La Verne, East Texas Baptist, Wisconsin-Oshkosh hold top three spots in DIII women’s volleyball: AVCA

Kelani Mumolo, Callie Panasuk, and Lara Hornsby have been killing it on the court for their respective Division III women’s volleyball team.

The American Volleyball Coaches Association week six Division III women’s volleyball poll looped back to similar positions as week four, but with a slight twist.

The AVCA published its weekly college poll earlier this week.

The University of La Verne for the third week in a row earned the most votes to retain No. 1. La Verne is also currently undefeated with 14 wins.

A standout Leopard is senior libero Keilani Mumolo. Mumolo holds the top spot on the team in digs (181) with a reception percentage of .962. She was also named the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference’s (SCIAC) Volleyball Defensive Player of the Week earlier this month. 

La Verne is set to play the University of Redlands on October 10.

East Texas Baptist University are No. 2 and currently undefeated with an 18-match winning streak.

The standout Tiger is freshman Lara Hornsby. Hornsby is currently holding the second-place spot on the team in kills (174) and points (188) behind her senior teammate Graycee Mosley.

The University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh is positioned at No. 3.

The Titan standout this week is freshman defensive specialist and libero Callie Panasuk.

Panasuk is currently holding the top spot on the team in digs (291) and has topped the leaderboard in digs for 11 out of the 21 games the team has played, and has come in second for many other matches.

The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater is No. 4.

One of their standout athletes this week is sophomore middle hitter Amanda Hillmann. Hillmann is currently holding the third spot on the team for kills (145) and points (176), as well as second on the team for blocks (50).

The Warhawks will go up against Hardin Simmons University on October 10.

Finally, at No. 5, is Juniata College. 

The Eagle that stands out this week is sophomore middle hitter Molly Mishinkash. Mishinkash is third on the team in kills (137) and points (165.5); however, she holds the top hitting percentage on the team with .432. 

The Juniata Eagles will play the Goucher College Gophers on October 10. 

Bolded teams have moved positions higher or lower from week-to-week.

25. Tufts, 12-2, 25

24. Gustavus Adolphus, 16-4, 20

23. Dubuque, 17-2, 23

22. Marietta, 10-4, 21

21. Wesleyan (Conn.), 12-2, 24

20. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, 17

19. Virginia Wesleyan, 19-0, 22

18. Washington & Lee, 15-3, 15

17. Ithaca, 11-3, 19

16. MIT, 13-3, 16

15. Otterbein, 15-1, 18

14. Berry, 15-3, 14

13. Colby, 13-1, 12

12. Hope, 13-4, 13

11. Trinity (Texas), 12-3, 11

10. Washington-St. Louis, 14-3, 10

9. Johns Hopkins 14-3, 9

8. Wisconsin-Eau Claire 15-2, 5

7. Illinois Wesleyan, 14-1, 8

6. Emory 12-2, 7

5. Juniata 14-2, 6

4. Wisconsin-Whitewater 16-2, 4

3. Wisconsin-Oshkosh 19-2, 3

2. East Texas Baptist 18-0, 2

1. La Verne 14-0, 1

Thank you for reading Female Athlete News. Lily Dorf is a student-intern at Penn State University.