AVCA Division II Coaches Top 25 Preseason Poll (Aug. 18, 2015)

The University of Minnesota Duluth, which opened its 2015 season with the team's first practice session this week, ranks No. 4 in the nation according to the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Division II Top 25 Coaches Preseason Poll released Tuesday.

No. 4 UMD (33-2 in 2014) -- which received one of 48 first-place votes -- will open its season at the Tampa Classic, hosted by the No. 1 team in the nation and defending NCAA II National Champion, the University of Tampa (43 first-place votes). The Bulldogs will take on the host-Spartans, No. 9 Wheeling Jesuit University, and No. 24 Western Washington University that first weekend before travelling to the University of Indianapolis (R.V.) the next weekend where they meet No. 8 Colorado School of Mines, Wheeling Jesuit for a second time, and the host Greyhounds.

Rounding out the top five are three NCAA II Central Region teams including Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference rivals No. 2 Concordia University, St. Paul (four first-place votes), no. 3 Southwest Minnesota State University, and no. 5 the University of Nebraska-Kearny. Another NSIC foe, Wayne State (Neb.) College, ranks no. 6 in the nation putting four league teams among the best in the nation.

The Bulldogs will have the chance to host Concordia-St. Paul on Tuesday, Oct. 6 and Wayne State (Neb.) on Saturday, Oct. 17. UMD travels to Southwest Minnesota State on Friday, Oct. 9 and Concordia for a rematch on Saturday, Oct. 24. Opening serve of the 2015 campaign will take place on Friday, Sept. 4 in Tampa, Flordia when the Bulldogs take on Wayne State (Mich.) University at 10:00 a.m. ET.