Kansas City, Mo. - After making its third straight trip to the NAIA National Tournament in 2020, the Central Methodist Volleyball program will enter the 2021 campaign ranked No. 11 in the NAIA Women's Volleyball Coaches' Top 25 Preseason Poll.
Other teams from the Heart ranked in the Preseason Top 25 include, No. 4 Park and No. 8 Grand View. Evangel and MidAmerica Nazarene are also receiving votes.
The Eagles concluded last season with a 15-7 overall record, including a conference tournament championship appearance and another trip to the national tournament. Central returns a veteran lineup highlighted by NAIA Third Team All-American selection, senior Grace Stumbaugh. CMU also welcomes back 2020 Heart Co-Freshman of the Year Annabelle Maassen, and all four Heart First Team All-Conference selections including Stumbaugh, Callie Henson, Jordan Wolfe, and Krystal Brauner.
As a collective unit, CMU finished the year ranked in the Top 30 nationally in Blocks/game (No. 18 - 2.310), hitting percentage (No. 20 - 0.221), and kills/game (No. 26 - 12.950).
Central opens the 2021 season with a trip to nearby Columbia, Mo. where they will compete in the Columbia College Invitational on August 27-28.
To view the poll methodology and the complete Top 25 Preseason Poll, please see below.
Poll Methodology
- The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences, Association of Independent Institutions and Unaffiliated Groups.
- The Top 25 is determined by a points system based on how each voter ranks the best teams. A team receives 30 points for each first-place vote, 29 for second place and so on through the list.
- The highest and lowest ranking for each team (a non-rating is considered a low rating) is removed and the team's ranking will be recalculated with an additional point added to each team for every ballot (including discounted ballots) that the teams appear on.
- Teams that receive only one point on the ballot are not considered "receiving votes"
| RANK | LAST TIME | SCHOOL [FIRST-PLACE VOTES] | RECORD | POINTS |
| 1 | 1 | Missouri Baptist [19] | 26-4 | 529 |
| 2 | 3 | Jamestown (N.D.) | 30-2 | 510 |
| 3 | 2 | Midland (Neb.) | 16-19 | 492 |
| 4 | 6 | Park (Mo.) | 22-4 | 473 |
| 5 | 4 | Dordt (Iowa) | 18-7 | 470 |
| 6 | 7 | Eastern Oregon | 19-2 | 435 |
| 7 | 8 | Concordia (Neb.) | 18-7 | 423 |
| 8 | 9 | Grand View (Iowa) | 18-5 | 412 |
| 9 | 10 | Westmont (Calif.) | 0-0 | 390 |
| 10 | 5 | Northwestern (Iowa) | 22-5 | 372 |
| 11 | 11 | Central Methodist (Mo.) | 15-7 | 360 |
| 12 | 11 | Indiana Wesleyan | 0-0 | 333 |
| 13 | 16 | Viterbo (Wis.) | 0-0 | 312 |
| 14 | 13 | Providence (Mont.) | 22-3 | 310 |
| 15 | 14 | Corban (Ore.) | 14-5 | 299 |
| 16 | 15 | Marian (Ind.) | 0-0 | 277 |
| 17 | 18 | Bellevue (Neb.) | 0-0 | 271 |
| 18 | 21 | Ottawa (Kan.) | 0-0 | 224 |
| 19 | 20 | Oklahoma City | 15-4 | 196 |
| 20 | 19 | Keiser (Fla.) | 36-2 | 192 |
| 21 | 17 | IU Kokomo (Ind.) | 24-6 | 166 |
| 22 | RV | Madonna (Mich.) | 14-6 | 128 |
| 23 | NR | College of Saint Mary (Neb.) | 13-10 | 121 |
| 24 | 24 | Bethel (Ind.) | 0-0 | 111 |
| 25 | NR | Southern Oregon | 0-0 | 106 |
Receiving Votes: Rocky Mountain (Mont.) 104, Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) 77, Aquinas (Mich.) 63, Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) 50, Texas Wesleyan 41, Columbia (Mo.) 37, The Master's (Calif.) 33, Reinhardt (Ga.) 27, McPherson (Kan.) 27, Evangel (Mo.) 21, Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) 19, Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) 14, Cornerstone (Mich.) 9, MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) 3
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