Colorado Mesa Named 2021 RMAC Volleyball Preseason Favorites
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Colorado Mesa is the 2021 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) volleyball preseason favorite, the league announced Wednesday. The RMAC preseason volleyball poll is voted on by the league’s 15 head coaches. Coaches are not permitted to vote for their team.
The Mavericks enter the 2021 campaign with 15 returners and six all-conference selections from last season. Colorado Mesa is one of four RMAC volleyball programs ranked among the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Division II Preseason Top-25 poll, earning a No. 10 ranking. CMU stands atop the RMAC preseason poll with 182 points and seven first-place votes after closing out last season with a 15-1 overall record, an unblemished 11-0 mark in conference play and the RMAC regular-season title.
Metropolitan State University of Denver occupies the second-place spot with 174 points and a trio of first-place votes. The Roadrunners earned a No. 11 ranking in the AVCA preseason poll, their highest preseason national ranking since the 2010 season, and return four all-conference selections from last season. Additionally, MSU Denver returns all but one starter from last year’s roster, which finished with an 11-1 record in league competition, before earning a berth in the title match at the RMAC Volleyball Tournament.
Colorado School of Mines stands in third place with 172 points and three first-place votes. The Orediggers check in at No. 12 in the AVCA preseason poll after claiming the RMAC tournament championship last season. Mines concluded last season’s competition ranked third in the nation for hitting percentage (.275) and ninth nationally for assists per set (13.06) and kills per set (13.96).
Regis holds the preseason poll’s fourth-place position with 156 points and one first-place vote. The Rangers concluded last season ranked 25th in the NCAA for hitting percentage (.226) and 32nd nationally for assists-per-set (12.26). Sophomore setter Mara LeGrand returns for the Rangers after registering 521 assists for a 10.42 assists-per-set average last season.
Colorado State University Pueblo rounds out the top five with 144 points, followed by Colorado Christian in sixth place with 125 points. South Dakota Mines sits in seventh place with 98 points, while University of Colorado Colorado Springs and Western Colorado find themselves in a tie for eighth place with 93 points apiece.
Black Hills State tabs 88 points to grab the 10th-place position, followed closely by Fort Lewis in 11th place with 87 points. Chadron State ranks 12th with 61 points, while Westminster (44 points), Adams State (43 points) and New Mexico Highlands (15 points) round out the preseason rankings.
2021 RMAC Volleyball Preseason Poll
| Institution (First-Place Votes) |
Points |
| 1. Colorado Mesa (7) |
182 |
| 2. Metropolitan State University of Denver (3) |
174 |
| 3. Colorado School of Mines (3) |
172 |
| 4. Regis (1) |
156 |
| 5. Colorado State University Pueblo |
144 |
| 6. Colorado Christian |
125 |
| 7. South Dakota Mines |
98 |
| T8. University of Colorado Colorado Springs |
93 |
| T8. Western Colorado |
93 |
| 10. Black Hills State |
88 |
| 11. Fort Lewis |
87 |
| 12. Chadron State |
61 |
| 13. Westminster |
44 |
| 14. Adams State (1) |
43 |
| 15. New Mexico Highlands |
15 |