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USC Tabbed Fifth in AVCA Preseason Coaches Top 25 Poll
Aug. 13, 2012
LEXINGTON, Ky. - The USC women's volleyball team received the fifth-place ranking in the AVCA (American Volleyball Coaches Association) preseason poll for the 2012 season. The Women of Troy are coming off back-to-back appearances in the NCAA national semifinal match; their seventh in the last 12 years. USC finished with a 29-5 record last year and held the No. 3 ranking in the final AVCA coaches poll. The Trojans are the first-ever defending Pac-12 champions after posting a 20-2 mark in conference play with four players named to the AVCA All-America team a year ago. USC returns its first-ever All-American libero in 2012 as junior Natalie Hagglund leads a squad that was selected to finish third in the Pac-12 by the league's head coaches. Defending NCAA champion UCLA received 54 first-place votes (out of 60) and holds the top ranking in the preseason poll. Texas, Penn State, and Nebraska follow the Bruins. Stanford is ranked sixth and is followed by Illinois, Hawai'i, Purdue, and Iowa State. The Pac-12 has six teams in the top 25 as Washington checks in at No. 14, with California at 17th, and Oregon at No. 20. Arizona also received votes in the first poll of the season, but did not crack the top 25. USC's 2012 schedule will involve 14 matches against teams that received votes in the preseason poll. In addition to each of the Pac-12 teams they face, the Trojans will host 19th-ranked San Diego and 21st-ranked Northern Iowa in home tournaments, this fall. Texas A&M, who also received votes, is USC's second opponent in a season-opening road tournament at College Station, Texas. USC will host rival UCLA on Wednesday, Sept. 19, to open the Pac-12 schedule; a match that will be televised nationally by ESPNU. For a complete schedule and more information, please visit USCTrojans.com.
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