Aug. 12, 2002
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - The Santa Clara University women's volleyball team will enter the 2002 season with the No. 24 ranking from the USA Today/AVCA Today Coaches Poll that was released Monday afternoon by the American Volleyball Coaches Association office.
"We are very excited to be viewed as a top-25 team entering the season," said head coach Jon Wallace. "We don't want to be satisfied with that number though. Our goal is to be a top-10 program. We know that it will take a lot of hard work to get there, but I think our players are willing to do whatever it takes achieve that."
Santa Clara was picked to finish second in league play by the coaches of the West Coast Conference and was one of only two teams from the conference to be ranked in the top-25. WCC preseason favorite Pepperdine earned a preseason No. 8 ranking from the AVCA. San Diego and Loyola Marymount both received votes in the poll, but not enough to break into the top-25.
The Broncos, who finished the 2001 season with a 19-10 record and a fourth-straight trip to the NCAA Tournament, has already begun practice in preparation for their first game against James Madison on August 30 at the UC Irvine Tournament in Southern California.
USA Today/AVCA Division I Coaches Top-25
(First-Place Votes)
1. Stanford (54)
2. Nebraska (4)
3. USC (2)
4. Hawai'i (5)
5. Long Beach State
6. Arizona
7. Florida
8. Pepperdine
9. Ohio State
10. Wisconsin
11. UCLA
12. Pacific
13. Utah
14. Northern Iowa
15. Michigan State
16. Penn State
17. Texas A&M
18. Colorado State
19. Illinois
20. UC Santa Barbara
21. Colorado
22. Kansas State
23. BYU
24. Santa Clara
25. Notre Dame
Others receiving votes: South Carolina (161), North Carolina (155), Texas (117), Louisville (105), San Diego (97), Washington State (81), San Jose State (67), Minnesota (66), Missouri (58), Arkansas (53), Utah State (47), Duke (36), Baylor (26), Cincinnati (12), Georgia Tech (10), Loyola Marymount (10), Michigan (10), Texas Tech (9), Cal Poly (7), Eastern Washington (7), Oregon State (7), South Florida (4), Alabama (3), Southwest Missouri State (3).