STANFORD, Calif. – The Stanford women's volleyball team will begin the 2017 season ranked No. 2 nationally, the American Volleyball Coaches Association announced in its annual preseason poll. The Cardinal has been ranked in every AVCA preseason poll since its inception in 1982.
Stanford, which received 35 first-place votes, returns four starters plus its libero from last year's NCAA championship team. The Cardinal is one of two teams to appear in all 36 NCAA Women's Volleyball Tournaments.
Stanford returns 11 letterwinners to its roster from the 2016 team, including AVCA National Freshman of the Year Kathryn Plummer and three-time All-American Merete Lutz. Sophomores Audriana Fitzmorris (AVCA), Jenna Gray (VolleyballMag.com) and Morgan Hentz (VolleyballMag.com) were all honorable mention All-Americans last season.
Texas earned the top spot in the poll, collecting 25 first-place votes. Rounding out the top 5 were Washington, Minnesota and Nebraska. Overall six Pac-12 teams are ranked in the top 25. Joining Stanford and Washington are No. 13 UCLA, No. 18 Oregon, No. 23 Utah and No. 24 Arizona. USC and Washington State are receiving votes.
The Cardinal is scheduled to play 11 regular-season matches against top-25 teams. No. 6 Penn State is the first ranked team on the slate, meeting the Nittany Lions on Sept. 1 in College Station, Texas and on Sept. 9 in Champaign, Illinois.
Stanford opens the 2017 season on the road at Long Beach State on Aug. 25. Tickets for the Cardinal's 11 home matches are on sale now at gostanford.com or by calling 1-800-STANFORD.