BATON ROUGE — After starting the season at 10-1, the LSU volleyball team moved up to No. 13 in both the AVCA/CSTV Coaches poll and the Volleyball Magazine poll, it was announced on Monday.
With wins at then-No. 13 Tennessee and Kentucky for the first time since 2001 and 1999 respectively, the Tigers have matched their 2005 mark with the best start to a season since 1991. The only loss for LSU this season came at the hands of No. 2 Penn State in five games in the season opening weekend.
The Tigers began the season receiving votes in the AVCA/CSTV poll, with LSU coming in at No. 30 among the preseason vote getters. The Tigers then moved to No. 22 in the first regular season poll and up four more spots to No. 18 last week.
LSU was ranked for one week last season, coming in at No. 24 on Sept. 26 after starting the season at 12-1. The last time the Tigers were ranked as high as No. 13, LSU came in at No. 12 in the final poll of the 1992 season.
This marks the second straight ranking of the season for the Tigers in the Volleyball Magazine poll. LSU came in at No. 18 last week after beginning the season unranked.
The Tigers return to action this weekend at home against South Carolina and Georgia. LSU will face the Gamecocks, who topped No. 6 Florida in four games last weekend, on Friday at 7 p.m. for Group Night. Groups of 10 or more can get into the match free after reserving their tickets by calling (225) 578-8960 or emailing smclaugh@lsu.edu by 3:30 p.m. on the day of the match. The first 300 fans to enter the match will also receive free LSU collector volleyball cups.
On Sunday, the Tigers will host the Bulldogs at 1:30 p.m. as LSU celebrates “Family Day” at the Maravich Center. In addition to the match being televised by Cox Sports Television, families will be treated to inflatables for the kids and family festivities throughout the match. The first 100 fans will receive free LSU volleyball lunch sacks.
CSTV/AVCA Division I Coaches Top 25 Poll
Rank, School (First-Place Votes), Total Points, 2006 Record, Last Week
1. Nebraska (44), 1480, 9-0, 1
2. Penn State (15), 1455, 11-0, 2
3. UCLA (1), 1369, 13-0, 3
4. Washington, 1295, 10-1, 4
5. Texas, 1260, 7-2, 5
6. Stanford, 1190, 9-1, 7
7. Southern California, 1150, 11-0, 9
8. California, 1034, 11-0, 10
9. Santa Clara, 1024, 9-2, 8
10. Florida, 915, 8-2, 6
11. Purdue, 831, 10-1, 14
12. Ohio State, 765, 10-0, 15
13. LSU, 738, 10-1, 18
14. Wisconsin, 689, 8-2, 11
15. Hawai’i , 613, 6-4, 12
16. BYU, 566, 10-1, 19
17. Tennessee, 555, 9-2, 13
18. Utah, 476, 9-2, 21
19. Michigan, 428, 13-0, 22
20. Ohio, 360, 8-3, 16
21. Cal Poly, 359, 7-4, 23
22. Missouri, 221, 7-4, 17
23. Pepperdine, 190, 4-6, 20
24. New Mexico State, 122, 14-0, NR
25. Long Beach State, 100, 8-2, NR
Others Receiving Votes and appearing on two or more ballots: San Diego 94; San Francisco 43; Minnesota 37; Louisville 33; Arizona 23; Colorado 14; Baylor 10; Duke 10; UC Santa Barbara 9; Iowa State 6; Maryland 6; UC San Diego 5; Kansas State 4; South Carolina 3.
Molten/Volleyball Women’s College Top 20
Rank Team Record Last Week
1. Nebraska 8-0 1
2. Penn State 11-0 2
3. UCLA 12-0 5
4. Stanford 9-1 4
5. Washington 8-1 5
6. Texas 7-2 7
7. Southern Cal 11-0 9
8. California 11-0 10
9. Santa Clara 9-2 8
10. Florida 8-2 6
11. Ohio State 10-0 15
12. Purdue 12-1 14
13. LSU 11-1 18
14. Wisconsin 8-2 12
15. Hawai’i 6-4 11
16. Tennessee 9-2 13
17. BYU 10-1 16
18. Michigan 13-0 NR
19. Utah 9-2 NR
20. Cal Poly 7-4 NR