Jan. 4, 2012
CHICAGO - After ending with a 21-8 overall record last season, the Loyola University men's volleyball team was picked to finish tenth in the AVCA Division I-II Men's Coaches Preseason Top 15 Poll, released this afternoon.
With only two other MIVA schools earning spots among the Top 15, Loyola is poised for another successful season as it searches for the program's first NCAA appearance.
The Ramblers will kick off the 2012 season this weekend at the Elephant Bar Tournament hosted by UC Santa Barbara. Loyola will face Long Beach State in the first round of contention before competing against BYU/UC Irvine to round out pool play. The tournament also features Ohio State, Cal State Northridge, and UCLA, making all eight participating teams Top 15 selections.
BYU was tabbed the preseason favorite, receiving 11 of the possible 16 first-place votes.
Rank  School (First-Place Votes)  Total Points
1Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â BYU (11)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 247
2Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â UC Irvine (3)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 237
3Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â UCLA (1)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 199
4      Stanford                       190
5        Southern California          174
6        Long Beach State              158
7        Penn State                       153
8Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Ohio State (1)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 122
9        Pepperdine              104
10      Loyola-Chicago               103
11      Hawai'i                             100
12      Cal State Northridge          78
13      Lewis                                61
14    UC Santa Barbara            53
15    Pacific                             28
