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SEATTLE – Washington Beach Volleyball has earned a preseason top-20 national ranking for just the second time in program history. The Beach Dawgs check in at the No. 20 spot in the initial AVCA coaches poll today, with the 2023 season opener now eleven days away.
The Huskies were preseason No. 19 in the AVCA poll back in 2018. Last season, the Huskies were 12-20, but had upset wins over No. 11 Cal and No. 8 Hawaii. Washington returns its No. 1 duo of Chloe Loreen and Natalie Robinson. Those two made waves in the fall by reaching the semifinals of the inaugural AVCA National Pairs Championships.
Second-year Head Coach Derek Olson also brought in a large class of newcomers to give UW its most depth in years. Teagan DeFalco from Grand Canyon, Piper Monk-Heidrich from UCLA, Shannon Gormally and Kendall Mather both from Florida International, and Mary Sinclair and Jacquelyn Strawn both from Pepperdine, along with Maia Nichols from Arizona State have given UW its most beach-only players ever.
Returning starters include seniors Paloma Bowman, Scarlett Dahl, and Hannah Yerex, as well as Maeve Griffin, the only indoor volleyball crossover this year. One true freshman, Reagan Peterson, rounds out the squad from Charlotte, North Carolina.
Washington will be tested right from the get-go on its first day of competition on Saturday, Feb. 25. The Huskies play twice that day, against 16th-ranked Florida International, and 2nd-ranked Florida State in Tallahassee at the Seminole Classic.
| Rank | School (First-Place Votes) | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | UCLA (12) | 442 |
| 2 | Florida State (2) | 420 |
| 3 | TCU (1) | 408 |
| 4 | USC (8) | 400 |
| 5 | LSU | 350 |
| 6 | GCU | 334 |
| 7 | LMU | 296 |
| 8 | Georgia State | 271 |
| 9 | Stanford | 247 |
| 10 | Hawai’i | 242 |
| 11 | California | 233 |
| 12 | FAU | 224 |
| 13 | Cal Poly | 222 |
| 14 | Long Beach State | 153 |
| 15 | Stetson | 137 |
| 16 | FIU | 117 |
| 17 | Pepperdine | 79 |
| 18 | Arizona | 78 |
| 19 | South Carolina | 65 |
| 20 | Washington | 55 |
Others receiving votes on multiple ballots: Florida Gulf Coast University (30), Arizona State University…
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