Volleyball Improves to 13th in Coaches Poll; Second in Region
November 07, 2002 | Volleyball
The University of Wisconsin volleyball team moved up two spots to 13th in the USA Today/AVCA Top 25 Coaches poll released Nov. 4. The Badgers (17-5 overall) won two matches last weekend, defeating Indiana, 3-0, and Ohio State, 3-1, in the UW Field House.
Wisconsin also moved up one spot to second in the Mideast Regional rankings released Nov. 6. The biweekly rankings are conducted by the NCAA Division I Women 's Volleyball Committee. The Mideast Region is dominated by the Big Ten Conference with eight league teams in the top 10 including all of the top six.
Hawai'i (21-0) took over the top spot in the coaches poll for the first time this season following former No. 1 USC's (19-1) loss to fourth-ranked Stanford (21-3). USC falls to second while Florida (22-1) remains third. Nebraska (21-1) rounds out the top five teams.
The Big Ten has five teams ranked or receiving votes in the poll. Minnesota (24-3) remains at seventh while the Badgers become the second league school in the poll at 13th. Penn State (15-5) fell three spots to 14th following losses to Michigan and Michigan State last weekend. Michigan State (15-7) drops out of the top 25 but is the top team to receive points. Michigan (14-8) also receives points.
Wisconsin is in a three-way tie for second place in the Big Ten with Penn State and Michigan. The Badgers get a chance to gain some ground on league-leading Minnesota on Sunday at 2 p.m. in the Sports Pavilion in Minneapolis. Wisconsin must first get by 10th-place Iowa (8-14) on Friday at 7 p.m. in Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa.
