FCSAA Poll NJCAA National Poll
Leesburg, Fla. – The day after the Lake-Sumter State College volleyball program earned a No. 1 spot in the FCSAA Region preseason poll, the team landed on the National poll.
No way around it. According to both the NJCAA poll and the FCSAA Region 8 poll, the battle for the top spot in the Sun-Lakes Conference looks to be St. John's River State College and Lake-Sumter. The Vikings and Lakehawks tied for No. 1 in the Region 8 Coaches Poll with LSSC receiving two more first place votes, but ending with the same amount of total points (98). Pensacola State College received two first place votes, rounding out the top three heading into the regular season.
Monday night, the attention turned to the NJCAA National Poll, which had just been released. SJRSC took the nod over LSSC earning No. 14 in the country. Lake-Sumter came in right behind them at No. 15. The order of teams in a pre-season poll does not determine any outcome whatsoever. What these two polls do tell us is the Lakehawks and Vikings will look to continue their tradition on the court of being a big rivalry matchup, most likely with national ranking and postseason implications on the line each time they meet.
"Preseason polls are very subjective and incredibly difficult, especially at the Junior College level where there is so much turnover year-to-year," said Head Volleyball Coach, Amanda Phelps. "Don't get me wrong, I love seeing our name up there, but for us it's, 'great job! Now let's get back to work.'"
The Lakehawks knocked off St. John's River in the District P Tournament Championship match to punch their ticket to Nationals in 2021. They also took down Cape Fear (NC) last season in four sets. Cape Fear will start the season ranked 13th in the nation.
The 2022 NJCAA preseason poll marks the second time the Lakehawks have been listed in the top 20 to start a season. The previous season was in 2019, when LSSC again, came in at No. 15 after making the National Tournament for the first time in program history in 2018.