The Golden State Athletic Conference kept seven teams in the Top 25 from the preseason poll that was released on Aug. 18. Of those seven, five are listed among the top 10. Also highly visible in the rating is the Great Plains Athletic Conference with four squads earning a spot in the Top 25.

With two weeks gone in between the preseason poll (Aug. 18) and Tuesday's poll, five new teams have broken into the top 25. Previously unranked Lewis-Clark State College (Idaho) is listed at No. 13, along with Savannah College of Art and Design (Ga.) at No. 23. Three programs who received votes in the preseason poll are now ranked with No. 21 Southern Oregon University, No. 24 Westmont College (Calif.) and No. 25 Mount Vernon Nazarene University (Ohio).

Fresno Pacific continues its dominance at the top of the NAIA volleyball world, entering its 25th consecutive week as the nation's top-ranked team dating back to Sept. 5, 2007. The Sunbirds have opened 2009 playing in three tournaments and are 10-0. In 31 sets played, head coach Dennis Janzen's squad has only dropped one set.

Concordia racked up 662 points to hold down the No. 2 spot in the poll. The start of the 2009 campaign has seen the Eagles cruise to a 13-0 record with 10 shutouts. Concordia registered wins over No. 13 Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) and No. 17 Indiana Tech at its own Asics/Crowne-Plaza Labor Day Tournament over the weekend.

Earning 640 points for third in this week's rating is California Baptist. The Lancers, the third of the GSAC's ranked teams in the top three, is off to an 11-0 start. California Baptist opened league play against Westmont (Calif.) and picked up a 3-1 victory.

Columbia (4-0) moves up two spots from the preseason poll from No. 6 to No. 4 after earning 603 points. Head coach Melinda Wyre-Washington's Cougars opened the season by hosting the Best Western Classic and racked up four shutouts. Among those to fall to Columbia was No. 14 Lindenwood (Mo.) in straight sets.

Head coach Kyle Van Den Bosch's Northwestern squad held steady at No. 5 with 580 points. The Red Raiders own a 7-1 record and are coming off of a 4-0 performance this past weekend without losing a set at the CSM Volleyball Classic played in Omaha, Neb. Northwestern's lone loss, a 3-2 defeat, came at the hands of then-ranked No. 4 Azusa Pacific (Calif.) at the Red Raider Classic on Aug. 29.

The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences. The next poll will be announced on Sept. 15.

Others receiving votes: University of Texas at Brownsville 138; Carroll (Mont.) 97; Black Hills State (S.D.) 96; Walsh (Ohio) 66; Hastings (Neb.) 53; Campbellsville (Ky.) 50; Mobile (Ala.) 49; Embry-Riddle (Fla.) 27; Indiana Wesleyan 21; Vanguard (Calif.) 16; Lee (Tenn.) 15; Jamestown (N.D.) 15; Eastern Oregon 13; Aquinas (Mich.) 12; College of the Ozarks (Mo.) 10; Union (Ky.) 5; Shawnee State (Ohio) 4; Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) 3; Indiana University East 3; Webber International (Fla.) 3; Oklahoma Baptist 3; Union (Tenn.) 1; Rocky Mountain (Mont.) 1.