LEXINGTON, Ky. — The LSU volleyball team is ranked No. 21 in the CBS College Sports Network/AVCA Division I Coaches Top 25 Poll, it was announced by AVCA headquarters Tuesday.
The Tigers are coming off a season where they finished 25-8 and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. They return nine letterwinners and seven starters from that team, including All-Americans Elena Martinez and Lauren DeGirolamo and all-conference selection Kyna Washington.
“I think this team has earned the respect of the country and coaches around the country,” LSU head coach Fran Flory said. “I would have been surprised if we were not in the coaches poll or at least at the brink of making it. I look forward to the opportunity of climbing ahead in that poll.”
The Tigers, three-time defending Southeastern Conference Western Division Champions, are one of two conference schools in the poll, as Florida tops SEC teams at No. 8. Kentucky also received votes.
Last year’s NCAA Champion Penn State Nittany Lions sit atop the preseason poll, followed by Stanford, Texas, USC and Cal to round out the top five. Nebraska, which LSU is set to face in a tournament in September, sits at seventh, while Minnesota, another of the Tigers’ tournament opponents, is 16th.
The Tigers were ranked No. 23 in last year’s preseason poll, which had been the first time they were ranked in the preseason since coming in at No. 13 in the 1993 preseason poll. They finished the 2007 season unranked, although they had been a constant in the poll for 23 straight weeks between 2006 and 2007.
LSU begins its season in the Bluejay Invitational on Aug. 28 hosted by Creighton in Omaha, Neb. The Tigers’ first home appearance will be in the Tiger Classic on Sept. 5 against Southeast Missouri State.
CBS College Sports Network/AVCA Division I Coaches Top 25 Poll
2008 PRESEASON POLL: August 19, 2008
Rank School (First-Place Votes) Total Points 2007 Record 2007 Final Rank
1 Penn State (59) 1498 34-2 1
2 Stanford 1431 32-3 2
3 Texas 1360 27-4 6
4 Southern California 1229 29-5 3
5 California 1214 26-8 4
6 UCLA 1188 23-11 7
7 Nebraska (1) 1161 30-2 5
8 Florida 1025 29-3 8
9 Washington 944 27-4 10
10 Cal Poly 849 23-8 11
11 Oregon 797 22-11 9
12 Hawai’i 781 27-6 18
13 Wisconsin 765 26-5 14
14 Kansas State 665 23-9 16
15 Middle Tennessee 479 35-3 15
16 Minnesota 446 18-13 NR
17 Colorado State 363 23-8 NR
18 Iowa State 328 19-14 17
19 Clemson 303 29-4 22
20 BYU 292 24-8 17
21 LSU 276 25-8 NR
22 San Diego 271 21-8 25
23 New Mexico State 229 26-6 21
24 Long Beach State 220 26-7 23
25 Purdue 190 19-14 NR
Others Receiving Votes and appearing on two or more ballots: St. John’s 180; Michigan 177; Pepperdine 113; Dayton 98; Michigan State 80; Louisville 66; Santa Clara 65; Ohio 62; Texas A&M 55; Utah 45; Illinois 44; Missouri 42; Tulane 38; Arizona 31; Duke 18; Kentucky 16; Oklahoma 15; Wichita State 14; Georgia Tech 8; Western Kentucky 6