IRVINE, CA --- With practice heating up and the start of the season just over a week away, Concordia volleyball has been ranked the No. 2 team in the country, as the Tachikara-NAIA Volleyball Coaches' Preseason Top 25 Poll was released Tuesday.

The Eagles are returning 11 letterwinners who will mix with 12 incoming freshmen on a team led by second-year head coach Kyle Kvasnicka.

Kvasnicka will look to lead his program to its fifth consecutive berth in the NAIA National Championships Semifinals or better, after the team was ousted by preseason No. 1-ranked and defending champion Fresno Pacific in a 3-2 barn-burner to end the 2009 campaign.

The 2009 team went 30-8, including 13-7 in Golden State Athletic Conference play, finishing the year at fourth place in the conference.

The GSAC features five teams in the top-10 of the NAIA voting, including No. 3 California Baptist and No. 6 Biola, while Azusa Pacific starts the year ranked No. 9.

Meanwhile, Point Loma Nazarene earned a No. 14 ranking while Vanguard (84) and Westmont (1) each start the season in the received votes category.

The Eagles start their 2010 campaign with four matches at the Point Loma Sea Lion Classic, Aug. 27-28 at Point Loma Nazarene, then host the Crowne Plaza-Asics Labor Day Volleyball Tournament Sept. 3-4 at CU Arena.