Volleyball Soars to No. 2 in AVCA Poll
Monday, September 27, 2010 | Volleyball
On the strength of seven wins this season against top-25 opponents, the University of Florida volleyball team has ascended to the No. 2 spot in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association Top-25 Coaches Poll, the Lexington, Ky., based organization announced Monday afternoon.
The ranking is Florida's highest since the final poll of 2003, a year in which the Gators finished as the NCAA runner-up. The ranking also is Florida's highest in the regular season since ranking No. 2 on Sept. 16, 1997.
The Gators have played perhaps the nation's toughest schedule during the 2010 season, facing eight top-25 opponents in their first 10 matches this season. Florida currently boasts a record of 10-1 overall and 3-0 in the Southeastern Conference through its first 11 matches.
Florida holds the nation's fifth-longest streak of consecutive weeks ranked in the AVCA poll, as the Gators have been ranked in the top-25 for 296 consecutive weeks dating back to Sept. 17, 1991. UF has been ranked among the nation's top 10 in 242 of those weeks.
Stanford checks in at No. 1 for the third consecutive week, receiving each of the poll's 60 first-place votes. The Gators are No. 2, while Nebraska (No. 3), Penn State (No. 4) and Southern Cal (No. 5) round out the AVCA's top-five.
Florida's next opponent LSU is up one spot this week in the poll to No. 16, while fellow SEC opponent Tennessee is No. 23. Kentucky also is receiving votes.
The next AVCA poll will be released on Oct. 4.
Florida returns to action on Friday when it plays host to No. 16 LSU. Opening serve in the Stephen C. O'Connell Center is slated for 7 p.m. ET and the match will be carried live on GatorVision Online and ROCK 104 (103.7 FM) 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.
AVCA COACHES TOP-25 POLL (WEEK 5 – SEPT. 27, 2010)
| Rank | Team | 2010 Record |
| 1 | Stanford (60) | 11-0 |
| 2 | Florida | 10-1 |
| 3 | Nebraska | 12-1 |
| 4 | Penn State | 11-2 |
| 5 | Southern California | 12-0 |
| 6 | Hawaii | 12-1 |
| 7 | Illinois | 10-2 |
| 8 | California | 12-0 |
| 9 | Iowa State | 10-2 |
| 10 | Washington | 12-1 |
| 11 | Oregon | 14-0 |
| 12 | UCLA | 9-2 |
| 13 | Texas | 7-4 |
| 14 | Florida State | 11-2 |
| 15 | Northern Iowa | 12-2 |
| 16 | LSU | 12-0 |
| 17 | Minnesota | 11-3 |
| 18 | Colorado State | 11-2 |
| 19 | Michigan | 13-1 |
| 20 | Dayton | 11-3 |
| 21 | Long Beach State | 11-3 |
| 22 | Cincinnati | 13-3 |
| 23 | Tennessee | 10-3 |
| 24 | San Diego | 8-4 |
| 25 | Northwestern | 9-1 |
Others receiving votes and appearing on two or more ballots: Ohio State, Kentucky, Arizona, Duke, St. Mary's (Calif.), Middle Tennessee, Missouri, Purdue, Oklahoma, Utah State, Cal Poly, Missouri State, Pacific, Western Kentucky.
| FLORIDA RANKINGS WEEK-BY-WEEK IN THE 2010 AVCA COACHES POLL | |
| Preseason (Aug. 17) | 13th |
| Week 1 (Aug. 30) | 6th |
| Week 2 (Sept. 6) | 4th |
| Week 3 (Sept. 13) | 3rd |
| Week 4 (Sept. 20) | 3rd |
| Week 5 (Sept. 27) | 2nd |
| NCAA DIVISION-I VOLLEYBALL CONSECUTIVE WEEKS RANKED POLL | ||
| Team | Consecutive Polls Ranked | Entered Poll Streak |
| Stanford | 401 | 9/15/82 |
| Nebraska | 401 | 9/15/82 |
| Penn State | 322 | 11/20/88 |
| Southern Cal | 298 | 8/31/91 |
| Florida | 296 | 9/17/91 |
| 2010 FLORIDA VOLLEYBALL SEASON RESULTS | ||
| Aug. 28 | vs. No. 9 Iowa State | W, 3-1 |
| Aug. 29 | vs. No. 2 Nebraska | W, 3-2 |
| Sept. 3 | ALBANY | W, 3-0 |
| Sept. 3 | BOWLING GREEN | W, 3-0 |
| Sept. 4 | NO. 15 COLORADO STATE | W, 3-1 |
| Sept. 10 | NO. 1 PENN STATE | L, 1-3 |
| Sept. 11 | NO. 5 TEXAS | W, 3-2 |
| Sept. 17 | at No. 22 Kentucky | W, 3-1 |
| Sept. 19 | at No. 18 Tennessee | W, 3-1 |
| Sept. 22 | at No. 13 Florida State | W, 3-0 |
| Sept. 26 | OLE MISS | W, 3-0 |
