KNOXVILLE, Tn- The Royals are expected to finish 12th in the conference this year according to the AAC Women's Volleyball Coaches' Poll released Monday.
Columbia International is favored to win the 2022 Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) Women's Volleyball championship, according to the AAC Women's Volleyball Coaches' Poll released Monday.
The poll was voted on by the women's volleyball coaches of the AAC.
CIU received nine of the 15 first-place votes to claim the top spot with 218 voting points. Bryan collected five first-place votes to land second with 200 voting points. Last season, CIU and Bryan tied for the regular-season championship with Bryan earning the No. 1 seed in the AAC Tournament since it won the head-to-head matchup. CIU and Bryan met up in the tournament title match with Bryan coming out on top in a thrilling 3-1 victory.
Reinhardt, Bluefield, and Brenau round out the top five with Brenau collecting the lone remaining first-place vote.
The top 10 teams in the regular season advance to the AAC Tournament, which is set for Nov. 10-12 in Kingsport, Tenn.
The Royals will look to finish above their ranking as they push for a postseason berth in the conference tournament.
Here is the entire poll:
AAC Women's Volleyball Preseason Poll
School (First-Place Vote) - Total Voting Points
1. Columbia International (9) - 218
2. Bryan (5) - 200
3. Reinhardt - 197
4. Bluefield - 186
5. Brenau (1) - 151
6. Union - 150
7. Milligan - 139
8. Point - 104
9. Truett McConnell - 99
10. St. Andrews - 88
11. Montreat - 83
12. Johnson - 81
13. Kentucky Christian - 41
14. Tennessee Wesleyan - 31
15. Columbia - 25