UT Drops Four Spots in Latest Set of National Rankings
LEXINGTON, Ky. - Following a week where it went 4-1 against NCAA South Region opponents, the University of Tampa volleyball team is now No. 6 in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association of America (AVCA) national poll.
The Spartans were previously No. 2, but fell following a four-set loss to then-No. 22 West Florida at the Red Elephant Café South Region Crossover.
Southwest Minnesota State is the top-ranked team for the second consecutive week, followed by Concordia-St. Paul, Washburn, Nebraska-Kearney and Minnesota-Duluth. Southwest Minnesota State received 28 of the the 32 first-place votes with three going to Concordia and one to No. 8 BYU-Hawaii.
The Spartans represent the only Sunshine State Conference program ranked in the top 25. NCAA South Region foe West Florida comes in at No. 20 as Palm Beach Atlantic is receiving votes. 2012 opponents Central Missouri (7), Indianapolis (10), West Texas A&M (11), Regis (15) and Colorado School of Mines (16) are all ranked, as West Florida also appears on the Spartan schedule for two matches.
Head coach Chris Catanach has coached his Spartan squad to 225 consecutive weeks in the top-25, marking the second-longest active streak in the nation to Central Missouri.
Tampa is now 19-3 on the season and the lone undefeated team in SSC play at 8-0. After recording the program's 1,000 win on Oct. 10 at Eckerd, head coach Chris Catanach is now approaching his 900th career victory as the third winningest coach in NCAA II history now stands at 893 career victories.
UT hosts a pair of SSC matches this week, beginning with Florida Tech on Tuesday and culminating with a Friday contest versus Rollins. Both matches are scheduled for 7 p.m., at the Bob Martinez Athletics Center.
Live stats and a webcast will be available through TampaSpartans.tv for all home matches.
Among NCAA national leaders, reigning SSC and South Region Player of the Year Danielle Selkridge is now the national leader in hitting percentage at .472 as her setter, Kahley Patrick, is 24th in assists per set at 10.57. Meagan Burke is 18th in hitting percentage with a .373 clip.
As a team, the Spartans rank among national leaders in several categories. Catanach's squad is 16th in assists per set (13.12), 13th in blocks per set (2.46), third in hitting percentage (.302) and 11th in kills per set (14.36).
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