Spartans Stand at No. 7 in Newest AVCA Poll
LEXINGTON, Ky. - Following a week that included a pair of straight-set sweeps, the University of Tampa volleyball team is now No. 7 in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association of America (AVCA) national poll.
The Spartans were previously No. 6, and are coming off identical 3-0 wins over Sunshine State Conference opponents Florida Tech and Rollins College.
Southwest Minnesota State is the top-ranked team for the third 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. 19 as Palm Beach Atlantic is receiving votes. 2012 opponents Central Missouri (6), Indianapolis (10), West Texas A&M (11), Regis (13) and Colorado School of Mines (14) 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 226 consecutive weeks in the top-25, marking the second-longest active streak in the nation to Central Missouri.
Tampa is now 21-3 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 895 career victories.
UT is on the road for a pair of SSC matches this weekend, beginning Friday at Saint Leo. The Spartans will also meet SSC rival Florida Southern on Saturday in Lakeland.
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 .478 as her setter, Kahley Patrick, is 30th in assists per set at 10.47. Meagan Burke is 12th in hitting percentage with a .395 clip.
As a team, the Spartans rank among national leaders in several categories. Catanach's squad is 12th in assists per set (13.27), 10th in blocks per set (2.48), third in hitting percentage (.310) and 9th in kills per set (14.49).
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