BATON ROUGE — Despite a loss at nationally ranked Florida, the LSU volleyball team moved up one spot into a tie for 12th with Missouri in the AVCA/CSTV Coaches poll, it was announced on Monday.
After sweeping Auburn, 3-0, on the road, the Tigers dropped their second Southeastern Conference match of the season, 3-0, at No. 7 Florida, falling into a tie for second overall and first in the SEC Western Division with Alabama. The Tigers are now 16-3 overall and 8-2 in league play, as the SEC hit the mid-way point in the double round robin conference schedule.
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 jumped to No. 22 in the first regular season poll and moved steadily up the polls until last week when LSU dropped from No. 10 to No. 13. The Tigers moved up one spot this week to tie their second highest ranking of the season.
The Tigers are among three Southeastern Conference teams in the AVCA/CSTV poll. Florida leads the way at No. 7, while Tennessee comes in at No. 25. Alabama also moved up among the teams receiving votes in the poll after topping both Kentucky and the Lady Vols last week.
LSU will be at home on Friday for a rematch with Kentucky at 7 p.m. before facing off once again with nationally ranked Tennessee next Sunday at 3:30 p.m. The Tigers will honor LSU faculty and staff on Friday as they get in FREE and receive reserved seating. Faculty and staff should pre-register by calling 578-8960 and bring their LSU ID and business card to the match for the chance to win great prizes, including men’s and women’s basketball tickets.
Against the 25th-ranked Lady Vols, LSU will celebrate Mike the Tiger’s Birthday. Boy Scouts and Girls Scouts can get into the match FREE with “Advocate” tickets by calling the LSU Promotions office the week of the match at 578-8960. Pictures with Mike the mascot, a Mike the Tiger cake, inflatables and Scout volleyball badges will help fans celebrate the occasion. The match will also be televised on SEC-TV in Baton Rouge on Fox Sports Southwest, cable channel 38.
AVCA/CSTV Division I Coaches Top 25 Poll
Rank, School (First-Place Votes), Total Points, 2006 Record, Last Week
1. Nebraska (46), 1483, 17-0, 1
2. Penn State (14), 1450, 19-0, 2
3. Stanford, 1369, 15-2, 6
4. UCLA, 1316, 20-1, 3
5. Southern California, 1243, 18-1, 4
6. Washington, 1227, 15-3, 5
7. Florida, 1129, 16-2, 8
8. California, 1045, 14-4, 7
9. Texas, 1000, 12-4, 10
10. Utah, 909, 17-2, 12
11. Wisconsin, 872, 14-4, 14
T-12. LSU, 687, 16-3, 13
T-12. Missouri, 687, 13-5, 15
14. Purdue, 670, 15-4, 9
15. Santa Clara, 611, 14-4, 17
16. Hawai’i, 571, 13-5, 11
17. Minnesota, 538, 13-5, 23
18. BYU, 509, 16-2, 19
19. Cal Poly, 490, 14-4, 20
20. San Diego, 347, 16-4, 22
21. Ohio, 315, 16-3, 21
22. New Mexico State, 283, 22-1, 25
23. Oklahoma, 242, 16-3, 24
24. Ohio State, 202, 13-5, 16
25. Tennessee, 115, 15-5, 18
Others Receiving Votes and appearing on two or more ballots: Duke 41; Alabama 38; Long Beach State 27; St John’s 24; Oregon 14; Pepperdine 13; Sacramento State 9; San Francisco 7; Saint Mary’s (CA) 6; Bowling Green State 5; UC Santa Barbara 3; Northern Iowa 2.