UT Concludes Season At Number Two In National Poll
LEXINGTON, Ky. - After advancing to the national championship match, The University of Tampa volleyball team earned a No. 2 ranking in the final AVCA Division II Top 25 poll.
UT, follows four-time national champion Concordia University of St. Paul, who received all 32 first-place votes. Tampa's national semifinal opponent Central Missouri, Cal State-San Bernardino and Nebraska-Kearney round out the top-five.
Tampa is joined by NCAA South Region opponent West Florida in the top-25, with the Argonauts holding down the No. 19 spot. Sunshine State Conference foes Lynn and Florida Southern each received votes.
Tampa finished the season with an overall record of 31-4 and won 21 of its final 22 matches.
After breezing through the NCAA South Regional with three-set sweeps of Kentucky State, Lynn and West Florida, UT then swept Grand Valley State and Central Missouri in the NCAA quarterfinals and semifinals.
The lone SSC school in the top-25, the Spartans played 12 matches versus teams that appear in the final top-25. With a 9-3 record versus ranked opponents, Tampa defeated Concordia, Central Missouri, Nebraska-Kearney, Grand Valley State (twice), Lewis and West Florida (three times) in the 2010 season.
The 2006 national champions have now been represented in 203 consecutive polls, marking the nation's second longest active streak (Central Missouri). Head coach Chris Catanach's squad is no stranger to the top of the polls, spending a total of 23 weeks at No. 1. UT previously held the top spot in the 2007 preseason poll and has been in the top-10 every week since 2004.