Denver was selected to take home the Summit League Volleyball regular season title, garnering 75 points and six first-place votes in the preseason coaches’ poll released Wednesday by league officials. The Pioneers topped a trio of teams in the poll that all received first-place votes and finished within two games of each other during a tightly-contest 2021 campaign that saw Omaha win its first regular season title.
Since joining the league in 2013-14, the Pioneers have won at least a share of the regular season title six times. The Pioneers edged two-time defending tournament champion South Dakota by one point to take the No. 1 spot. The Coyotes took second with 74 points and earned three first-place votes. The Mavericks were picked to finish third, totaling 68 points and receiving the final first-place vote.
Oral Roberts claimed the fourth-place spot with 53 points while South Dakota State tallied 51 points and was picked fifth. Kansas City (42) was predicted to finish sixth, while North Dakota State followed the Roos in seventh with 35 points. North Dakota (22), St. Thomas (20) and Western Illinois (10) rounded out the poll in eighth, ninth and tenth, respectively.
2022 Summit League Volleyball Preseason Coaches’ Poll
Rank | School | Points (1st) | 2021 Record (SL) |
1. | Denver | 75 (6) | 23-6 (14-4) |
2. | South Dakota | 74 (3) | 20-10 (15-3) |
3. | Omaha | 68 (1) | 20-10 (16-2) |
4. | Oral Roberts | 53 | 18-11 (11-7) |
5. | South Dakota State | 51 | 19-12 (10-8) |
6. | Kansas City | 42 | 21-10 (12-6) |
7. | North Dakota State | 35 | 12-18 (6-12) |
8. | North Dakota | 22 | 1-29 (0-18) |
9. | St. Thomas | 20 | 3-25 (2-16) |
10. | Western Illinois | 10 | 5-24 (4-14) |