FREELAND — Last season, the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association had the top two ranked volleyball teams in NCAA Division III most of the season, with Calvin and Hope sharing the MIAA championship and advancing to the final eight in the NCAA tournament before Calvin won the national championship at Hope’s DeVos Fieldhouse.

This year, MIAA coaches expect another close race, with Hope picked as the preseason favorite to win the conference title and Calvin close behind.

The Flying Dutch received six out of a possible nine first-place votes in the coaches’ poll while the Knights received the other three.

Last season, Calvin and Hope each finished 15-1 in MIAA, with each winning the head-to-head matchup on its home floor. The Knights won the MIAA tournament in a five-set battle in Grand Rapids, then won six consecutive matches, capped off by a dramatic comeback from a two-sets-to-none deficit in the national championship match against California Lutheran, to win their second Division III title in four years.

MIAA teams will begin non-conference action Friday, Aug. 29, with the first conference matches set for Tuesday, Sept. 2.

 

MIAA Volleyball poll

(First-place votes in parenthesis)

1. Hope (6) 10. 2. Calvin (3) 13. 3. Saint Mary’s 23. 4. Trine 29. 5. Alma 41. 6. Kalamazoo 42. 7. Olivet 50. 8. Adrian 52. 9. Albion 64