Volleyball ends 2021 season ranked No. 20 in final AVCA Poll
By Wes Mayberry
ADA — The Ohio Northern volleyball team finished the 2021 season ranked No. 20 nationally in the final American Volleyball Coaches Association Poll, which was released this week.
The Polar Bears received 533 points in the poll.
Ohio Northern was ranked in every poll this season. ONU was ranked No. 11 in the first weekly poll and rose to as high as No. 8 in week two.
The Polar Bears moved to No. 12 in week three and No. 13 in week four before settling at No. 14 for weeks five, six and seven. Weeks eight and nine saw ONU ranked No. 17, and the Polar Bears were ranked No. 16 in week 10.
The Polar Bears ended the 2020-21 spring season ranked No. 19.
National champion Wisconsin-Eau Claire ended the season ranked No. 1 with 2,250 points and all 90 first-place votes. Calvin (Mich.) was second with 2,157 points, and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (Calif.) was third with 2,051 points.
The Polar Bears finished the 2021 season with a 22-6 record, won the Ohio Athletic Conference regular-season and tournament titles and advanced to the NCAA Division III Tournament.
Senior Melina Woods (Ada) and freshman Taylor Baxter (Bellevue) were named AVCA Honorable Mention All-America and First Team All-Region 7, and head coach Katie Kuhn was named the Region 7 Coach of the Year.
AVCA Coaches Poll - Final
Nov. 23, 2021
| Rank |
School (First Place Votes) | Total Points |
2021 |
Last Week |
| 1. | Wisconsin-Eau Claire | 2250 | 35-3 | 8 |
| 2. | Calvin (Mich.) | 2157 | 32-4 | 5 |
| 3. | Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (Calif.) | 2051 | 31-2 | 3 |
| 4. | Juniata (Pa.) | 1971 | 32-2 | 7 |
| 5. | Trinity (Tex.) | 1892 | 34-3 | 2 |
| 6. | Wartburg (Iowa) | 1717 | 29-1 | 4 |
| 7. | Berry (Ga.) | 1655 | 28-3 | 12 |
| 8. | Johns Hopkins (Md.) | 1599 | 31-1 | 1 |
| 9. | Hope (Mich.) | 1502 | 25-5 | 6 |
| 10. | Tufts (Mass.) | 1396 | 21-6 | NR |
| 11. | NYU | 1333 | 28-2 | 10 |
| 12. | MIT (Mass.) | 1212 | 29-4 | 18 |
| 13. | Emory (Ga.) | 1116 | 25-6 | 13 |
| 14. | Colorado College | 1028 | 30-6 | 11 |
| 15. | Otterbein | 951 | 25-6 | 24 |
| 16. | Wisconsin-Whitewater | 903 | 27-3 | 9 |
| 17. | Northwestern (Minn.) | 786 | 30-4 | 15 |
| 18. | Southwestern (Tex.) | 704 | 25-6 | 14 |
| 19. | Gustavus Adolphus (Minn.) | 639 | 27-6 | 19 |
| 20. | Ohio Northern | 533 | 22-6 | 16 |
| 21. | Bethel (Minn.) | 484 | 23-7 | 21 |
| 22. | Susquehanna | 337 | 24-7 | NR |
| 23. | Wesleyan (Conn.) | 263 | 18-7 | NR |
| 24. | Mary Hardin-Baylor (Tex.) | 183 | 24-2 | 17 |
| 25. | Chicago (Ill.) | 135 | 17-10 | 20 |
Others receiving votes and listed on two or more ballots: Wisconsin-Stevens Point 88; Bowdoin 61; Wittenberg 57; Babson 54; UC Santa Cruz 41; Whitworth 41; Texas-Dallas 32; Springfield 16; Cornell (Iowa) 13; SUNY Cortland 11; Aurora 9; Haverford 8; Carnegie-Mellon 4; Coe 3; RIT 3; Endicott 2.