Fast start leads to Top 10 ranking for Titans volleyball team

Word spread fast around the Eastern Florida State College volleyball team that they were the No. 10 team in the latest NJCAA Region 8 coaches poll.

The ranking is the first time that the volleyball team has been ranked under head coach Andrea Rasmussen.

"It was crazy. I called my parents and said, 'this probably doesn't mean much to you but we are ranked for the first time!'" sophomore libero Megan Graefe said after practice. "It is a good feeling."

Graefe is one of the players that has seen the growth of the program in two short years.

"It was clear at the beginning of the season that we had a lot of talent. The question was not if we were capable of doing big things but were we going to," Graefe said. "So far, we have."

The Titans, who are off to a 7-2 start, will host the College of Central Florida tonight at 6 p.m. The Patriots are 5-3 this season and ranked No. 3 in the Region 8 poll and No. 10 in the NJCAA national poll.

But Graefe said the early-season matchups with the Region's top-ranked Polk State has prepared them for this match.

"I think it was a reality check for our team," Graefe said. "We already played the No. 1 team twice, so we won't be surprised now. We know what that kind of competition looks like and I think we are ready for the challenge."

The match will be live on WEFS-TV and streamed online at efsctitans.com/webcast