Much of the 2020 college volleyball campaign was pushed from last fall to this spring because of the pandemic, but if preseason rankings are any indication, there should be a couple of quality teams in the Beehive State this season.
On Tuesday, the American Volleyball Coaches Association top 25 preseason poll was released (the main poll used to rank teams), and both the Utah Utes and BYU Cougars made the cut.
The Utes are ranked No. 10, while the Cougars come in at No. 16.
Utah’s ranking marks the highest it has ever appeared in a preseason poll, according to the school, besting its No. 13 ranking back in 2002. That season, the 23rd-ranked Utes fell in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
Utah has advanced to the Sweet 16 four times in school history, in 2001, 2008, 2017 and 2019. It finished the 2019 season ranked No. 9 in the country.
The Utes return a bunch of production from the 2019 team, led by All-Americans Dani Drews, Kenzie Koerber and Saige Ka’aha’aina-Torres. In all, 10 players are back from the 2019 squad.
As for the Cougars, they’ve been one of the better teams in the country over the last decade or so, finishing each season since 2012 ranked in the top 25. BYU finished 2019 ranked No. 17 after falling in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
That marked the earliest exit for a Cougars program that, since 2012, has made one NCAA final (2014), another semifinal (2018) and five additional trips to the Sweet 16 (2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017).
The Wisconsin Badgers came in ranked No. 1 in Tuesday’s poll. Lone Peak’s Lauren Jardine, the 2020 Deseret News Ms. Volleyball winner, has signed to play for the Badgers and will reportedly join the team this spring, although she is not yet listed on the official roster.
The 2021 spring season has a start date of Jan. 22, although not all team schedules have been finalized. The Cougars will open their campaign Jan. 26 and 27 on the road against Portland. The Utes’ schedule has not yet been announced.