Sand Volleyball Ranked #1 by AVCA & DiG Magazine
1/23/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Beach Volleyball
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. - The two-time national championship-winning Pepperdine sand volleyball team ranked in at #1 in the DiG Magazine Collegiate Sand Volleyball Preseason Poll, announced the last week of January. The Waves also earned the #1 ranking in the AVCA preseason poll, released on February 16.
The first poll was put together by the DiG Magazine staff, with the input of collegiate sand coaches. DiG anticipates releasing a bi-weekly poll throughout the season, which begins for the Waves in March. This season marks the first time the AVCA has released a preseason poll.
Pepperdine, who won national titles in 2012 and 2014 under the direction of head coach Nina Matthies, returns 11 letterwinners from the 2014 squad, including eight of its 10 lineup regulars.
All four of the Waves' 2014 AVCA All-Americans are back, including Lara Dykstra (Redondo Beach, Calif./Redondo Union HS/Nebraska), Kelley Larsen (Jamul, Calif./Christian HS), Becca Strehlow (Long Beach, Calif./Woodrow Wilson HS/UCLA) and Kellie Woolever (Long Beach, Calif./Woodrow Wilson HS).
Larsen and Woolever held down the No. 1 spot in the lineup with a 9-2 record and went 23-4 overall last year. Dykstra and Strehlow, who charted the deciding point in last spring's 3-2 win over Florida State to clinch the national title, went 23-7 in 2014.
National runner-up Florida State came in at #2 in the poll, followed by USC at #3. Pepperdine has duals with all top-seven ranked teams on its 2015 slate.
The fourth and final AVCA Collegiate Sand Volleyball National Championship returns to Gulf Shores, Ala. on May 1-3. The NCAA recently voted to make sand volleyball its 90th championship sport, which will begin in 2016.
The Waves open the season vs. Loyola Marymount and Hawaii in Honolulu on March 6.
Pepperdine's home opener will feature a showdown against the #2 Seminoles on Wednesday, March 11 at Zuma Beach. The tri-dual event will also bring in TCU.
DiG Collegiate Sand Volleyball Preseason Poll
1. Pepperdine
2. Florida State
3. USC
4. Hawaii
5. Loyola Marymount
6. Long Beach State
7. Saint Mary's
8. UCLA
9. Florida International
10. Pacific
11. Georgia State
12. Stanford
13. Stetson
14. North Florida
15. Tulane
16. Arizona
17. Nebraska
18. Santa Clara
19. Grand Canyon
20. Louisiana Monroe
Others receiving votes: Alabama-Birmingham (UAB), Arizona State, California, CSU Bakersfield, South Carolina
AVCA Preseason Poll
1. Pepperdine
2. USC
3. Florida State
4. Hawaii
5. Long Beach State
6. Loyola Marymount
7. UCLA
8. Saint Mary's
9. Florida International
10. Georgia State
