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Beth Launiere and the Utah women's volleyball team begin the season ranked in the top 25 according the USA Today/CSTV preseason coaches poll.
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Aug. 9, 2004
SALT LAKE CITY - The University of Utah women's volleyball team will begin its 2004 campaign as one of the top 25 programs in the country.
Utah opens the year as the No.24-ranked squad according to the USA Today/CSTV preseason coaches poll released this afternoon by the American Volleyball Coaches Association. Utah, who finished last season 22-9 and the No. 23-ranked team in the nation, garnered 161 points in the poll.
"I think that the ranking shows that there's respect for our program," commented head coach Beth Launiere. "While the preseason poll doesn't mean a whole lot, it shows that there's a lot of expectations for us and with that comes responsibility. We are going to have to work hard this preseason."
Taking top honors in the preseason ranking is Southern California with 1,596 points and 56 first-place votes. Nebraska (1,417), UCLA (1,386), Florida (1,360), and Minnesota (1,318) round out the top five teams.
The Utes are one of three Mountain West Conference teams mentioned in the poll. Colorado State enters the year as the No. 11-ranked squad while BYU is on the cusp of the rankings, receiving 58 points.
Four teams ranked in the preseason will visit Crimson Court this year. Perennial powerhouse UCLA (No. 3) will come to town on Sept. 17 while Colorado State (Nov. 13), No. 25 Notre Dame (Oct. 19) and No. 13 Hawaii (Nov. 24) are also on the home docket.
The 2004 Utes Volleyball team will take the court for the first time at its Alumni Match/Meet the Team event on Friday, Aug. 27. The festivities at Crimson Court begin at 7 p.m. The regular season will start when Utah Valley State comes to town on Sept. 1. Match time is set for 7 p.m.
USA Today/CSTV Top 25 Coaches Poll
Rank School Total Points
1 USC (56) 1,596
2 Nebraska (5) 1,417
3 UCLA 1,386
4 Florida 1,360
5 Minnesota (1) 1,318
6 Stanford (2) 1,230
7 Washington 1,170
8 Penn State 1,160
9 Pepperdine 1,091
10 California (1) 1,082
11 Colorado State 997
12 Georgia Tech 931
13 Hawaii 718
14 Kansas State 658
15 Texas A&M 552
16 UC Santa Barbara 546
17 Arizona 500
18 Loyola Marymount 438
19 Illinois 426
20 Louisville 304
21 Northern Iowa 272
22 Santa Clara 271
23 Wisconsin 260
24 Utah 161
25 Notre Dame 136
*First-place votes in parentheses
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