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An undefeated cross-country road trip was exactly what Stanford needed to move up in the national rankings.
The Cardinal jumped one spot to No. 8 in the latest Off the Block/Springbak, Inc. National Media Poll that was released on Tuesday.
Stanford closed out its non-conference schedule with victories against Penn State and Lees-McRae at the Penn State Invitational during the weekend. In addition, the Cardinal hit a season-best .444 and committed fewer than 10 attack errors in the road sweep versus Nittany Lions.
The two victories helped propel Stanford ahead of Loyola, which dropped one spot to No. 9 following its upset loss to Lindenwood on Saturday. Stanford and Loyola switching places was the only change in the latest top 10 national rankings.
Ohio State for the ninth consecutive week was the unanimous No. 1 ranked team. The defending NCAA champions set a conference record during the weekend as it extended its historic winning streak to 41 matches with a win against St. Francis.
Long Beach State, BYU, Hawai’i and Lewis also round-out the top five of the national rankings for the third straight week.
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 9)
1. Ohio State — 100 (10) points
2. Long Beach State — 88 points
3. BYU — 81 points
4. Hawai’i — 70 points
5. Lewis — 59 points
6. UC Irvine — 48 points
7. UCLA — 40 points
8. Stanford — 25 points
9. Loyola — 17 points
10. Ball State — 9 points
Others receiving votes: USC 4; Pepperdine 3; Grand Canyon 2; CSUN 1; Penn State 1; Sacred Heart 1