KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Indiana Wesleyan and Northwestern (Iowa) are the new reigning No. 1s in the latest edition of the 2023 NAIA Women’s Volleyball Coaches’ Top 25 Rating. The Northwestern volleyball team (20-2, 11-2 GPAC) is ranked No. 1 in the NAIA Coaches’ Poll for the third-time in program history and first time since the 2019 season. The Red Raiders received eight of the 20 possible first-place votes.
It also marks the 13th-straight poll ranked inside the top-10. Checking in behind Northwestern and Indiana Wesleyan is Eastern Oregon (24-1) who held onto the No. 3 ranking. After dropping a pair of matches since the last poll, the previously unbeaten and No. 1-ranked Bulldogs of Concordia (Neb.) dropped down to fourth. Rounding out the top-5 is the Viterbo (Wis.) V-Hawks, sitting at 25-3 on the season.
The Red Raiders are 2-0 this season against teams currently sitting in the top-5 in the fifth edition of the poll with wins over Concordia (Neb.) and Viterbo (Wis.).
Checking in behind Northwestern and Indiana Wesleyan is Eastern Oregon (24-1) who held onto the No. 3 ranking. After dropping a pair of matches since the last poll, the previously unbeaten and No. 1-ranked Bulldogs of Concordia (Neb.) dropped down to fourth. Rounding out the top-5 is the Viterbo (Wis.) V-Hawks, sitting at 25-3 on the season.
The GPAC continues to have five teams inside the top-25, and one team receiving votes. As mentioned, Concordia and Northwestern continue to pace the league inside the top-5. College of Saint Mary makes it three teams inside the top-10 as they move up a spot to No. 8. Jamestown holds steady at No. 12, while Midland checks in at No. 18. New to the poll this week are the Mustangs of Morningside, who are receiving 11 votes.
GPAC IN THE RANKINGS
No. 1 – NORTHWESTERN RED RAIDERS (20-2, 11-2 GPAC)
No. 4 – Concordia (Neb.) Bulldogs (18-2, 11-2 GPAC)
No. 8 – College of Saint Mary Flames (21-5, 9-4 GPAC)
No. 12 – Jamestown Jimmies (19-7, 12-1 GPAC)
No. 18 – Midland Warriors (12-9, 8-5 GPAC)
RV (11) – Morningside Mustangs (15-14, 6-7 GPAC)
| RANK | LAST TIME | SCHOOL [FIRST-PLACE VOTES] | RECORD | POINTS |
| 1 | 2 | Indiana Wesleyan [10] | 26-0 | 546 |
| 1 | 3 | Northwestern (Iowa) [8] | 20-2 | 546 |
| 3 | 3 | Eastern Oregon [2] | 24-1 | 529 |
| 4 | 1 | Concordia (Neb.) | 18-2 | 501 |
| 5 | 5 | Viterbo (Wis.) | 25-3 | 497 |
| 6 | 6 | Corban (Ore.) | 23-3 | 467 |
| 7 | 8 | Park (Mo.) | 24-2 | 446 |
| 8 | 9 | College of Saint Mary (Neb.) | 21-5 | 429 |
| 9 | 7 | Missouri Baptist | 19-4 | 423 |
| 10 | 10 | Montana Tech | 19-3 | 392 |
| 11 | 11 | Vanguard (Calif.) | 22-1 | 384 |
| 12 | 12 | Jamestown (N.D.) | 19-7 | 362 |
| 13 | 14 | Texas Wesleyan | 21-3 | 340 |
| 14 | 15 | IU Kokomo (Ind.) | 24-3 | 323 |
| 15 | 13 | Columbia (Mo.) | 22-6 | 290 |
| 16 | 16 | Southern Oregon | 21-5 | 263 |
| 17 | 20 | Bethel (Ind.) | 23-4 | 249 |
| 18 | 17 | Midland (Neb.) | 12-9 | 239 |
| 19 | 22 | Saint Katherine (Calif.) | 24-2 | 236 |
| 20 | 18 | Bellevue (Neb.) | 19-8 | 224 |
| 21 | 19 | Central Methodist (Mo.) | 17-7 | 220 |
| 22 | 23 | St. Thomas (Fla.) | 19-2 | 185 |
| 23 | 25 | Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio) | 25-6 | 155 |
| 24 | 24 | SAGU (Texas) | 18-6 | 154 |
| 25 | 21 | Ottawa (Kan.) | 17-9 | 125 |
Receiving Votes: Indiana Tech 96, Montana Western 65, Valley City State (N.D.) 60, Blue Mountain Christian (Miss.) 39, CIU (S.C.) 32, Judson (Ill.) 29, Kansas Wesleyan 24, Morningside (Iowa) 11, Loyola (La.) 9, Indiana East (Ind.) 8, Marian (Ind.) 7, Rocky Mountain (Mont.) 6, Oklahoma Wesleyan 6
