LEXINGTON, Ky.— The Colorado Mesa University volleyball team has been tabbed 23^rd in the AVCA/TARAFLEX Division II Preseason Poll, released this week by the American Volleyball Coaches Association.

The Mavericks have now appeared in 42 straight AVCA polls dating back to the 2022 Week No. 1 Poll (Aug. 29), including the last three preseason and postseason editions.

They are coming of a 23-6 season in 2024 and made a fourth straight NCAA Tournament appearance last year before finishing 23rd in the final AVCA poll.

The Mavs received 132 points in the polling of 47 member coaches from around the nation and are one of only two Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference squads in the poll with No. 6 MSU Denver being the other.

The Roadrunners and Mavericks were also the top two teams in the RMAC Coaches Poll, released last week (Aug. 19).

The Mavericks will play two other nationally-ranked teams plus two others listed in the "others receiving votes" category during a challenging start of the 2025 season.  They will also host MSU Denver in their home opener and their third RMAC match of the season on Sept. 26 in Brownson Arena.

The Mavs open the season at next week's (Sept. 5-6) Kathleen Brasfield Invitational in San Angelo, Texas, which is being hosted by Angelo State, which is ranked second in the AVCA preseason poll. 

The Rambelles made the semifinals of last year's NCAA Tournament and snagged one first place vote and 1,014 total points in the 2025 preseason poll.  CMU will take on the Rambelles in their last of four matches at the season-opening tournament on Sept. 6.

The Mavs will then play 11^th-ranked Cal Poly Pomona in their first tournament of the Cal State-LA Tournament on the following weekend (Sept. 12-13).  The Mavs are also due to face the hosts and Simon Fraser, which are both in the "others receiving votes" category of the AVCA Poll at that tournament.

Defending national champion Lynn topped the AVCA poll, garnering 45 first place votes and 1,171 total points.  St. Cloud State (1,005), San Francisco State (973) and Ferris State (907) rounded out the top five ahead of MSU Denver, which picked up 843 total points.  Ferris State also picked up one first place vote.

The remainder of the top 10 of the poll is made up of Central Oklahoma (935), West Texas A&M (765), Chaminade (756) and Tampa (747) in the seventh through tenth spots, respectively.

The Mavericks are one of four teams from the South Central Region in the top 25 of the poll behind Angelo State, MSU Denver and West Texas A&M.  Two other squads in Dallas Baptist and Texas-Tyler are in the others receiving votes category with 50 points apiece.

Maverick fans will have one final preseason chance to see the new-look squad guided by new head coach Austin Albers when they take to the Wayne Nelson Court inside Brownson Arena on Saturday afternoon (Aug. 30) at 2 p.m. for a Maroon & Gold Intrasquad scrimmage.