LEXINGTON, Ky.- Southwest Minnesota State's women's volleyball team has dropped two spots to No. 4 in the latest American Volleyball Coaches' Association (AVCA) Top-25 poll that was released on Monday.

SMSU (23-3, 15-3 NSIC) dropped its third conference match of the year in a 3-1 loss to then ninth-ranked Minnesota Duluth in the first of two road matches last weekend. The Mustangs rebounded with a 3-1 victory over St. Cloud State on Saturday afternoon.

SMSU received 1,029 total adjusted points to finish behind Concordia-St. Paul (1), California Baptist (2), and Lewis (3). SMSU did not receive a single first-place vote for a second week in a row and only the second time all season.

No. 6 Minnesota Duluth (22-4) and No. 7 Northern State (22-4) made it four total NSIC schools to crack this week's AVCA Top-10.

No. 15 Winona State (19-7) remains in the same spot as last week's poll after going 3-0 last week. No. 18 Augustana (20-8) dropped two places after going 2-1 last week with its only loss coming at the hands of No. 22 Wayne State, which remains in the same ranking as last week's poll.

Upper Iowa (RV), the eighth and final NSIC school to receive votes in this week's poll, was the lone team to drop out of this week's poll after finally cracking the top-25 for the first time last week.

The Mustangs have now been ranked in the Top-25 for 158 consecutive polls, dating back to Sept. 5, 2006, and have made it into the Top-10 for 62 consecutive polls. SMSU has also been ranked in the AVCA Top-5 in the previous 25 polls dating back to last year's preseason poll.

Southwest Minnesota State, needing just one more win to officially clinch a home playoff birth, will look to finish its regular season on a high note as the Mustangs host Minnesota Crookston and Bemidji State this Friday and Saturday respectively.