Fresh off their appearance in last year’s national semifinals, the Missouri Valley Viking Men’s Volleyball team will start the new season ranked fifth in the nation.

The NAIA coaches’ preseason poll released Wednesday, Jan. 21 has the Vikings in the top five, following their first-ever regular season conference championship and the unseating of the defending national champions Georgetown (Ky.) to advance to last May’s semifinals. Mo Valley finished the season with a program record-tying 22 wins, matching 2014’s total. The preseason poll is dominated by programs from the Heart of America, with the Vikings leading the way, followed by Missouri Baptist in sixth, Park in eighth, Grand View in 11th, Mount Mercy in 12th, and William Penn rounding out the top 15.

The Vikings will begin the season under new head coach Leonardo Bilitardo this weekend, when they travel to Michigan to face Cornerstone (Mich.) and Indiana Tech. Their first home contest is the Viking Invitational on January 29th, with their opening match against Ottawa (Ariz.).