The University of Florida volleyball team is ranked No. 1 in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association and Volleyball Magazine polls for a school-record sixth consecutive week, it was announced Tuesday.
The Gators (24-1, 17-0 Southeastern Conference) have clinched at least a share of the program’s 19th SEC regular-season championship and need one more victory in their final three matches to secure the league title outright.
Florida has now broken its school record for most consecutive polls ranked at No. 1, as the Gators were in the No. 1 spot for five consecutive AVCA polls during the 1996 season. This week marks the 11th time in program history that the Gators are ranked No. 1 nationally and Florida is 22-1 all-time when playing in the nation’s top spot.
UF holds the nation’s fifth-longest streak of consecutive weeks ranked in the AVCA poll, as the Gators have been ranked among the nation’s top-25 for 303 consecutive polls, dating back to Sept. 17, 1991. Florida has been ranked in the nation’s top-10 for 249 of those weeks.
Stanford checks in at No. 2 in this week’s AVCA poll, while Hawaii is No. 3, California is No. 4 and Nebraska is No. 5. In the Volleyball Magazine poll, Stanford is No. 2 this week with California No. 3, Hawaii No. 4 and Nebraska No. 5.
Florida also is No. 1 in the NCAA’s Division I Women’s Volleyball Ratings Percentage Index for the seventh consecutive week. The Gators have played perhaps the nation’s toughest schedule during the 2010 campaign, facing 10 top-25 opponents so far this season and going 9-1 against ranked foes.
The No. 1 Gators return to action on Friday, when they travel to Fayetteville, Ark., to take on Arkansas. Opening serve in Barnhill Arena is slated for 8 p.m. ET and the match will be carried live on WRUF Sports Radio 850 with Tom Collett.
