Husker spikers ranked seventh in preseason poll

LINCOLN -- The University of Nebraska volleyball team is ranked seventh in the CBS College Sports/AVCA Preseason Coaches poll released Tuesday.

The Huskers received a total of 1,161 points, including one first-place vote from the 60 coaches polled in preseason balloting.

Nebraska, which finished 30-2 and reached the regional final in 2007, received more first-place votes in the CBS College Sports poll than in the Big 12 poll release last week.

The Huskers will be tested early on, facing second-ranked Stanford and No. 4 USC at the Runza/AVCA Showcase in Omaha.

The event, which also features third-ranked Texas, is one of the toughest showcase fields in the tournament's 14-year history.

Fans can purchase Runza/AVCA all-session tickets at the Qwest Center Box Office and Ticketmaster locations across the state.

Fans may also call Ticketmaster at (402) 475-1212 in Lincoln or (402) 422-1212 in Omaha or visit www.ticketmaster.com.

Nebraska will face seven teams ranked in the CBS College Sports/AVCA poll during the regular season, including non-conference matchups at No. 10 Cal Poly and against No. 21 LSU at the Devaney Center.

Four Big 12 teams are ranked in the preseason poll, including No. 14 Kansas State and No. 18 Iowa State.

The Huskers will host their annual Red/White Scrimmage at 7 p.m. Saturday.

Tickets for the Red/White Scrimmage are available for purchase on Huskers.com or by calling the Nebraska ticket office at 800-8-BIGRED.

CBS College Sports/AVCA Poll (8/19)

No. Team (First Place Votes) Pts. '07 Record

1. Penn State (59) 1,498 34-2

2. Stanford 1,431 32-3

3. Texas 1,360 27-4

4. Southern California 1,229 29-5

5. California 1,214 26-8

6. UCLA 1,188 23-11

7. Nebraska (1) 1,161 30-2

8. Florida 1,025 29-3

9. Washington 944 27-4

10. Cal Poly 849 23-8

11. Oregon 797 22-11

12. Hawaii 781 27-6

13. Wisconsin 765 26-5

14. Kansas State 665 23-9

15. Middle Tennessee 479 35-3

16. Minnesota 446 18-13

17. Colorado State 363 23-8

18. Iowa State 328 19-14

19. Clemson 303 29-4

20. BYU 292 24-8

21. LSU 276 25-8

22. San Diego 271 21-8

23. New Mexico State 229 26-6

24. Long Beach State 220 26-7

25. Purdue 190 19-14