Dakota Wesleyan volleyball ranked No. 13 in preseason NAIA poll
Aug. 16—MITCHELL — The Dakota Wesleyan University volleyball team has a No. 13 ranking in the NAIA's coaches preseason top-25 poll, which was issued Wednesday, Aug. 16.
The Tigers, who were 25-8 last season and reached the national quarterfinals at the NAIA tournament, ranked No. 6 to end last season. No. 13 is the highest preseason ranking in school history, bettering No. 15 to start the 2022 season.
Since cracking the top-25 for the first time in school history during the 2021 season, the 2023 preseason survey marks the 13th consecutive national poll in which DWU has been ranked.
Defending national champion and GPAC preseason favorite Jamestown earned the No. 1 spot in the poll. The rest of the top-five includes No. 2 Corban (Ore.), No. 3 Eastern Oregon, No. 4 Concordia (Neb.) and No. 5 Northwestern (Iowa), putting three GPAC teams in the top-five.
All told, the GPAC has seven teams in the top-25, including No. 9 Midland, No. 13 Dakota Wesleyan, No. 18 College of Saint Mary and No. 24 Hastings.
DWU's regular season begins on Thursday, Aug. 17, in West Palm Beach, Florida, with four matches over two days, starting with William Carey (Miss.) at 9 a.m. Thursday, followed by Cumberland (Tenn.) at 1 p.m. Thursday. The Tigers are set for 13 road or neutral-site games before their home opener on Wednesday, Sept. 6, against Dordt.
The Tigers will play three ranked opponents on Aug. 25-26 at the Columbia College Tournament in Columbia, Missouri. That includes host No. 16 Indiana Wesleyan, host No. 14 Columbia (Mo.) and No. 19 Central Methodist (Mo.), and the Tigers will also play No. 22 Ottawa (Kan.) on Sept. 2 in Omaha, Nebraska, in the nonconference slate.
