August 14, 2000
The Texas A&M volleyball team is ranked 19th in the USA TODAY/AVCA Division I Coaches Top 25 preseason poll, released Monday.
Eighth-year Aggie head coach Laurie Corbelli returns only two starters and six other letterwinners from the record-setting 1999 squad which advanced to the NCAA regional finals for the first time and ranked an all-time high No. 9 in the final coaches poll with a 28-6 record.
UCLA, who A&M faces in the third match of the season, is picked No. 1, followed by defending NCAA champion Penn State and NCAA finalist Stanford. Long Beach State and Hawai'i, who opens the season against A&M, round out the top five.
Five teams representing the Big 12 are ranked in the Top 25. Defending conference champion Nebraska is No. 6, followed by No. 17 Kansas State. Texas received 433 points and comes in at No. 18, while A&M is only one behind with 432 points and a No. 19 ranking. Baylor is ranked 21st.
Colorado received points and is listed 33rd.
The Aggies are scheduled to play 10 matches against teams that are ranked in the preseason Top 25. They open the season at No. 5 Hawaii, Sept. 1 in the Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Volleyball Classic.
The following is the complete USA TODAY/AVCA Coaches Top 25 Preseason Poll:
Total 1999 Final 1999
Rk School (1st-Place) Points Record Ranking
1 UCLA (23) 1399 28-4 7
2 Penn State (10) 1317 36-1 1
3 Stanford (9) 1309 31-3 2
4 Long Beach State (13) 1304 31-4 4
5 Hawai'i (2) 1224 29-2 8
6 Nebraska (1) 1055 27-6 11
7 USC (1) 1019 21-9 17
8 Pepperdine 1013 26-4 10
9 Florida 946 33-3 5
10 Arizona 906 21-11 14
11 Minnesota 892 27-9 16
12 Pacific (1) 878 32-3 3
13 Colorado State 857 30-3 12
14 UC Santa Barbara 749 29-6 6
15 BYU 722 28-5 13
16 Wisconsin 516 22-10 23
17 Kansas State 462 21-9 19
18 Texas 433 22-8 18
19 Texas A&M 432 28-6 9
20 Michigan State 334 21-13 --
21 Baylor 254 26-9 20
22 Northern Iowa 208 30-1 15
23 Loyola Marymount 165 20-11 --
24 Michigan 164 16-15 --
25 Ohio State 150 17-12 --
Others receiving 30 or more points: North Carolina
(132), Clemson (97), Notre Dame (79), Illinois (61),
Utah (59), San Diego (58), Arkansas (58), Colorado
(35), Louisville (31).