HICKORY, N.C. — Only two weeks after four of its programs earned votes in national polls, the Catawba Valley Community College athletic department reached another national milestone on Monday.
For the first time ever, all five Red Hawk athletic teams who compete through the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) received votes in the NJCAA's Division II polls.
"The national recognition we received so far this season, especially this week, says a lot about the brand of excellence we are building here at Catawba Valley Community College," said CVCC Athletic Director Nick Schroeder. "Our name and programs have become synonymous with success, which has helped to benefit all of our student athletes, coaches and athletic programs."
In just its second season, the Red Hawks softball program made history by receiving votes in the NJCAA DII softball poll for the first time ever. CVCC is off to a 3-1 start to its 2021 softball season after defeating Surry, Patrick Henry and Cleveland community colleges during its season-opening CVCC Clash.
The CVCC volleyball program continues to lead the way for all ranked Red Hawk athletic programs. For the second straight week, the Catawba Valley volleyball program is ranked No. 2 in its respective poll after dispatching Louisburg in conference play by a 3-0 score this past Wednesday.
Moving up from fifth to fourth this week was the CVCC women's basketball team, which cruised to a 76-40 road win on Sunday against Brunswick Community College.
Despite a difficult loss last week to defending DIII national champion Sandhills, the CVCC men's basketball program remains ranked this week at the No. 20 spot. This is the first-ever season that the Red Hawks have been ranked inside the top 20 teams nationally in Division II.
The CVCC baseball program, which starts play on Saturday and Sunday at USC Union in Union, S.C., is ranked 19th in their respective NJCAA DII poll.
The NJCAA weekly rankings are released every Monday. For more information about the NJCAA, please visit www.njcaa.org.