Volleyball Ranked 10th Nationally by Volleyball Magazine – Ohio State Buckeyes
7/24/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
July 24, 2002
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State women’s volleyball team was ranked 10th in the 2002 preseason Volleyball Magazine Poll released earlier this month. The Buckeyes are the only Big Ten squad to be ranked in the Top 10 with four other conference schools ranked in the Top 20.
This season Ohio State will face a total of seven teams ranked in the Top 20 Poll. The Buckeyes will open the season against No. 2 Hawaii, No. 20 Colorado and No. 13 UCLA in Hawaii at the 15th Annual Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Volleyball Classic, Aug. 30-Sept. 1. OSU also will face four Big Ten squads ranked in the Top 20. These include No. 12 Wisconsin, No. 16 Michigan State, No. 17 Penn State and No. 18 Illinois. Non-league opponent Texas and Minnesota are listed under others in the poll.
The Buckeyes begin preseason camp on Aug. 9 in preparation for the 2002 season. Ohio State was 27-4 overall last season and finished second in the Big Ten Conference with a 17-3 mark. The Buckeyes advanced to the NCAA Regional Semifinals in postseason action. Four starters return from 2001 including American Volleyball Coaches Association National Freshman of the Year and second team All-American Stacey Gordon (So., Oshawa, Ontario), All-Big Ten selection Katie Virtue (Sr., St. Charles, Ill.), honorable mention All-Big Ten Suzie Stiling (Sr., Glenview, Ill.) and Shelly Draeger (Sr., Milwaukee, Wis.).
Volleyball Magazine Poll
Preseason (7-1-02) – No. 1
No. School 2001 Record 1 Stanford 33-2 2 Hawaii* 29-5 3 Southern California 25-4 4 Nebraska 31-2 5 Florida 28-2 6 Pepperdine 23-4 7 Long Beach State 33-1 8 Arizona 25-5 9 Pacific 28-8 10 Ohio State 27-4 11 Utah 23-8 12 Wisconsin* 27-4 13 UCLA* 21-9 14 Northern Iowa 31-2 15 UC Santa Barbara 17-14 16 Michigan State* 21-8 17 Penn State* 22-8 18 Illinois* 21-9 19 Notre Dame 22-7 20 Colorado* 19-11
Others: Brigham Young, Santa Clara, Baylor, South Carolina, Texas*, Texas A&M, Colorado State, San Jose State, Washington State, Minnesota*, California, Cal Poly, Kansas State.
*2002 Ohio State opponents
