October 20, 2003
Texas A&M climbed one spot to No. 21 in the USA Today/American Volleyball Coaches Association Division I Coaches Poll, released Monday by the AVCA.
The ranking is the Aggies' highest since a No. 20 showing on Sept. 23, 2002.
The Aggies (14-5, 6-3 Big 12), who are in fourth place in the Big 12 Conference, made the jump after extending their winning streak to four with victories over Kansas and Oklahoma last week.
Defending national champion USC, Hawaii, Florida and Georgia Tech continue to hold down the top four spots. Pepperdine moved up one spot to No. 5 to round out the five top-ranked teams.
In addition to Texas A&M, the Big 12 Conference is represented by No. 8 Kansas State, No. 11 Nebraska and No. 24 Missouri, who moved into the Top 25 after upsetting the Huskers last week in Lincoln.
Texas A&M returns to Big 12 play Wednesday as the Aggies conclude the first half of conference play at Baylor. Match time is 7 p.m. at the Ferrell Center. A&M returns to G. Rollie White on Friday with a 6 p.m. match against rival Texas, who overcame a two-game deficit to down the Aggies in Austin earlier this month.
The following is the complete USA Today/AVCA Top 25 Poll with first-place votes in parentheses:
Total 2003 Last
Rank School Points Record Week
1 USC (65) 1,625 18-0 1
2 Hawai'i 1,549 20-1 2
3 Florida 1,506 20-1 3
4 Georgia Tech 1,412 20-0 4
5 Pepperdine 1,321 15-2 6
6 Stanford 1,269 14-4 7
7 California 1,263 16-2 5
8 Kansas State 1,175 18-3 8-tie
9 UCLA 1,138 14-4 11
10 Washington 968 14-4 12
11 Nebraska 949 16-3 8-tie
12 Santa Clara 875 14-6 14
13 Northern Iowa 770 16-3 10
14 Notre Dame 737 14-2 15
15 Penn State 687 17-3 13
16 San Diego 628 15-4 17
17 Loyola Marymount 572 19-3 19
18 Colorado State 454 16-4 20
19 UC Santa Barbara 400 11-6 16
20 Louisville 258 11-4 21
21 Texas A&M 257 14-5 22
22 Michigan State 241 12-6 18
23 Wisconsin 233 14-5 23
24 Missouri 180 14-4 NR
25 Minnesota 157 13-7 NR
Others receiving points and listed on two or more ballots: Cincinnati 144, Illinois 120, Southwest Missouri State 50, Florida A&M 36, Ohio 32, UC Irvine 22, San Francisco 19, Pacific 13, Arizona 11, Arkansas 11, Fresno State 10, Long Beach State 10, Maryland 4. Six teams mentioned on only one ballot for a total of 19 combined points.