Excerpt from the Dayton Daily News
Part of the Monday routine for Wright State volleyball coach Allie Matters is to check the latest AVCA Top 25 ratings to see how the traditional powers are faring — and to find out if mid-majors are getting any love.
Though her program has been on the rise, Matters assumed the upper-echelon crowd hadn’t been paying much attention. But the Raiders made the poll for the first time this week among “others receiving votes and listed on two or more ballots.”
“I get that email every week, and I open it up, and I’m like, ‘OK, what’s Wisconsin doing? Where did they put Stanford?’ You’re used to seeing the same teams. I scroll down to the bottom and say, ‘Who’s receiving votes?’” she said.
“My eyeballs bulged out of my skull. I’m like, ‘Wait a second, that’s us, that’s us!’ I sent it to the team in our group chat, and everyone was freaking out. It’s awesome.”
They have the 33rd-highest vote tally, sitting just behind Tennessee, Michigan and Florida State.
“We went to the NCAA tournament last year, but to be recognized nationally like that, that’s what we want. That’s the buzz we want to create,” Matters said. “And that’s what I envisioned when I took this job.”
