The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) has released the first set of national Division III rankings for the 2012 men’s volleyball season.

The Baruch Bearcats will begin the season as the #10 preseason nationally-ranked program in Division III. Last year, the team finished the 2011 season ranked #6 after appearing in their first-ever Division III Final Four.

The Bearcats have now been ranked 31 consecutive weeks, dating back to the end of the 2009 season. For complete preseason rankings, please scroll to the bottom of this page.

The Bearcats will begin their schedule on Saturday, January 28, when they battle rival Hunter in the ARC Arena in a non-conference match that is not affiliated with the conference schedule. The two CUNYAC games will take place later in the season on February 28 and March 22. Hunter was added to the schedule that opening weekend after another team dropped out.

Following Hunter on January 28 at 2:00 pm, the Bearcats will play Division I Sacred Heart at 4:00 pm. The next day, the Bearcats will battle Stevenson at 10:00 am, followed by preseason ranked #11 Medaille at 2:00 pm.

Overall, when perusing the team’s entire 2012 schedule, the Bearcats are scheduled to play eleven of the 15 teams currently ranked in the preseason top 15 poll.

2012 A.V.C.A. Division III Preseason
RANKING   - TEAM NAME (Final 2011 Ranking)
1. Nazareth (1)
2. Springfield  (2)
3. Carthage (T3)
4. NYU (T3)
5. Juniata (5)
6. UC Santa Cruz (6)
7. Rivier (7)
8. Stevens Institute of Technology (10)
9. MIT (11)
10. Baruch (6)
11. Medaille (12)
12. Emmanuel (13)
13. SUNY-New Paltz (14)
14. Philadelphia Biblical (8)
15. Vassar (15)