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A victory against a first-place team was enough to move Loyola back into the national rankings.
Loyola after beating Penn State in four games during the weekend jumped to No. 9 in the latest Off the Block/Springbak, Inc. National Media Poll that was released on Tuesday.
This is the first time the Ramblers have ranked in the national media poll in the last two weeks. In addition, Loyola is on a three-match winning streak entering its road rivalry match against Lewis on Wednesday.
Lewis, which also beat Penn State during the weekend, remained at No. 7 for the third consecutive week.
Along with these two teams, Ohio State received all but three first place votes to remain atop the national ranking.
Long Beach State and BYU were the only other teams to earn a first-place vote. Both teams maintained their spots in the rankings after splitting a two-match series during the weekend with the 49ers at No. 2 and the Cougars at No. 3.
The Off the Block/Springbak, Inc. National Media Poll is the only rankings in NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball solely determined by media members. The 10 teams receiving the most votes are ranked in the National Media Poll, while other schools earning votes but finishing outside of the top 10 are considered teams receiving votes.
Off the Block is a website that started in January 2011 and has become the nation’s leader in college men’s volleyball coverage. Springbak, Inc. is the official sponsor of the National Media Poll and produces high performance footwear used by professional athletes from the NFL, NBA, MLB and U.S. Olympic teams and the top college teams in the nation.
OFF THE BLOCK/SPRINGBAK, INC. NATIONAL MEDIA POLL (Week 12)
1. Ohio State — 115 (9) points
2. Long Beach State — 110 (2) points
3. BYU — 99 (1) points
4. Hawai’i — 79 points
5. UC Irvine — 72 points
6. UCLA — 60 points
7. Lewis — 50 points
8. Pepperdine — 22 points
9. Loyola — 20 points
10. USC — 17 points
Others receiving votes: Stanford 13; Grand Canyon 2; NJIT 1