BATON ROUGE — Coming off their best season in 13 years, the LSU volleyball team earned votes in the preseason CSTV/AVCA Coaches poll.
The Tigers are receiving 32 votes in the preseason poll, placing them at No. 30 nationally. It marked a return to the national ranks for the first time since mid-way through the 2005 season when LSU was ranked as high as No. 24, its first top 25 ranking since 1993.
The Tigers went on to win a share of their first Southeastern Conference Western Division title and advance to the NCAA Tournament last season. LSU returns nine letterwinners, including four seniors and 2005 SEC Freshman of the Year Marina Skender. In addition, the Tigers are bringing in six newcomers that will compliment the returnees.
Florida leads a pair of SEC teams among the top 25 at No. 5, while Tennessee comes in at No. 11. The Lady Vols advanced to the NCAA Final Four for the first time in school history last season; joining LSU and the Gators as the only three SEC teams to make the Final Four. In addition, South Carolina is receiving votes in the poll along with the Tigers. The Gamecocks received one vote to come in at No. 50.
LSU will open the 2006 season on Aug. 25 against Rice in the Maravich Center in the Tiger Invitational at 7 p.m. The Tigers will then take on Nicholls State on Aug. 26 at 11 a.m. before closing out the two-day tournament against No. 2 Penn State at 7 p.m.
Admission to the tournament is free with an “Advocate” ticket. Those tickets are available through the LSU Promotions Department by calling (225) 578-8960. In addition, fans are encouraged to wear white to the Penn State match, and “Walk on the Wild Side” t-shirts will be given away in an attempt to “Pack Pete’s Seats” and break the LSU volleyball attendance record.
For the season, the Tigers are scheduled to face four nationally ranked teams with three teams receiving votes. In addition to Florida and Tennessee, which LSU plays twice this year, and Penn State, the Tigers will take on No. 22 Minnesota in the Billiken Invitational in St. Louis on Sept. 2.
LSU will also face Texas A&M, which is receiving votes in the Billiken Invitational on Sept. 1, while playing Dayton, which is receiving votes, on Sept. 8 at the Dayton Marriott Invitational.
2006 CSTV/AVCA Preseason Top 25 Poll
No.
Team
Votes
2005 Record
1.
Nebraska (14)
1431
33-2
2.
Penn State (17)
1407
31-3
3.
Washington (16)
1357
32-1
4.
Stanford (13)
1287
26-6
5.
Florida
1181
33-3
6.
Santa Clara
1115
27-5
7.
Hawai’i
1067
27-7
8.
Texas
1066
24-5
9.
Wisconsin
896
26-7
10.
UCLA
837
20-11
11.
Tennessee
779
25-9
12.
Louisville
751
31-3
13.
Missouri
732
25-5
14.
USC
642
17-11
15.
Ohio
593
33-3
16.
Purdue
545
25-9
17.
California
528
19-11
18.
Arizona
491
25-6
19.
Pepperdine
484
19-12
20.
San Diego
413
23-6
21.
Notre Dame
411
30-4
22.
Minnesota
393
25-8
23.
Ohio State
346
22-9
24.
Utah
202
23-9
25.
Kansas State
162
21-11
Others Receiving Votes: BYU 74; Long Beach State 64; Colorado 35; UC-Santa Barbara 33; LSU 32; New Mexico State 25; Duke 22; Loyola Marymount 18; Northwestern 14; Texas A&M 11; Maryland 7; Marshall 6; Saint Mary’s (CA) 6; Wichita State 6; Northern Iowa 5; San Francisco 5; Colorado State 4; Virginia 3; Albany 2; Sacramento State 2; Cincinnati 2; Dayton 2; Georgia Tech 2; Western Kentucky 2; College of Charleston 1; South Carolina 1.