Clemson Volleyball Ranked 33rd in National Poll

September 8, 1998

The Clemson volleyball team is ranked 33rd nationally in the USA Today/AVCA Coaches’ Poll released today, moving up from a 39th-place ranking in the preseason.

The Tigers (3-1) upset 30th-ranked Georgia last week 3-2, then defeated Georgia Southern and Eastern Illinois at the Saint Louis Invitational this weekend. Clemson lost to St. Louis in the final match of the tournament.

“We felt like we had a great win against Georgia,” said head coach Jolene Jordan Hoover. “The win was a step forward for our program. We were disappointed that we were up 2-0 versus St. Louis and let is slip away. Hopefully, we can use the loss as a learning experience.”

Clemson placed five players on the All-Tournament Team, including junior middle hitter Cindy Stern who garnered Tournament MVP honors. Stephanie Schulz, Alison Coday, Melissa Kudelka and Jodi Steffes also represented the Tigers on the All-Tournament Team.

The Tigers finished the 1997 season with a 26-7 overall record and was 10-6 in the ACC, winning its first ACC Title in history.

Clemson will play host to Auburn and Central Florida this weekend at the Big Orange Bash in Jervey Gym. Clemson takes on Auburn Friday at 7 p.m. Auburn will face Central Florida Saturday at 4 p.m., and Clemson will face Central Florida at 2 p.m. on Sunday.

The complete USA TODAY/AVCA Coaches Poll is as follows: 

1 Penn State 1467 2 Long Beach State 1464 3 Southern California 1354 4 Nebraska 1323 5 UC Santa Barbara 1174 6 BYU 1112 7 Texas 1101 8 Wisconsin 1046 9 Stanford 1024 10 Pacific 967 11 Florida 940 12 Colorado 864 13 Hawai’i 851 14 Ohio State 795 15 Arkansas 625 16 Michigan State 562 17 Loyola Marymount 466 18 Notre Dame 442 19 Texas A&M 406 20 UCLA 313 21 San Diego 256 22 Florida State 228 23 Washington 136 24 Washington State 126 25 Arizona 99

Others Receiving Votes: Illinois (84), Michigan (64), Minnesota (42), Louisville, (33), Texas Tech (31), Pepperdine (29), Kansas State (21), Clemson (14), Utah (10), Oklahoma (9), Illinois State (8), Miami (Ohio) 4, Sacramento State (4), Colorado State (3), Fresno State (3), Oral Roberts (3), Ball State (2), Arkansas State (1), Georgia (1), Northern Illinois (1).