Spartans Tabbed At No. 7 in Latest AVCA Poll
LEXINGTON, Ky. - Sporting a six-match winning streak and perfect Sunshine State Conference showing, the University of Tampa volleyball team remains No. 7 in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association of America (AVCA) national poll.
The Spartans have been ranked in the top-10 for the entire 2012 season and are coming off a pair of road victories in conference play, defeating Saint Leo and Florida Southern by scores of 3-0.
Southwest Minnesota State is the top-ranked team for the fourth consecutive week, followed by Concordia-St. Paul, Washburn, Nebraska-Kearney and Minnesota-Duluth. Southwest Minnesota State received 29 of the 32 first-place votes with two 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. 18 as Palm Beach Atlantic is receiving votes. 2012 opponents Central Missouri (6), West Texas A&M (10), Colorado School of Mines (12), Regis (14) and Indianapolis (15) 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 227 consecutive weeks in the top-25, marking the second-longest active streak in the nation to Central Missouri.
Tampa is now 23-3 on the season and the lone undefeated team in SSC play at 10-0. After recording the program's 1,000 win on Oct. 10 at Eckerd, coach Catanach is now approaching his 900th career victory as the third winningest coach in NCAA II history now stands at 897 career victories.
UT hosts a pair of SSC matches this weekend, welcoming Lynn and Nova Southeastern on Friday and Saturday, respectively. Saturday's match will also serve as Senior Day, as the three UT seniors will be honored prior to the 3 p.m., contest.
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 continues to be the national leader in hitting percentage at .482 as her setter, Kahley Patrick, is 37th in assists per set at 10.35. Meagan Burke is 10th in hitting percentage with a .399 clip.
As a team, the Spartans rank among national leaders in several categories. Catanach's squad is 12th in assists per set (13.36), 14th in blocks per set (2.44), third in hitting percentage (.31) and 7th in kills per set (14.53).
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