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Lincoln ? For the second straight year, the Nebraska volleyball team is the preseason choice for the nation’s top team, as the CSTV/AVCA Division I Coaches Preseason Top 25 Poll was released by the American Volleyball Coaches Association Tuesday evening.
Nebraska garnered 1,431 points among the 60 coaches, edging out Penn State’s total of 1,407 points. The Nittany Lions had more first-place votes, 17-14, than the Huskers, but Nebraska’s total among the 60 voting coaches gave the Huskers the nod. The No. 1 selection for NU extends its own record of weeks at No. 1 to 66, including 37 weeks since John Cook took over the Husker program in 2000. It is the third time that Nebraska has opened the year at No. 1 (also in 2001).
In all, four teams, Nebraska, Penn State, Washington and Stanford received No. 1 votes while less than 100 points separated the top three teams in the poll. Washington and Stanford had 16 and 13, first-place votes, respectively.
The Huskers will be challenged by its 2006 schedule, playing six other teams that are ranked in the preseason poll a total of nine times. Texas, which was picked second in the Big 12 by the league’s coaches, was rated eighth while Missouri (13th) and Kansas State (25th) are the other conference school ranked. NU will open the season against No. 20 San Diego on Aug. 29 and will take on No. 12 Louisville and No. 22 Minnesota at the Players Challenge in Lincoln in early September. NU will also face four other teams that received votes in the preseason poll.
The Huskers return five of their top eight players from a team that went 33-2 and reached the national championship match in 2005, including two-time AVCA All-American Sarah Pavan and 2005 Big 12 Freshman of the Year Jordan Larson. The Huskers will be without reigning AVCA National Player of the Year Christina Houghtelling, who underwent season-ending shoulder surgery in July.
The Huskers began practices today and will have their annual Media Day this Thursday, Aug. 10, at 1:30 p.m. at the NU Coliseum.