Lexington, Ky. - January 14, 2022 - According to the 2022 NVA/AVCA Division III Men's Preseason Top 15 Coaches Poll, the Springfield College men's volleyball team will begin the year ranked second in the nation.
This marks the seventh-straight season that Springfield has been one of the top two-ranked teams in the preseason poll, as the Pride received two out of a possible 21 first-place votes to total 273 points. Carthage enters the year as the defending national champion and had 19 first-place votes, while Dominican, Benedictine, and Vassar rounded out the top five.
Springfield had been ranked as one of the top two programs in the AVCA poll for a span of 77-straight polls dating back to April 28, 2015 prior to the final two polls of the 2021 campaign. Springfield was ranked No. 1 in the country for the first eight polls of the 2021 season and finished sixth in the final poll of the year.
Led by 2021 AVCA All-America honorees Brennen Brandow (Manorville, N.Y.) and Jarrett Anderson (San Jose, Calif.), Springfield owned a 5-1 record in an abbreviated 2021 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This year, the Pride return all seven starters, all of whom have received AVCA All-America honors at some point in their careers.
Since the NCAA began its sponsorship of the Division III Men's Volleyball National Championship in 2012, Springfield has a 234-14 record against Division III opponents and won five NCAA Division III titles. Dating back to the inaugural NCAA Division III Men's Volleyball National Championship in 2012, the Pride won three titles in a row from 2012-14, claimed titles in 2017 and 2018, and finished as the national runner-up twice.
