Pepperdine and UCLA Share Top Spot in Preseason Poll
Dec. 8, 2008
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In the 2009 MPSF Men's Volleyball Preseason Coaches' Poll, Pepperdine and UCLA collected 104 points along with four and two first-place votes respectively to split the No. 1 ranking. The Waves won the MPSF Tournament Championship last year after finishing tied for fourth in the regular season, and received an automatic bid to the NCAA Final Four. The 2008 national runner-up returns two-time first-team All-American Paul Carroll. The Bruins, who tied the Waves for fourth last year, return all but their libero including all-conference hitters Sean O'Malley and Garrett Muagututia.
Long Beach State checks in at No. 3 with 87 points and a pair of first-place votes. The 49ers won the MPSF regular season and were the at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. CS Northridge placed fourth with two top rankings, while UC Irvine placed fifth with one. Only one point behind the Anteaters was USC, also with one first-place vote. Stanford and BYU placed seventh and eighth. Hawaii, UC Santa Barbara, UC San Diego, and Pacific completed the votes. All told, six different teams received at least one top vote in the poll. The top eight finishers in the conference advance to the MPSF Playoffs. The '09 season begins Wednesday, Jan. 7, while a pair of tournaments in Hawaii and Santa Barbara will be held that weekend.