On the verge of kicking off its 2010 campaign, the UC Santa Barbara men’s volleyball team is ranked 14th nationally in the AVCA Preseason Division I-II Coaches Poll.
USC is ranked first in the poll, picking up 13 of the 16 first place votes. UC Irvine is second (three first place votes) and Stanford third. UC Irvine won its second national title in the last three seasons in 2009. The Anteaters defeated USC, 3-2, in the championship match.
Eleven of the top-15 squads hail from the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation.
The Gauchos climbed as high as ninth nationally in 2009.
UCSB begins its 2010 season Jan. 7-8 as it hosts the 46th Annual Santa Barbara Invitational. Also competing will be BYU, Cal Baptist, Cal State Northridge, Long Beach State, UC Irvine, UCLA, and UC San Diego. Please visit the official tournament page for ticket information, match schedules, and everything else you need to know about the two-day event.
The Athletics Ticket Office now has two parking spaces adjacent to the ICA building and is open on Saturdays, making it easier than ever for fans to purchase tickets. The ICA Ticket Office will be open from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays. The two parking spots, designated specifically for the ticket office, are already available during weekday hours, which are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.
AVCA PRESEASON DIVISION I-II COACHES POLL
1. USC (13), 237 points
2. UC Irvine (3), 218 points
3. Stanford, 202 points
4. Pepperdine, 186 points
5. Penn State, 175 points
6. BYU, 160 points
7. Long Beach State, 150 points
8. UCLA, 136 points
9. Cal State Northridge, 112 points
10. Ohio State, 101 points
11. Ball State, 73 points
12. Hawai’i, 59 points
13. UC San Diego, 57 points
T-14. Lewis, 29 points
T-14. UC Santa Barbara, 29 points
