LEXINGTON -- With the 2009 season almost underway, the BYU men's volleyball team has been voted ninth in the Bison/AVCA Division I-II Men’s Coaches Top 15 Poll released Tuesday.
The Cougars, who finished the 2008 season with a 25-5 overall record, return two starters this year. Combined with seven newcomers, BYU is coming off a successful preseason—most recently winning the BYU Tournament after wins over UC Irvine, Utah Valley University and Southern Alberta Institute of Technology. The Cougars also posted wins against USC and Hawaii earlier in November.
One year removed from a 30-1 record, Penn State University debuts the 2009 season as the No. 1 team in the nation. The defending NCAA Champion, Penn State landed 14 first-place votes in the poll and brings a wealth of experience back to the court in 2009. The Nittany Lions, who earned a No. 1 national ranking after impressive campaign, will again showcase the talents of a trio of AVCA All-American performers from 2008 – Max Holt (First-Team), Dennis Del Valle (Second-Team) and Max Lipsitz (Second-Team).
UCLA, ending 2008 as the nation’s No. 6 squad, is the preseason poll’s No. 2 vote-getter, securing one first-place nod after a 17-14 record last season. The Bruins will look to junior All-Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Second-Team honoree Garrett Muagututia on the outside to put up some big numbers, as well as senior middle blocker D.J. Stomath and senior right side/opposite Sean O’Malley, both of whom were MPSF Honorable Mention selections a season ago.
Pepperdine, who finished the year at No. 2 with a 17-11 overall record and secured a runner-up finish at the NCAA Championships, is seated third in the inaugural poll of 2009, nabbing one-first place vote in the process. The Waves return 2008 AVCA First-Team All-American Paul Carroll on the right side, as well as a pair of outside hitters in J.D. Schleppenbach and sophomore Cory Riecks, both of whom contributed significantly in the NCAA Tournament.
Fellow Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) and Southern California foe, Long Beach State, will also look to make a statement, as the No. 3 ranked program in 2008 finished with a 23-7 overall record. The 49ers welcome back the services of two 2008 AVCA All-Americans, Dan Alexander (First-Team) and Dean Bittner (Second-Team), as well as MPSF Freshman of the Year Mike Klipsch.
The Cougars’ 2009 season begins Wednesday, Jan. 9 when they face Stanford in the opening round of the UC Santa Barbara E-Bar Tournament. BYU will then return to Provo for its home opener on Thursday, Jan. 15 against Cal Baptist at 7 p.m. in the Smith Fieldhouse.
Bison/AVCA Division I-II Men’s Coaches Top 15 Poll
Preseason Poll: December 30, 2008
Rank School (1st Place Votes) Total Points 2008 Record 2008 Final Rank
1 Penn State (14) 236 30-1 1
2 UCLA (1) 219 17-14 6
3 Pepperdine (1) 205 17-11 2
4 Long Beach State 193 23-7 3
5 Cal State Northridge 172 23-7 5
6 UC Irvine 161 16-15 8
7 Southern California 144 13-16 12
8 Stanford 127 17-11 9
9 BYU 111 25-5 4
T-10 Lewis 89 21-10 14
T-10 Ohio State 89 20-8 7
12 Ball State 70 21-10 10
13 Hawai’i 41 11-16 13
14 UC Santa Barbara 33 10-17 15
15 George Mason 21 20-8 11
Others Receiving Votes and appearing on two or more ballots: Loyola-Chicago 6; UC San Diego 5.