Defending National Champions, Ohio State receive 23 votes to earn first in the AVCA Division I-II Men’s Coaches Top-15 Pre-Season Poll.
UCLA receiving the No. 2 position despite BYU taking the runner-up position to Ohio State last season in a three set sweep.
Returning to the Ohio State lineup is standout junior Nicolas Szerszen, who put down a team high 516 kills and 63 services aces last season. Szerszen was selected as the 2016 National Player of the Year.
At the AVCA Showcase – Big Ten/Pac-12 Challenge, three ranked opponents will face each other, No. 1 Ohio State, No. 2 UCLA and No. 13 Penn State, also competing in the event is unranked USC.
The NCAA Tournament will take place from April 28-May 6 in Columbus, Ohio.
| RANK | SCHOOL | POINTS | 2016 RECORD | 2016 FINAL RANK |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ohio State (23) | 359 | 31-3 | 1 |
| 2 | UCLA (1) | 325 | 25-7 | 3 |
| 3 | BYU | 320 | 27-4 | 2 |
| 4 | Long Beach State | 291 | 25-8 | 4 |
| 5 | Pepperdine | 221 | 13-11 | 7 |
| 6 | Lewis | 211 | 19-13 | 9 |
| 7 | Hawaii | 204 | 16-12 | 8 |
| 8 | UC Irvine | 159 | 10-20 | NR |
| 9 | Stanford | 150 | 19-6 | 6 |
| 10 | George Mason | 138 | 18-12 | 11 |
| 11 | Loyola-Chicago | 125 | 20-8 | 10 |
| 12 | UC Santa Barbara | 120 | 20-10 | 5 |
| 13 | Penn State | 95 | 19-10 | 12 |
| 14 | CSUN | 61 | 14-15 | 14 |
| 15 | Ball State | 47 | 20-9 | 13 |
Others receiving votes: Saint Francis 35; California Baptist 10; Southern California 6.
Three teams mentioned on only one ballot for a total of three combined points.
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