August 11, 1998
NOTRE DAME, Ind. — The University of Notre Dame women’s volleyball squad will start its 1998 quest for the NCAA title ranked 16th in the nation by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) in a preseason poll released today.
The Irish, who finished last year ranked 18th, will face four teams in the AVCA top 20 this season including 12th-ranked Colorado (Sept. 6), seventh-ranked Wisconsin (Sept. 11), 17th-ranked Michigan State (Sept. 19) and 6th-ranked Florida (Oct. 21). Of the four top 20 teams, the Irish are scheduled to play against three of them in the first eight matches of the season. Also in the poll are future 1998 opponents Georgia (30th most votes), Utah (37th) and Oral Roberts (38th). The matches with Georgia and Colorado will mean that the field for the fifth Shamrock Invitational, slated for Sept. 4-6 at Notre Dame, will include three of the top-30 preseason ranked teams.
At the top of the USA Today/AVCA poll this season is Penn State, which lost the 1997 NCAA title match to Stanford. Penn State garnered 29 of the 60 first place votes, followed by Long Beach State (17 first place votes) which is led by preseason player of the year candidate Misty May.
In another poll released today by Volleyball Magazine, the Irish, ranked 18th in the magazine’s 1997 preseason poll, failed to make the top 20 field. Notre Dame opponents making Volleyball’s poll include: Florida (11th), Wisconsin (12th), Michigan State (16th) and Oral Roberts (18th).
Notre Dame returns four of its six starters from last year’s 25-9 squad which won its third straight BIG EAST Conference title and qualified for its sixth straight NCAA playoffs.
NOTRE DAME’S HISTORY IN THE AVCA POLL
First Ranking: 1992 (24h in preseason poll)
Highest Ranking: 7th (10/16/95)
Highest Final Ranking: 12th (1994)
Consecutive Weeks Ranked: 66 (9/9/92 – 11/5/96)
YEAR PRESEASON HIGHEST FINAL1992 N.R. 20th (final poll) 22nd1993 19th 11th (10/26/93) 17th1994 17th 11th (11/15/94) 12th1995 11th 7th (9/19/95) 14th1996 9th 8th (9/3/95) 25th1997 17th 17th (preseason) 18th1998 16th
USA TODAY/AVCA Coaches Top 25 PollWomen's Division I VolleyballPreseason Poll - Aug. 11, 1998 Rk School (1st Votes) Ttl Pts 1997 Rec Final '97 Rank1 Penn State (29) 1446 34-2 22 Long Beach State (17) 1418 33-2 33 USC (5) 1279 23-6 94 Stanford (7) 1210 33-2 15 Nebraska (1) 1204 27-7 86 Florida 1165 34-3 47 Wisconsin 1143 30-3 58 BYU 1070 29-6 79 Texas (1) 1040 25-7 1010 UC Santa Barbara 938 31-5 611 Univ. of the Pacific 886 23-9 1612 Colorado 795 22-9 1413 Ohio State 514 24-11 1514 Hawai'i 508 25-8 2515 Arkansas 494 30-6 2116 Notre Dame 471 25-9 1817 Michigan State 438 19-8 NR18 UCLA 399 16-12 NR19 Texas A&M 386 26-8 1320 Loyola Marymount 381 22-7 1721 U. of San Diego 331 26-4 2022 Washington State 330 26-7 1223 Washington 321 20-10 1124 Florida State 172 25-9 NR25 Pepperdine 149 23-6 24
Others Receiving Points: Colorado State (103), Arizona (94), Michigan (90), Maryland (88), Georgia (72), Houston (72), Illinois (67), Minnesota (64), Texas Tech (52), Kansas State (49), Oklahoma (34), Utah (34), Oral Roberts (25), Clemson (23), Northern Illinois (22), South Carolina (21), Fresno State (12), Louisville (12), Sacramento State (11), Ball State (9), Oregon State (8), San Diego State (8), Central Florida (7), Arizona State (6), South Florida (6), Illinois State (5), Temple (5), Cal Poly SLO (4), Miami (OH) (3), Auburn (2).
Volleyball Magazine Top 20 PollWomen's Division I VolleyballPreseason Poll - Aug. 11, 1998Rk Team 1997 Record '97 Rank1 Long Beach State 33-2 2 2 Penn State 34-2 33 Texas 25-6 144 USC 23-6 85 Stanford 33-2 16 Nebraska 27-7 107 Pacific 23-9 158 Colorado 22-9 NR9 UC Santa Barbara 32-5 610 Brigham Young 29-6 511 Florida 34-4 712 Wisconsin 30-3 413 Arkansas 34-4 1914 UCLA 17-13 NR15 Hawai'i 25-8 1116 Michigan State 23-12 NR17 Washington State 26-7 1218 Oral Roberts 29-10 NR19 Florida State 25-9 NR20 Washington 20-10 16
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