RedStorm picked 4th in RSC preseason poll

Rio Grande/RSC Sports Information
     MIDDLETOWN, Ohio - The University of Rio Grande has been picked fourth in the inaugural River States Conference Men's Volleyball Preseason Coaches' Poll.
     The poll, announced Thursday by the River States Conference office as part of Media Day, saw each of the conference's nine head coaches rank the other member schools in order of predicted finish.
     The River States Conference will sponsor men's volleyball for the first time this spring. The league will consist of six RSC members - Brescia, IU East, Midway, Oakland City, Rio Grande, and St. Mary-of-the-Woods - as well as three affiliate members - Campbellsville University, Cumberland University, and Georgetown College.
     Rio Grande, which opens its season on Thursday night at No. 12-ranked Reinhardt (Ga.) University, garnered 40 points in the balloting. Head coach Nick Rawls' squad posted a 13-19 record last season as an affiliate member of the Mid-South Conference.
Georgetown College finished first in the voting.
     The Tigers were close to a unanimous pick for the top spot in the league, earning seven of eight possible first place votes and totaling 63 points. Georgetown enters the season as the defending national champions, winning the NAIA Men's Volleyball Championship last spring in Cedar Rapids.
     The Tigers, who also won the Mid-South Conference title last season, have appeared in four of the first five NAIA Men's Volleyball Championships.
     The remaining first place votes went to another set of Tigers in Campbellsville. Campbellsville (57 pts.) earned a regular season victory over Georgetown last season, going 9-1 in the Mid-South Conference before falling to the orange and black Tigers in the conference championship match.
     The third associate member, Cumberland, checks in at third place in the poll with 45 points.
     Following Rio Grande in fifth place was Oakland City University (35 pts.). In the bottom half of the poll, the coaches placed St. Mary-of-the-Woods (31 pts.), Brescia (24 pts.), IU East (20 pts.), and Midway (9 pts.) in positions 6-9, respectively.
     River States Conference play is scheduled to begin with three matches, hosted by Georgetown, IU East and Brescia, on Friday, February 21. Round robin play will continue into April, with the 2025 River States Conference Tournament scheduled for April 15, 18, and 19.
     The conference tournament will be a six-team affair, with quarterfinal matches hosted by the third and fourth seeds and the semifinals and finals played on the home floor of the top seed.