LEXINGTON, Ky. — The LSU volleyball team continued its climb up the national rankings to No. 20 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association Top 25 poll released Monday. It marks the fourth consecutive season under head coach Fran Flory that the Tigers have been ranked during multiple weeks.
LSU (15-4, 9-1 SEC) has won eight straight matches, its longest streak since a 13-match effort during the 2006 season. The Tigers also extended its winning streak to 25 over SEC Western Division foes and the victories allowed LSU to open a 4.5 match lead over Auburn in the division race.
LSU racked up 294 points to move up four spots. The Tigers are joined by No. 7 Kentucky and No. 10 Florida from the SEC, while Tennessee is receiving votes in this week’s poll.
“I was very impressed with our performance last weekend following up the Florida win,” head coach Fran Flory said. “We’ve worked very hard, and our players are reaping the rewards of their hard work. Every weekend in the SEC is tough, this week is no different at Kentucky and Tennessee. We’ll have to play our best volleyball to be successful.”
LSU faces off against the seventh-ranked Wildcats Saturday at 12:30 p.m. Live stats are available in the Geaux Zone on LSUsports.net and fans also can follow in-match updates of the four-time defending SEC Western Division champions via www.twitter.com/lsuvolleyball.
AVCA Division I Coaches Top 25 Poll
2009 Poll #8: October 19, 2009
Rank School (First-Place Votes) Total Points 2009
Record Last Week
1. Penn State (53) 1493 20-0 1
2. Texas (7) 1447 14-0 2
3. Hawai’i 1357 16-2 3
4. Washington 1335 17-1 4
5. Nebraska 1144 14-4 7
6. Stanford 1118 12-5 5
7. Kentucky 1083 19-1 8
8. Illinois 1048 14-3 10
9. Minnesota 992 15-5 6
10. Florida 959 14-3 9
11. Michigan 892 17-4 11
12. Oregon 858 14-3 15
13. UCLA 804 14-6 12
14. Iowa State 783 15-3 13
15. California 627 10-7 14
16. Arizona 562 15-3 18
17. Florida State 542 17-2 17
18. Southern California 469 13-6 16
19. UC Irvine 368 16-3 21
20. LSU 294 15-4 24
21. Texas A&M 253 13-4 22
22. San Diego 245 12-4 23
23. Baylor 172 17-4 19
24. Saint Louis 134 13-6 20
25. Colorado State 89 16-3 NR
Others Receiving Votes and appearing on two or more ballots: Washington State 82; Dayton 60; Long Beach State 58; Northern Iowa 45; Notre Dame 37; St. Mary’s (Ca.) 22; Florida International 18; Michigan State 15; Oregon State 15; Pepperdine 14; UC Santa Barbara 14; Tennessee 12; Missouri State 7
Five schools were listed on only one ballot for a total of 33 points.
Dropped Out: Long Beach State (25)
Next poll: October 26, 2009