LEXINGTON, Ky. – Midway through the first week of preseason camp, the LSU volleyball team learned on Wednesday that the 2015 squad is receiving votes in the release of the American Volleyball Coaches Association Preseason Top 25 Poll the organization announced.
The Tigers are one of five teams from the Southeastern Conference to earn a spot in either the top 25 or is at least receiving votes heading into the start of the regular season later this month, with Florida coming in fourth and Kentucky at No. 15. Texas A&M and Alabama were the other two to receive votes in the initial poll.
Outside of the SEC, the list features three other teams LSU will square off with in the non-conference portion of the schedule, earning a date with the third-ranked Texas Longhorns to close out the American Campus Classic in Austin on August 29. The very next week the Tigers will take on Michigan in the Bobcat Invitational at Ohio University, while hosting Purdue the very next weekend at the Maravich Center in the squad’s home tournament.
LSU returns five starters and 10 total letterwinners from a team that went 20-9 last season and 14-4 in the SEC. The Tigers qualified for the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive year in 2014, advancing to the second round of the tournament for the second straight season.
LSU returns All-SEC selection Cati Leak, one of four seniors on this year’s team, as well as sophomore hitter Gina Tillis who was named to the SEC All Freshman Team. The team welcomes five freshmen into the fold in 2015 and one transfer in junior middle blocker Tiara Gibson. The Tigers will also return Khourtni Fears and Toni Rodriguez who both sat out last season due to injury.
For all of the latest news and information on Tiger volleyball, visit www.lsusports.net/volleyball. Fans can also follow the program on its social media outlets at www.Facebook.com/lsuvolleyball along with @lsuvolleyball and @lsucoachfran on Twitter and @lsuvb on Instagram.
AVCA Preseason Top 25
Rank, School (First-Place Votes), Points, 2014 Record, 2014 Final Rank
1, Penn State (54), 1538, 36-3, 1
2, Stanford (6), 1468, 33-2, 2
3, Texas (1), 1384, 27-3, 5
4, Florida, 1338, 28-4, 6
t5, Nebraska, 1275, 23-10, 8
t5, Wisconsin (1), 1275, 31-3, 4
7, North Carolina, 1158, 29-3, 7
8, Illinois, 1055, 26-8, 11
9, Florida State, 986, 30-3, 10
10, Washington, 953, 31-3, 9
11, BYU, 919, 30-5, 3
12, Colorado State, 754, 31-3, 12
13, Oregon, 722, 23-10, 14
14, Ohio State, 700, 23-12, 18
15, Kentucky, 603, 27-6, 17
16, Arizona State, 529, 20-14, 22
17, Arizona, 498, 24-10, 16
18, Hawai’i, 401, 22-7, 23
19, Michigan State, 340, 19-14, NR
20, UCLA, 316, 22-12, 15
21, Iowa State, 273, 19-10, NR
22, Southern California, 255, 16-16, NR
23, Utah, 211, 20-13, 18
24, Colorado, 188, 20-14, 21
25, Duke, 168, 22-8, 25
Others receiving votes and listed on two or more ballots: Long Beach State 147; Purdue 131; Oklahoma 103; Oregon State 89; Texas A&M 84; Minnesota 78; Kansas 48; Arkansas-Little Rock 33; Alabama 24; Western Kentucky 20; Creighton 15; Michigan 12; San Diego 10; Wichita State 9; LSU 8; Miami (Fla.) 7; American 4.