November 10, 2003
Texas A&M jumped three spots to No. 18 in the USA Today/American Volleyball Coaches Association Division I Coaches Top 25 Poll, released Monday by the AVCA.
The ranking is the Aggies' highest since a No. 17 showing on Sept. 16, 2002.
The Aggies (18-6, 10-4 Big 12), who had been ranked No. 21 for the past three weeks, made the jump after going 1-1 last week, falling to No. 10 Nebraska and then defeating Oklahoma.
The top five remained unchanged with defending national champion USC ranked No. 1, followed by Hawaii, Florida, Pepperdine and Kansas State.
In addition to Texas A&M and Kansas State, the Big 12 Conference also is represented by No. 10 Nebraska. Missouri, which was ranked No. 25 last week, dropped out of the poll after losing its fourth consecutive match but is receiving points and is listed 33rd.
Texas A&M, which is in third place in the Big 12 standings, returns to action Wednesday as the Aggies face Colorado in Boulder. Match time is 8 p.m. (CST) at the Coors Events Center. A&M defeated the Buffaloes in five games earlier this season. It marked the third time in the last four meetings that the match has gone five games.
The following is the complete USA Today/AVCA Top 25 Poll with first-place votes in parentheses:
1 USC (65) 1,625 24-0 1
2 Hawai'i 1,551 26-1 2
3 Florida 1,502 26-1 3
4 Pepperdine 1,427 20-2 4
5 Kansas State 1,327 23-3 5
6 Georgia Tech 1,278 26-1 7
7 Stanford 1,256 18-5 8
8 UCLA 1,132 20-5 6
9 California 1,092 19-4 9
10 Nebraska 1,070 22-3 10
11 Washington 943 17-7 11
12 Notre Dame 865 21-2 12
13 Santa Clara 759 17-8 14
14 Northern Iowa 751 21-4 13
15 Colorado State 682 21-4 15
16 Penn State 673 22-4 16
17 Loyola Marymount 603 22-5 17
18 Texas A&M 402 18-6 21
19 Louisville 370 17-4 23
20 Cincinnati 336 25-2 24
21 UC Santa Barbara 263 16-7 19
22 San Diego 255 17-8 18
23 Wisconsin 176 18-7 22
24 Minnesota 163 17-9 20
25 Illinois 161 19-5 NR
Others receiving points and listed on two or more ballots: Michigan State 119, Southwest Missouri State 98, Arizona 49, Florida A&M 42, University of San Francisco 29, Arkansas 27, Ohio 25, Missouri 20, Maryland 15, Kansas 7, Utah 3. Seven teams mentioned on only one ballot for a total of 29 combined points.