UW VB: Huskies Ranked Seventh Nationally In Preseason Poll
The Pac-12 features five conference teams among the top-11 in the preseason voting.
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The American Volleyball Coaches Association unveiled its preseason rankings today, and the Huskies will begin the 2011 season ranked seventh in the country. Washington ended the 2010 season sixth in the final AVCA poll after beginning the year ranked eighth.
The Huskies have finished in the Top-10 in the AVCA poll in seven of the past eight years, including last season. Penn State, which has won four consecutive NCAA titles, starts at No. 1 again this year. The Nittany Lions received 54 of 60 first place votes. Preseason Pac-12 favorites USC are ranked second, receiving five first place votes, and the last vote went to California, ranked third to start the season after its NCAA finals loss to Penn State last December.
The Big-12 checks in with Texas and Nebraska in the four and five spots, then it is Stanford at No. 6 and the Huskies at No. 7. Washington was slotted ahead of the Cardinal in the Pac-12 coaches poll which came out last week.
Number eight Illinois, No. 9 Florida, and No. 10 Hawai’i round out the Top-10. Pac-12 rival UCLA also comes in at No. 11, giving the Pac-12 four of the top-seven teams nationally and five in the top-eleven. Oregon and Arizona are also receiving votes.
Washington will face its first ranked opponent in the third match of the year, as Long Beach State checks in at No. 22. The Huskies will visit Long Beach for the Long Beach State Mizuno Invitational on the season’s first weekend, and will face LBSU on Saturday, Aug. 27, at 7 p.m.
Rank School (First-Place Votes) Total Points 2010 Record 2010 Final Poll
1 Penn State (54) 1486 32-5 1
2 Southern California (5) 1424 29-5 3
3 California (1) 1354 30-4 2
4 Texas 1313 27-6 4
5 Nebraska 1221 29-3 7
6 Stanford 1150 27-4 5
7 Washington 1112 24-9 6
8 Illinois 1066 24-9 9
9 Florida 1031 29-2 8
10 Hawai’i 976 29-3 13
11 UCLA 903 22-9 12
12 Minnesota 810 26-9 10
13 Purdue 739 24-11 11
14 Northern Iowa 619 30-3 14
15 Colorado State 533 26-5 16
16 Oklahoma 485 23-11 21
17 Duke 465 27-7 18
18 Iowa State 430 20-9 25
19 Dayton 334 28-4 15
20 San Diego 315 24-6 17
21 Ohio State 256 24-12 19
22 Long Beach State 234 25-8 NR
23 Tulsa 193 31-3 20
T-24 Michigan 170 23-10 NR
T-24 Tennessee 170 15-7 24
Others Receiving Votes and appearing on two or more ballots: Pepperdine 125; LSU 86; Oregon 85; Missouri 68; Florida State 61; Indiana 41; St. Mary’s (Ca.) 35; Louisville 33; Arizona 29; Kentucky 24; Cincinnati 22; Miami (FL) 13; Clemson 11; Wichita State 11; Wisconsin 11; North Carolina 10; Notre Dame 9; Cal Poly 8; Michigan State 8; Northwestern 4; Western Kentucky 4
