NCAA | Washington #6 in media poll; Seattle U picked fourth in WAC

• First Volleyball Magazine Poll of 2013 includes 5 Pac-12 schools in top 12
• Seattle U's Martina Samadan an All-WAC preseason selection
• Michelle Patton and Teron Uy land at UC Riverside

The Washington Huskies, ranked #5 in the preseason AVCA Coaches Poll, is ranked #6 in the first Volleyball Magazine media poll. #3 Stanford, #4 Southern California, #9 Oregon and #12 UCLA also made the poll’s top 20.

For the third season in a row, Volleyblog Seattle is a voter in the poll. Volleyball Magazine’s D1 poll voters include coaches, media and sports information directors from across the country. Polls are published weekly each Tuesday leading up to the NCAA Tournament and then a final poll after the NCAA Championship in Seattle.

Rank	Volley blog Seattle vote	School (First-Place Votes)	Total Points	Final 2012 Record	2012 NCAA seed	2012 Final RPI	2012 Final VBM Rank
1	2	Texas (8)	197	29-4	3	2	1
2	4	Penn State (1)	190	33-3	1	3	3
3	1	Stanford (1)	182	30-4	2	1	5
4	3	USC	170	30-6	6	11	6
5	6	Minnesota	149	27-8	8	6	8
6	5	Washington	145	25-7	13	14	9
7	7	Michigan	139	27-12	NS	16	4
8	9	Nebraska	122	26-7	4	5	7
9	8	Oregon	119	30-5	5	4	2
10	11	Florida	115	27-5	14	10	11
11	13	Hawaii	105	27-3	NS	21	13
12	12	UCLA	88	23-8	7	8	10
13	15	Michigan State	76	23-10	NS	33	15
14	10	BYU	71	28-4	12	13	12
15	14	Iowa State	57	22-8	15	15	14
16	NR	Purdue	46	23-11	NS	22	16
17	NR	Kentucky	39	22-11	16	20	18
18	NR	Louisville	18	30-4	10	7	17
19	18	Florida State	17	28-4	9	12	19
20	NR	Kansas	14	26-7	11	9	NR

Others receiving votes: San Diego, Wichita State, Ohio State, Western Kentucky, Long Beach State, Oklahoma, North Carolina, San Diego State

SEATTLE U TABBED TO FINISH FOURTH IN WAC

Coaches in the new-look Western Athletic Conference have picked Seattle University to finish fourth this season, behind defending champion New Mexico State, Idaho and Utah Valley. They are ahead of Bakersfield, Kansas City, Texas-Pan American, Grand Canyon and Chicago State. New Mexico State, Idaho and Seattle are the only three teams remaining from last season in the drastically-changed conference.

The fourth-place pick is a step up from last season, when the Redhawks finished 4-14 in the conference (9-19 overall), good for 9^th place. “I’m excited about that,” says new head coach James Finley, “I think that’s a good place for us to start.”

Seattle U middle blocker Martina Samadan (L) after winning
the Croatian Senior Beach title with partner Ivana Vukasovic
-photo courtesy Seattle U Athletics

Finley comes to Seattle from Virginia Commonwealth University, where he compiled an 8-year record of 25-6, including a 25-6 finish last season. “I think (the #4 ranking) shows that they have respect for my history as a coach,” Finley tells Volleyblog Seattle, “but also the recruiting class that we’ve brought in.”

That class contains four freshmen and two transfers from Croatia, including preseason All-Conference pick Martina Samadan. Samadan, a 6-5 sophomore middle blocker, played for Finley at VCU, and recently won the Croatian Senior Beach Volleyball Tournament with partner Ivana Vukasovic. Last season at VCU, Samadan finished fourth in the nation in blocks per set (1.67), trailing the nation’s leader, Washington’s Amanda Gil.

After a week of preseason training, Finley likes what he sees.

“I’m really excited,” he says. “The team chemistry with this many new players has been exceptional. The girls have really bought in to our system; they’re working really hard to get better.

“They’re just really hungry to win.”


NOTES:

• Former University of Washington setter Michelle Patton is the new head coach of UC Riverside. Patton coached San Francisco State the past four seasons, leading it to the NCAA Division II playoffs. One of Patton's assistants is Teron Uy, who was a Seattle U assistant coach, and filled in as acting coach while former Redhawks head coach Shannon Ellis was on maternity leave.

see also:

Washington ranked #5in season’s first volleyball coaches’ poll

Seattle U finallyhires new volleyball coach