BATON ROUGE — After three-game sweeps of Ole Miss and Mississippi State, the LSU volleyball team cracked the top 10 for the first time since 1992, moving to No. 10 in the AVCA/CSTV Coaches poll, it was announced on Tuesday.
With the two wins last weekend, the Tigers are off to their best start since 1991 and their best start in Southeastern Conference play since 1990. The only loss for LSU this season came at the hands of undefeated and No. 2-ranked 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 have steadily risen up the polls since then.
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 in the top 10, LSU came in at No. 8 on Sept. 7, 1992.
The Tigers are among three Southeastern Conference teams in the AVCA/CSTV poll. Florida leads the way at No. 8, while Tennessee comes in at No. 18. LSU defeated the Lady Vols in five games in Knoxville earlier in the season.
LSU now takes to the road for two weeks. The Tigers will travel to face Arkansas for a mid-week contest before taking on Alabama on the road next weekend. LSU will then face Auburn and nationally ranked Florida on the road the following weekend. The Tigers will next be at home on Oct. 20 for a rematch with Kentucky before facing off with nationally ranked Tennessee again on Oct. 22.
CSTV/AVCA Division I Coaches Top 25 Poll
Rank. School (First-Place Votes), Total Points, 2006 Record, Last Week
1. Nebraska (41), 1473, 13-0, 1
2. Penn State (13), 1450, 15-0, 2
3. UCLA (6), 1391, 17-0, 3
4. Southern California, 1321, 15-0, 5
5. Washington, 1234, 12-3, 4
6. Stanford, 1210, 12-2, 6
7. California, 1142, 14-1, 7
8. Florida, 1049, 12-2, 10
9. Purdue, 953, 13-2, 11
10. LSU, 910, 14-1, 12
11. Texas, 872, 9-4, 8
12. Santa Clara, 825, 11-3, 9
13. Wisconsin, 778, 12-2, 14
14. Ohio State, 694, 12-2, 13
15. Hawai’i, 641, 9-4, 15
16. Utah, 622, 12-2, 18
17. Missouri, 500, 11-4, 19
18. Tennessee, 487, 13-3, 17
19. BYU, 439, 12-2, 16
20. Cal Poly, 398, 11-4, 20
21. Ohio, 306, 12-3, 21
22. San Diego, 186, 12-4, 25
23. Pepperdine, 182, 6-6, 23
24. Minnesota, 120, 10-4, NR
25. Oklahoma, 99, 12-3, NR
Others Receiving Votes and appearing on two or more ballots:
New Mexico State 86; Duke 31; Long Beach State 14; San Francisco 13; Sacramento State 11; St John’s 11; Michigan 10; Colorado 9; Loyola Marymount 7; Saint Mary’s (CA) 4; Louisville 3; Illinois 2.
Seven schools were listed on only one ballot for a total of 17 points.
Dropped out:
New Mexico State (22), Michigan (24)