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STANFORD, Calif. – Picking up nine of a possible 11 first-place votes, the Stanford women's volleyball team was selected to win the Pac-12 in a vote among conference coaches, the Pac-12 announced today. The Cardinal has won seven of the last 10 conference championships.
Stanford totaled 119 points to sit atop the poll for the fourth straight year. UCLA finished second in the voting with 103 points and one first-place vote, followed by Washington (99), which picked up a first-place vote. Rounding out the top half of the poll were Oregon (95), USC (85), which collected the remaining first-place vote and Arizona (72).
Colorado totaled 50 points to take seventh, followed by Utah (48), Washington State (46), California (27), Arizona State (26) and Oregon State (22).
Stanford, which has captured 16 Pac-12 championships since 1986, has been selected by the coaches to win the title for the 15th time in poll history. The coaches have correctly chosen the champion 18 times out of the past 30 polls. The Cardinal has finished in the top 3 in the conference 28 out of 30 seasons.
Stanford returns 10 letterwinners to the squad, which went 23-7 in 2015 and advanced to its nation-best 35th straight NCAA Tournament (tied with Penn State). The Cardinal returns three All-Americans in redshirt senior middle blocker Inky Ajanaku, who missed the 2015 season due to injury, redshirt junior middle blocker Merete Lutz and 2015 AVCA National Freshman of the Year Hayley Hodson. Stanford's six-member freshman class was rated No. 1 in the nation by PrepVolleyball.com.
Ajanaku, Lutz and Hodson all earned spots on the Preseason All-Pac-12 squad. Stanford led all teams with three selections. Arizona and Washington each had two players selected.
The regular season begins on Friday, Aug. 26. Stanford will open its season at Maples Pavilion as it hosts San Diego at 7 p.m. PT. The Cardinal will also face third-ranked Minnesota during the opening weekend, hosting the Golden Gophers on the Pac-12 Network on Sunday, Aug. 28 at 1 p.m. PT.
Following are the complete results of the preseason coaches' poll and the preseason All-Pac-12 squad. Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own teams or players (first-place votes in parentheses).
2016 Pac-12 Preseason Coaches Poll
| Rank | School | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stanford | 119 (9) |
| 2 | UCLA | 103 (1) |
| 3 | Washington | 99 (1) |
| 4 | Oregon | 95 |
| 5 | USC | 85 (1) |
| 6 | Arizona | 72 |
| 7 | Colorado | 50 |
| 8 | Utah | 48 |
| 9 | Washington State | 46 |
| 10 | California | 27 |
| 11 | Arizona State | 26 |
| 12 | Oregon State | 22 |
2016 Preseason All-Pac-12 Team
| Name | School |
|---|---|
| Brittany Abercrombie | USC |
| Inky Ajanaku | Stanford |
| Adora Anae | Utah |
| Jordan Anderson | UCLA |
| Hayley Hodson | Stanford |
| Kyra Holt | Washington State |
| Crissy Jones | Washington |
| Merete Lutz | Stanford |
| Mary-Kate Marshall | Oregon State |
| Kalei Mau | Arizona |
| Tia Scambray | Washington |
| Gabby Simpson | Colorado |
| Penina Snuka | Arizona |
| Lindsey Vander Weide | Oregon |