The American Volleyball Coaches Association released its 2016 preseason poll on Wednesday. Here are some of the noteworthy names and numbers.
1: That would be Nebraska. Loaded Nebraska. The defending national champions received the top ranking in the AVCA poll for the fifth time in their history (2001, 2005, 2006, 2007). The Cornhuskers return five starters: first-team All-American Kadie Rolfzen, second-team All-American Amber Rolfzen, third-team All-American and reigning Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year Justine Wong-Orantes, All-American honorable mention setter Kelly Hunter and defensive specialist Kenzie Maloney. Also back is Mikaela Foecke, the most outstanding player at the NCAA championships, who came off the bench for all but three games.
2: Runner-up a year ago, Texas starts the season exactly where it ended last season: right behind Nebraska. The Longhorns have four players on the Big 12's preseason all-conference team, the most of any team. Count them: Chiaka Ogbogu, Ebony Nwanebu, Chloe Collins and Paulina Prieto Cerame. Nwanebu returns from a medical redshirt after sitting out all but one game in 2015 because of a back injury. The 6-foot-4 junior who spent her first two seasons at USC was a national team player in 2014. The Longhorns also boast the preseason freshman of the year, Orie Agbaji.
5: Kansas, a surprise team in the national semifinals a year ago, won't be sneaking up on anyone this season and starts in the No. 5 spot. You'll be getting a lot of No. 8 from the Jayhawks, in the form of the jersey number worn by junior Kelsie Payne, who is the first Jayhawk to be named the preseason Big 12 player of the year.
7: The number of Big Ten teams ranked in the preseason poll. Nebraska is followed by Minnesota (3), Wisconsin (4), Penn State (9), Illinois (14), Ohio State (15) and Purdue (20).
T7: Washington, which lost seven seniors to graduation, is tied with USC for seventh. The Huskies and Trojans are the top-ranked teams in the Pac-12. Stanford is No. 11, and UCLA is No. 12.
12: The number of times the preseason No. 1 has finished as the NCAA champion. Penn State (1999, 2008-10), UCLA (1990-91), Stanford (1994, 1997), Nebraska (2006) USC (2013), Pacific (1986) and Hawaii (1983) all finished where they started.
17: Thanks to Florida State, the best rank for an ACC school. Oddly, North Carolina, ranked 19th, was picked to win the ACC title by the conference coaches.
18: Nebraska's other team, Creighton, begins at No. 18, the best starting position in school history. The Bluejays advanced to the Sweet 16 last season and were previously ranked as high as 19.
21: Loyola Marymount, which advanced to the Sweet 16 after upsetting Stanford on its home floor a year ago, starts with a No. 21 ranking.
27: Of August, that is. Circle the date. That's when this year's top two teams, Nebraska and Texas, also last year's NCAA finalists, square off in the VERT Challenge in Eugene, Oregon.
34: The number of wins last season by No. 22 Western Kentucky, picked to win its third Conference USA championship in 2016. The Hilltoppers' 153 victories the past five seasons are second only to Penn State's win total.
60: The number of first-place votes received by Nebraska. No. 2 Texas received three votes for the top spot, and No. 11 Stanford got one.
1,189: Number of wins Penn State's Russ Rose brings into the 2016 season. That's the most by anyone ever.
1,818: Average attendance for No. 15 Ohio State, which hosts the 2016 final four.
8,291: Although the road trip to play sixth-ranked Hawaii is often the longest haul of the season for teams, consider how far Rainbow Wahine coach Dave Shoji is from his team this preseason. Shoji left Wednesday for Rio de Janeiro, which is 8,291 miles from Honolulu, to watch his sons, Erik and Kawika, compete for the United States in the Olympics.