(Editor's note: Montana Tech media release)
WHITEFISH – The Montana Tech volleyball team is the favorite as voted by the Frontier Conference coaches going into the 2020-21 season. The Orediggers received three of the six first-place votes and finished with 22.5 points.
The University of Providence received two first-place votes and Carroll College received one.
One ballot gave both Montana Tech and Rocky Mountain College a second-place vote. The points for second and third were added together and divided by two with each school receiving half of the total.
The No. 17 Orediggers are defending their 2019 regular-season championship after finishing 27-8 overall and 9-3 in conference action. After receiving an at-large bid to the NAIA national tournament, the Orediggers returned to the Final Site in Sioux Falls, S.D. for the third time in four years. The Orediggers finished 2-1 in pool play and advanced to a one-set, winner-take-all tiebreaker match against then-No. 3 Indiana Wesleyan. While the Orediggers upset the top seed during pool play, their season ended in a 25-20 loss.
Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own teams. A first-place vote was worth five points, second-place votes worth four points, third-place votes worth three points, fourth-place votes worth two points and fifth-place votes one.
Frontier Conference preseason volleyball coaches' poll
First-place votes in parentheses, total points at right
1. Montana Tech (3) 22.5 points
2. University of Providence (2) 21
3. Carroll College (1) 16
4. Rocky Mountain College 12.5
5. Montana Western 11
6. MSU-Northern 7
