Volleyball Ranked No. 23 in AVCA Preseason Poll
August 10, 2016 | Women's Volleyball
Cards open their season Aug. 20 at the Red/Black Scrimmage
The Cardinals were picked fourth in the ACC Coaches Poll, but only Florida  State (No. 17) and North Carolina (No. 19) are ranked ahead of the Cards.Â
The University of Louisville volleyball team put three on the ACC's Preseason team with Molly Sauer, Tess Clark and Janelle Jenkins being selected for the Cardinals. For the third year in a row, North Carolina has been chosen as the Atlantic Coast Conference volleyball preseason favorite in a vote by the league's 15 head coaches.
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The Tar Heels garnered 194 out of a possible 196 points and 12 first-place votes. Coaches were not allowed to include their own team in their predicted order of finish.
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North Carolina finished 21-10 overall and 17-3 in conference play during the 2015 season. The Tar Heels made the NCAA Tournament but fell to Creighton, 3-1, in the second round. Their roster features 12 returning members from last year's squad.
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Coming in at the number two spot was Florida State with 182 votes and creating the rest of the top five were Miami (159), Louisville (146) and Pitt (142). Duke (127) placed sixth ahead of Georgia Tech (117), while Virginia's 101 votes edged Virginia Tech (100) for eighth. Syracuse (95) was picked ninth, followed by Notre Dame (72), NC State (53), Boston College and Clemson (T30), and Wake Forest (27).
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Twelve teams are represented on the 2016 All-ACC Preseason Team. Reigning ACC Champion Louisville leads the squad with three representatives, followed by Duke, Florida State, North Carolina and Miami with two selections apiece. Clemson, Georgia Tech, Notre Dame, Pitt, Syracuse, Virginia and Virginia Tech all have one selection.
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Thirteen of the 18 selections were voted to the 2015 All-ACC Team, including the 2015 ACC Defensive Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year, Molly Sauer of Louisville. The list also features two student-athletes that were awarded honorable mention All-America honors and 10 that were named to various All-Region Teams by the American Volleyball Coaches Association.
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AVCA Division I Coaches Top 25 Poll
Preseason Poll: August 10, 2016
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|
Rank |
School (First-Place Votes) |
Total Points |
2015 Record |
2015 Final Rank |
|
1 |
Nebraska (60) |
1594 |
32-4 |
1 |
|
2 |
Texas (3) |
1517 |
30-3 |
2 |
|
3 |
Minnesota |
1368 |
30-5 |
3 |
|
4 |
Wisconsin |
1255 |
26-7 |
10 |
|
5 |
Kansas |
1237 |
30-3 |
4 |
|
6 |
Hawai'i |
1183 |
29-2 |
7 |
|
T-7 |
Washington |
1162 |
31-3 |
6 |
|
T-7 |
Southern California |
1162 |
33-3 |
5 |
|
9 |
Penn State |
1123 |
28-6 |
9 |
|
10 |
Florida |
1090 |
25-7 |
8 |
|
11 |
Stanford (1) |
979 |
23-7 |
14 |
|
12 |
UCLA |
940 |
25-8 |
12 |
|
13 |
BYU |
806 |
28-4 |
11 |
|
14 |
Illinois |
724 |
21-13 |
15 |
|
15 |
Ohio State |
700 |
25-10 |
13 |
|
16 |
Texas A&M |
600 |
24-7 |
18 |
|
17 |
Florida State |
443 |
25-8 |
20 |
|
18 |
Creighton |
419 |
27-9 |
19 |
|
19 |
North Carolina |
386 |
21-10 |
25 |
|
20 |
Purdue |
335 |
23-10 |
17 |
|
21 |
Loyola Marymount |
295 |
24-9 |
16 |
|
22 |
Western Kentucky |
221 |
32-4 |
22 |
|
23 |
Louisville |
201 |
25-7 |
21 |
|
24 |
Kentucky |
161 |
21-10 |
NR |
|
25 |
Colorado State |
145 |
26-4 |
23 |
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Others receiving votes and listed on two or more ballots:Â San Diego 113; Michigan State 107; Missouri 97; Oregon 85; Michigan 83; Arizona 68; Iowa State 59;
Long Beach State 25; Arkansas State 23; Wichita State 21; Arizona State 16; Dayton 6; Marquette 6; TCU 3; Six teams mentioned on only one ballot for a total of 36 combined points.
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