Volleyball Ranked 16th In Preseason USA Today/AVCA Poll – Ohio State Buckeyes
8/14/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Aug. 14, 2001
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State women’s volleyball squad has been ranked 16th in the USA Today/American Volleyball Coaches Association Preseason Coaches Poll. The Buckeyes are coming off a 26-7 season, finishing 15th in the final poll after reaching the NCAA Central Regional Semifinals.
OSU is one of four Big Ten squads ranked. Penn State is ranked third, Wisconsin fourth and Minnesota 15th. Also receiving votes were Michigan State (30) and Michigan (34).
The Buckeyes return four starters from last season including three Preseason All-Big Ten Team selections in outside hitter Anne Botica (Sr., Windsor, Ontario/St. Joseph H.S.), middle blocker Suzie Stiling (Jr., Glenview, Ill./Glenbrook South H.S.) and setter Katie Virtue (Jr., St. Charles, Ill./St. Francis (Wheaton)). The fourth starter returning is outside hitter Shelly Draeger (Jr., Milwaukee, Wis./Wisconsin Lutheran H.S.)
OSU is preparing for the opening of the 2001 season when it hosts Illinois-Chicago in the opening round of the Buckeye Invitational at 7 p.m., Friday, Aug. 31. The Buckeyes face Tennessee Tech at 11 a.m. and Ohio University at 7 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 31.
USA Today/AVCA Coaches Top 25 Preseason Poll
Rk School Total 2000 2000 Poll (First-Place Votes) Points Record Poll 1 Nebraska (63) 1623 34-0 1 2 USC (2) 1472 29-3 4 3 Penn State 1374 30-6 6 4 Wisconsin 1320 33-5 2 5 Hawai’i 1261 31-2 3 6 Arizona 1178 28-5 5 7 UCLA 1098 25-8 7 8 Long Beach State 1091 24-8 14 9 Florida 1084 29-5 12 10 Stanford 1017 19-12 19 11 BYU 989 26-7 13 12 Pacific 950 28-4 8 13 UC Santa Barbara 882 26-8 9 14 Colorado State 866 32-5 10 15 Minnesota 724 30-4 11 16 Ohio State 638 26-7 15 17 Pepperdine 606 24-7 18 18 Texas A&M 481 20-9 23 19 Kansas State 354 22-9 16 20 Notre Dame 278 26-7 21 21 Utah 254 23-8 20 22 Santa Clara 232 27-5 17 23 South Carolina 172 22-7 NR 24 Loyola Marymount 155 20-9 25 25 Georgia Tech 123 25-8 NR
Others receiving points and listed on two or more ballots:
Louisville (112), Missouri (109), Colorado (108), Washington State (102), Michigan State (88), North Carolina (62), Northern Iowa (58), Utah State (33), Michigan (26), Texas Tech (20), San Diego (18), South Florida (17), Tennessee (16), Arizona State (15), Baylor (14), Duke (13), Arkansas (12), Florida State (11),Western Michigan (9), Fairfield (8), Cal Poly (8), Northern Arizona (5), Wisconsin-Milwaukee (4), San Jose State (3).
