UMass Boston. GNAC Corvias Rookie of the Week honors went to Hannah Dolan who averaged 2.55 kills and 0.82 blocks on the week. Will this be the week JWU suffers a loss? This week's opponents are all regionally-ranked by the NCAA with matches against Mid-Atlantic No. 4 Juniata and No. 6 Susquehanna as well as New England No. 3 Wesleyan (Conn.).
2. Tufts (15-5, 8-0 NESCAC) | 108 points
Tufts defeated NESCAC rival, NEWVA No. 10 Middlebury, in four sets last Friday evening. On Saturday, in a tri-match with WPI and NEWVA No. 11 Endicott, the Jumbos swept through the Engineers but lost a five-setter to the Gulls on the road. Tufts battled back from a two-set deficit to force a fifth and deciding set but came up short to end a nine-match winning streak. Tufts travels to Williams College for the New England Challenge where they face NEWMAC powerhouses MIT, Babson, and Springfield this weekend.
3. No. 15 (AVCA) MIT (22-1, 8-0 NEWMAC) | 107 points
MIT upped their recent winning streak to seven matches thanks to 3-0 wins over both SUNY Oneonta and NEWVA No. 6 Wellesley. The Engineers take on a trio of NESCAC opponents at the New England Challenge this weekend - Tufts, Williams, and Middlebury.
4. Wesleyan (Conn.) (16-2, 7-1 NESCAC) | 91 points
Wesleyan (Conn.) split their NESCAC road matches last weekend, beating Colby 3-0 before suffered a straight-set loss to Bates. The Cardinals have a marquee showdown with NEWVA No. 1 JWU on Thursday night before heading down to Pennsylvania to face AVCA No. 19 Juniata and Susquehanna on Saturday.
5. Babson (17-4, 6-2 NEWMAC) | 88 points
Tuesday evening was Babson's lone match over the past week and the Beavers made it an exciting one. Babson rallied from two sets down to beat NEWVA No. 8 and NEWMAC rival Springfield 3-2 on the road. Babson faces Middlebury, Tufts, and Williams at the New England Challenge this weekend.
UPCOMING RANKED VS RANKED
Thursday, October 19
No. 1 Johnson & Wales (R.I.) at No. 4 Wesleyan (Conn.), 7:00 p.m.
Friday, October 20
No. 5 Babson vs No. 10 Middlebury (at Williams), 7:00 p.m.
No. 2 Tufts vs No. 3 MIT, 7:00 p.m. (at Williams), 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, October 21
No. 13 Coast Guard vs No. 9 Bowdoin (at Amherst), 9:00 a.m.
No. 2 Tufts vs No. 5 Babson (at Williams), 11:00 a.m.
No. 8 Springfield vs No. 10 Middlebury (at Williams), 11:00 a.m.
No. 2 Tufts vs No. 8 Springfield (at Williams), 3:30 p.m.
No. 3 MIT vs No. 10 Middlebury (at Williams), 3:30 p.m.
No. 12 Clark at No. 15 Plymouth St., 4:00 p.m.
Tuesday, October 23
No. 14 Keene St. at No. 15 Plymouth St., 6:00 p.m.
No. 6 Wellesley at No. 5 Babson, 7:00 p.m.
* Rankings are the most recent NEWVA Regional rankings
CONFERENCE LEADERS AROUND NEW ENGLAND
Commonwealth Coast Conference
No. 8 Roger Williams (15-6, 6-0 CCC) | NEWVA wins over Wellesley (9/9), Endicott (9/30), Springfield (10/7) | Oct. 18 vs Nichols, 7:00 p.m.
Great Northeast Athletic Conference
No. 1 Johnson & Wales (R.I.) (23-0, 10-0 GNAC) | NEWVA wins over Bowdoin (9/16), Rivier (9/23), MIT (9/29), Clark (10/13) | Oct. 19 at No. 4 Wesleyan (Conn.), 7:00 p.m.
Little East Conference
Keene St. (19-3, 4-0 LEC) | NEWVA win over Rivier (9/8, 9/26) | Oct. 18 at UMass Boston, 6:00 p.m.
Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference
Worcester St. (17-7, 5-0 MASCAC) | Oct. 18 vs Bridgewater St., 6:00 p.m.
North Atlantic Conference
Maine Maritime (16-9, 5-0 NAC) | Oct. 21 vs New England Col., 12:00 p.m. (at Husson), and Colby-Sawyer, 2:00 p.m. (at Husson)
New England Collegiate Conference
Elms (14-9, 4-0 NECC) | Oct. 21 vs Mitchell, 12:00 PM
New England Small College Athletic Conference
No. 2 Tufts (15-5, 8-0 NESCAC) | NEWVA wins over Bowdoin (9/19), UMass Boston (9/26), Rivier (10/4), Amherst (10/6), Middlebury (10/13) | Oct. 20 vs No. 3 MIT, 7:00 p.m. (at Williams, New England Challenge)
New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference
No. 2 MIT (22-1, 8-0 NEWMAC) | NEWVA wins Roger Williams (9/8), Endicott (9/9), Springfield (9/12), Keene. St. (9/30), Babson (10/3), Clark (10/10), Wellesley (10/17) | Oct. 20 vs No. 2 Tufts, 7:00 p.m. (at Williams, New England Challenge)