Mustangs ranked 6th in final volleyball poll

LEXINGTON, Ky. - The Southwest Minnesota State volleyball team finished the 2012 season ranked No. 6 in the final American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Division II Top 25 Coaches' Poll. The AVCA Top 25, voted on by Division II coaches across the country, released its final poll of the 2012 season on Monday evening.

Concordia-St. Paul, who won its unprecedented sixth consecutive national championship last weekend, received all 32 first-place votes and 800 points for the No. 1 ranking in the final poll. The Golden Bears started the 2012 season ranked No. 1 and finished the season ranked No. 1. Only three teams achieved the No. 1 ranking in the AVCA poll throughout the 2012 season, Concordia-St. Paul reined for four weeks, Nebraska-Kearney for five weeks and Southwest Minnesota State for four weeks.

SMSU is one of five Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference schools ranked in the final AVCA Coaches’ Poll of the season led by Concordia-St. Paul. Minnesota Duluth ends the season just ahead of SMSU in the fifth position, SMSU ranked sixth, followed by Wayne State (18) and Minnesota State (24). It is the second consecutive season that these five schools represented the NSIC in the final AVCA poll and were ranked in the same order.

Southwest Minnesota State has now been ranked in the AVCA Top 25 for 92 consecutive weeks, dating back to Sept. 5, 2006.

Southwest Minnesota State finished the 2012 season 30-3 overall, including its first NSIC title since 2001 and it’s first ever NSIC tournament championship. SMSU made its tenth appearance in the NCAA Tournament in school history, including its ninth consecutive trip. SMSU exited the NCAA tournament in the second round after falling to Nebraska-Kearney.