Gators Again No. 1; Ranked for 300th Straight Week
Monday, October 25, 2010 | Volleyball
The University of Florida volleyball team is ranked No. 1 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association Top-25 Poll for the third consecutive week, the Lexington, Ky., based organization announced Monday afternoon. It marks the 300th consecutive poll that the Gators are among the nation's top-25, which goes down as the nation's fifth-longest active streak of consecutive polls ranked.
This week's ranking marks the eighth time in program history that the Gators have been ranked No. 1 nationally and the third time this season. Florida was ranked No. 1 for five consecutive polls during the 1996 campaign. The Gators are 16-1 all-time when playing with a No. 1 record.
Florida has played perhaps the nation's toughest schedule during the 2010 season, facing 10 top-25 opponents so far this year, going 9-1 against ranked foes. The Gators currently boast a record of 18-1 overall and 11-0 in the Southeastern Conference through their first 19 matches.
The Gators hold the nation's fifth longest streak of consecutive weeks ranked in the AVCA poll, as Florida has been ranked among the nation's top-25 for 300 consecutive polls, dating back to Sept. 17, 1991. UF has been ranked in the nation's top-10 in 246 of those weeks.
The Gators are one of just five teams nationally to be riding a streak of 300 or more consecutive weeks ranked. Nebraska and Stanford are the only teams in the nation to be ranked in all 405 weeks of the AVCA poll since its debut on Sept. 15, 1982.
Nebraska checks in at No. 2 in this week's AVCA poll, while California is No. 3, Stanford is No. 4 and Hawaii is No. 5.
The next AVCA poll will be released on Nov. 1.
Florida returns to action on Wednesday when it plays host to South Carolina. Opening serve is slated for 7 p.m. ET and the match will be carried live on ESPNU as part of a “Campus Connection.” The match also will air on WRUF Sports Radio 850 with Tom Collett and Missy Whittemore.
For all of the latest information on Florida volleyball, please log on to www.GatorZone.com/volleyball. Follow Florida Volleyball on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GatorZoneVB and Coach Mary Wise on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GatorMary.
CONSECUTIVE WEEKS RANKED IN AVCA POLL (ACTIVE)
| Team | Consecutive Polls Ranked | Entered Poll |
| Stanford | 405 | 9/15/82 |
| Nebraska | 405 | 9/15/82 |
| Penn State | 326 | 11/20/88 |
| Southern Cal | 302 | 8/31/91 |
| Florida | 300 | 9/17/91 |
AVCA TOP-25 COACHES POLL (WEEK 9 – OCT. 25, 2010)
| Rank | Team | 2010 Record |
| 1 | Florida (44) | 18-1 |
| 2 | Nebraska (6) | 19-1 |
| 3 | California (8) | 18-1 |
| 4 | Stanford | 16-2 |
| 5 | Hawaii (2) | 18-1 |
| 6 | Illinois | 17-3 |
| 7 | Washington | 16-3 |
| 8 | Southern California | 17-3 |
| 9 | Penn State | 17-4 |
| 10 | Texas | 14-5 |
| 11 | UCLA | 15-5 |
| 12 | Iowa State | 15-4 |
| 13 | Northern Iowa | 20-2 |
| 14 | Colorado State | 19-2 |
| 15 | Michigan | 19-3 |
| 16 | LSU | 19-2 |
| 17 | Dayton | 18-3 |
| 18 | Oregon | 16-5 |
| 19 | San Diego | 17-4 |
| 20 | Minnesota | 15-7 |
| 21 | Cincinnati | 20-4 |
| 22 | Tennessee | 15-5 |
| 23 | Arizona | 15-7 |
| 24 | Northwestern | 15-6 |
| 25 | Florida State | 15-6 |
Others receiving votes and appearing on two or more ballots: Long Beach State, Tulsa, St. Mary's (Calif.), Ohio State, Indiana, Oklahoma, Duke, Purdue, Cal State Fullerton, Arizona State, Ole Miss, North Carolina, Louisville.
