EUGENE – Looking ahead to key home showdowns with Washington State and No. 2 Washington this weekend, the No. 5 University of Oregon volleyball team (14-1, 5-1) claimed its third-ever top-five ranking in as many weeks.
Last week in the Bay Area, Oregon tied its school record 14-win win streak with a 3-1 win at Cal, then lost 3-2 loss at No. 4 Stanford. UO has now staked wins over the Bears in five of the last seven years, while it fell just shy of its fifth-ever win vs. the Cardinal.
UO was one of five Pac-12 schools spotted in the top seven overall Monday with No. 2 Washington, No. 4 Stanford, No. 6 USC and No. 7 UCLA.
Among current league rankings, Stanford climbed three positions; Washington held steady; USC and UCLA each fell one spot; Oregon dropped three positions; and Oregon State received votes.
One other Duck foe stood top 25 – No. 19 Ohio State – and California, Kentucky and St. Mary’s have picked up votes in current or previous editions.
For comparison’s sake, last week’s Pac-12 rankings follow: No. 2-tie Oregon, No. 2-tie Washington, No. 5 USC, No. 6 UCLA and No. 7 Stanford.
Overall during head coach Jim Moore’s eight-year tenure, Oregon has now been ranked top 25 for 82 editions (2012-8; 2011-14; ’10-13; ’09-16; ’08-16; ’07-13; ’06-2), including 46 in the top 15, and all 19 of the team’s ever top-10 honors.
Among other news among top five teams, No. 1 Penn State remained in the top spot for the third straight week after it won at Northwestern (3-0) and at then-No. 22 Illinois (3-2). No. 3 Nebraska improved one spot after it won at then-No. 12 Purdue (3-0) and at Indiana (3-2).
The complete poll follows at the bottom of this article, and is also available at the AVCA website at the http://www.avca.org/divisions/division-one-women/polls/ URL address.
This week, UO returns home to host Washington State (10-8, 0-6) and No. 2 Washington (15-0, 6-0) on Friday-Saturday, Oct. 12-13 for 6 and 7 p.m. matches. The Cougar tilt will be televised regionally by Pac-12 Networks, while the Husky match features the nation’s last unbeaten team this week.
Promotions-wise for the Cougar tilt, a host of promotions are planned for Matt Knight Madness / Student Night. Kids get $1 G.A. tickets and adults G.A. tix are $3. The first 100 UO students get free pizza, and raffle tickets for MKA prizes (shoes, jackets, etc.) and Pit Crew shirts will be available. University students also get double points for the Duck fan rewards program.
For Saturday’s Youth Night promotion vs. Washington, kids can again get $1 G.A. tickets, and adults G.A. tix are $3. Fans can bring tickets from the Washington football game this past weekend to get $1 G.A. volleyball tickets. 200 Free Mac to Matt T-shirts will be given away along with an iPad. Season ticket holders can get a free coffee cup, and Duck trading cards will be given away for the first time.
AVCA Division I Coaches Top 25 Poll
Week #7: October 8, 2012
1 Penn State (47) 1482 16-1 1
*2 Washington (12) 1444 15-0 T-2
3 Nebraska 1318 13-2 4
*4 Stanford 1283 14-2 7
>5 Oregon (1) 1269 14-1 T-2
*6 USC 1220 16-2 5
*7 UCLA 1200 12-3 6
8 Hawai’i 1050 14-2 8
9 Texas 1038 13-3 9
10 Minnesota 956 14-3 10
11 Florida 863 13-2 11
12 Florida State 784 14-2 13
13 San Diego 773 14-2 15
14 Kansas State 701 16-2 14
15 Louisville 631 16-2 17
16 BYU 622 16-1 16
17 Purdue 519 13-4 12
18 Dayton 427 12-4 18
*19 Ohio State 406 13-5 19
20 Western Kentucky 344 20-3 20
21 Kansas 214 16-2 24
22 Illinois 185 8-8 21
23 Iowa State 173 9-6 22
24 Pepperdine 161 11-7 23
25 Michigan State 152 15-3 25
Others Receiving Votes (and appearing on two or more ballots): Texas A&M 94; Miami (FL) 48; *St. Mary’s (Ca.) 25; Marquette 22; Arkansas 19; Tennessee 19; Oklahoma 17; North Carolina 11; *Oregon State 11; *Kentucky 6; Michigan 3; Creighton 2; N.C. State 2
Two schools were listed on only one ballot for a total of six combined points.
Next poll: October 15, 2012
NOTE: A complete listing of the Ducks' string of top-25 rankings under Moore follows: *2012: Preseason – 20th; 8/27 – 17th; 9/4 -13th; 9/10 – 9th; 9/17 – 8th; 9/23 – 2nd; 10/2 – 2nd; 10/9 – 5th; 2011 (13 weeks): 8/29 – 16th; 9/5 – 16th; 9/12 – 16th; 9/19 – 15th; 9/26 – 15th; 10/3 – 15th; 10/10 – 16th; 10/17 – 18th; 10/24 – 16th; 10/31 – 20th; 11/7 – 20th; 11/14 - 15th; 11/21 – 13th; 12/20 – 24th. *2010 (13): Preseason – 20th, 8/30 – 18th; 9/6 – 19th; 9/13 – 16th; 9/20 – 15th; 9/27 – 11th; 10/4 – 13th; 10/11 – 17th; 10/18 – 16th; 10/25 – 18th; 11/1 – 20th; 11/15 – 23rd; 11/22 – 24th. *2009 (16): Preseason - 14th, 8/31 - 14th, 9/7 - 12th, 9/14 - 14th; 9/21 - 7th; 9/28 – 7th; 10/5 – 11th; 10/12 - 15th; 10/19 – 12th; 10/26 – 15th; 11/2 – 14th; 11/9 – 16th; 11/16 – 18th; 11/23 – 18th; 11/30 – 17th; 12/22 – 18th. *2008 (16): Preseason - 11th; 9/2 - 13th; 9/9 - 12th; 9/17 - 12th; 9/24 - 11th; 9/30 - 11th; 10/6 - 7th; 10/13 - 6th; 10/20 - 7th; 10/27 - 7th; 11/3 - 8th; 11/10 - 8th; 11/17 - 8th; 11/24 - 8th; 12/1 - 7th; 12/23 - 9th. *2007 (13): 9/18 24th; 9/25 21st; 10/1 – 19th; 10/8 – 19th; 10/15 – 19th; 10/22 – 19th; 10/29 - 19th; 11/5 – 20th; 11/12 - 14th; 11/19 - 13th; 11/26 - 13th; 12/3 - ninth; 12/10 - ninth. *2006 (2): 10/30 24th; 11/6 24th.
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