Coyotes fall to No. 3

Cal State San Bernardino's untimely loss at the hands of Cal Poly Pomona last Wednesday was enough to drop the Coyotes from No. 2 to No. 3 this week in the Bison/American Volleyball Coaches Association Top 25 poll.

The Coyotes, 21-3, have lost to the No. 18 Broncos (0-3), No. 12 UCSD (3-2 earlier in the season) and No. 20 Cal State L.A. (3-1), all on the road. The Coyotes are 12-0 at home this year.

Concordia-St. Paul, the 2007 NCAA Division II champion, leads the poll with its 27-1 record, the only loss coming at the hands of the Coyotes, 3-0, back in August at the Coyote Classic tournament. CSP earned all 36 first-place votes from the committee.

Grand Valley State of the Great Lakes Conference moved up from No. 4 to No. 2 on the basis of its 24-2 record while West Texas A&M advanced from No. 6 to No. 4 with a 27-4 record. Emporia State (28-2) jumped from eighth to fifth.

UCSD, a 3-2 winner of Pomona on Wednesday, moved up three places in the poll despite being swept by the Coyotes. Pomona also moved up two spots despite a weekend split.

L.A. dropped from 13^th to 20^th after losing on the road to Chico State and Cal State Stanislaus, a team with just three conference wins and a 6-20 overall record.

The Coyotes, 13-3 in the CCAA and ranked No. 2 in the Pacific Region, hold a one-game lead in the CCAA standings with four to play, starting Friday night at Sonoma State where the Seawolves are 12-0 in their gym this season and ranked No. 6 in the Pacific Region. SSU is 20-5 and tied with UCSD and Cal Poly Pomona for second place in the CCAA at 12-4.

CSUSB finishes the road trip on Saturday night at Humboldt State (7-9 CCAA, 9-14 overall).

The next regional poll won't be out until Nov. 12 so UCSD will continue to hold down the No. 1 spot until then despite losing to the No. 2 Coyotes last Saturday.

                        BISON/AVCA DIVISION II TOP 25

1.       Concordia St. Paul (27-1)

2.       Grand Valley State (24-2)

3.      COYOTES (21-3)

4.       West Texas A&M (27-4)

5.       Emporia State (28-2)

6.       Southwest Minnesota State (24-4)

7.       Wasburn (27-3)

8.       Nebraska-Kearney (29-2)

9.       Tampa (22-4)

10.   Truman (25-7)

11.  Western Washington (18-2); 12. UC San Diego (18-5); 13. Florida Southern (22-7); 14. Central Missouri (25-8); 15. West Florida (20-6); 16. California (PA) 34-1); 17. Minnesota Duluth (20-7); 18. Cal Poly Pomona (15-6); 19. Pittsburg State (23-7); 20. Cal State L.A. (18-5); 21. Augustana SD (19-9); 22. Lewis (26-6); 23. Wayne State (21-6); 24. Western Oregon (18-2); 25. Northern Kentucky (24-6).