August 16, 1999
LAS VEGAS - For the first time in program history, the UNLV volleyball team will open a season after being mentioned in the USA Today/AVCA preseason national poll.
UNLV, which finished the 1998 season 23-8 and recorded its best-ever win percentage, received one vote in the poll. During 1998, UNLV received votes three separate weeks, but it has never received prior mention in a preseason national poll.
The other Mountain West Conference teams recognized were Brigham Young, which is ranked No. 7 with 1,186 votes, Colorado State, which is ranked No. 24 with 173 votes, and Utah, which received 24 votes.
Topping the preseason poll is Penn State, followed closely by Stanford, Nebraska, Hawai'i and 1998 NCAA champion Long Beach State. Rounding out the top 10 are Pacific, BYU, Florida, Wisconsin and UCLA.
UNLV will begin the 1999 campaign at home on Friday, Sept. 3, as it hosts the Official All-Star Cafe/UNLV Volleyball Classic, which involves Iowa State, UMKC and Southern Illinois.
USA TODAY/AVCA Division I Coaches Top 25 Preseason Poll
Rank, School (First-Place Votes), Total Points, 1998 Record, Final 1998 Ranking1 Penn State (30) 1,420 35-1 22 Stanford (20) 1,387 27-4 93 Nebraska (1) 1,284 32-2 34 Hawai'i (3) 1,258 32-3 55 Long Beach State (5) 1,226 36-0 16 Pacific 1,196 26-6 107 BYU 1,186 31-4 68 Florida 1,169 35-3 49 Wisconsin 963 30-5 710 UCLA (1) 815 16-12 1611 UC Santa Barbara 781 28-6 1212 Pepperdine 722 19-11 1513 Texas 667 27-5 814 Illinois 644 22-11 1415 Arizona 621 22-7 2016 Texas A&M 562 21-9 1817 Ohio State 517 17-14 2418 University of San Diego 500 24-6 1919 Colorado 336 22-7 1720 Arkansas 322 29-6 1321 USC 314 24-6 1122 Michigan State 294 23-7 2223 Kansas State 202 19-12 2324 Colorado State 173 24-8 NR25 Loyola Marymount 144 18-8 NR
Others receiving votes: Louisville (95), Texas Tech (89), Clemson (89),Notre Dame (82), Minnesota (64), Indiana (58), Santa Clara (36), NorthCarolina (30), Utah (24), Sacramento State (23), Northern Iowa (22), Miami,Ohio (17), Baylor (16), Georgia Tech (15), Virginia (12), Houston (12),Washington State (10), Washington (9), Florida State (7), Arizona State(7), South Florida (5), Northern Illinois (5), San Jose State (4), SouthCarolina (3), Eastern Washington (3), Illinois State (3), Oral Roberts (3),Georgetown (2), Ball State (2), UNLV (1), Temple (1), Nevada (1), Ohio (1).
