Kansas City, Mo. - The Central Methodist Volleyball program landed at No. 18 in the second edition of the NAIA Volleyball Coaches' Top 25 poll, which was announced by the national office earlier this week.
It is a one-spot jump from the first regular season poll that saw the Eagles at No. 19 back on Sept. 4.
Other Heart programs featured or mentioned in this week's national rankings include; No. 14 Park and (RV) Benedictine.
Through its first 13 games of 2024, Central boasts a 10-3 overall record, including wins over No. 25 Columbia College and (RV) Missouri Baptist.
Junior Joana Milho leads Central's offense with 161 total kills and 3.50 kills/set, followed by super senior Annabelle Maassen with 91. Maassen is also second on the team in total digs with 136, while Rita Campos leads the defense with 213.
Central opens its weekend with a Friday night match against Heart opponent Graceland University beginning at 7:00 p.m. inside Puckett Field House. It will be their second game of conference play so far this season.
To view the poll methodology and the complete Top 25 poll, please see below.
Rating Methodology:
- The rating is rated by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conference/Continental Athletic Conference (Independents).
- The Top 25 is determined by a points system based on how each rater rates the best teams. A team receives 30 points for each first-place vote, 29 for second-place, 28 for third-place and so on through the list.
- The highest and lowest ratings for each team (a non-rating is considered a low rating) are removed. The team's rating will be recalculated with an additional point added to each team for every ballot (including discounted ballots) that the team appears on.
- Teams that receive only one point on the ballot are not considered "receiving votes".
| POSITION | LAST TIME | SCHOOL [FIRST-PLACE VOTES] | RECORD | POINTS |
| 1 | 1 | Northwestern (Iowa) [21] | 13-0 | 591 |
| 2 | 2 | Eastern Oregon | 11-1 | 542 |
| 3 | 4 | Jamestown (N.D.) | 8-0 | 541 |
| 4 | 3 | Concordia (Neb.) | 10-1 | 539 |
| 5 | 5 | Southern Oregon | 10-1 | 515 |
| 6 | 6 | Oklahoma Wesleyan | 15-1 | 492 |
| 7 | 9 | Corban (Ore.) | 9-1 | 473 |
| 8 | 8 | Bellevue (Neb.) | 11-2 | 466 |
| 8 | 7 | Indiana Wesleyan | 11-2 | 466 |
| 10 | 11 | St. Thomas (Fla.) | 15-0 | 413 |
| 11 | 10 | IU Kokomo (Ind.) | 11-4 | 402 |
| 12 | 12 | Aquinas (Mich.) | 16-1 | 399 |
| 13 | 13 | Montana Western | 9-2 | 349 |
| 14 | 14 | Park (Mo.) | 10-3 | 336 |
| 15 | 15 | Providence (Mont.) | 10-2 | 327 |
| 16 | 22 | Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio) | 16-0 | 291 |
| 17 | 17 | Viterbo (Wis.) | 11-8 | 291 |
| 18 | 19 | Central Methodist (Mo.) | 8-2 | 219 |
| 19 | 21 | Grace (Ind.) | 9-2 | 209 |
| 20 | 20 | Midland (Neb.) | 6-7 | 199 |
| 21 | 15 | Morningside (Iowa) | 13-5 | 195 |
| 22 | 24 | Marian (Ind.) | 12-2 | 163 |
| 23 | 23 | Columbia International (S.C.) | 13-1 | 144 |
| 23 | 25 | McPherson (Kan.) | 10-3 | 144 |
| 25 | 18 | Columbia (Mo.) | 7-7 | 126 |
Dropped from the Top 25: None
Receiving Votes: College of Idaho 96, Cumberlands (Ky.) 89, Keiser (Fla.) 68, Benedictine (Kan.) 55, Valley City State (N.D.) 53, Ottawa (Kan.) 49, Rocky Mountain (Mont.) 39, College of Saint Mary (Neb.) 29, The Master's (Calif.) 19, Mobile (Ala.) 16, Carroll (Mont.) 9, Dakota State (S.D.) 7, Missouri Baptist 7, Our Lady of the Lake (Texas) 6, Nelson (Texas) 3
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