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Aug. 7, 2003
GREENSBORO, N.C. – The University of Virginia volleyball team has been selected to finish eighth in the Atlantic Coast Conference according to the 2003 Preseason ACC Volleyball Poll, which is determined by a vote of the league’s nine head coaches. The Cavaliers, who are under the direction of ninth-year head coach Melissa Aldrich Shelton, received 22 points in the poll for eighth place.
Georgia Tech, which returns every starter from last year’s ACC Championship team, is a unanimous selection by the nine conference head coaches to win the 2003 ACC regular season title. The Yellow Jackets earned 81 points in the poll, while Duke has been selected to finish second, garnering 68 points. North Carolina is the coaches’ choice to finish third (65), while Clemson (48) and Florida State (41) are fourth and fifth, respectively. Wake Forest is sixth with 36 points, followed by Maryland (34), Virginia (22) and N.C. State (10).
The Cavaliers, who finished the 2002 season with a 9-25 overall record and a 2-14 mark in the ACC, return five starters and eight letterwinners in 2003.
Virginia opens the 2003 season by competing in the Tiger Classic in Baton Rogue, La. August 29-30. UVa plays Alabama-Birmingham and host Louisiana State on August 29 and Centenary on August 30. The Cavaliers open the home portion of their schedule on September 5 and 6 when they host the Jefferson Cup Tournament at Memorial Gymnasium.
The entire 2003 Preseason ACC Volleyball Poll follows:
2003 PRESEASON ACC VOLLEYBALL POLL
School Points 2002 Record/Finish1. Georgia Tech 81 33-6, 13-4 ACC/2nd2. Duke 68 24-10, 11-5 ACC/3rd3. North Carolina 65 32-4, 15-1 ACC/1st4. Clemson 48 17-15, 8-8 ACC/5th5. Florida State 41 21-13, 10-6 ACC/4th6. Wake Forest 36 14-18, 6-10 ACC/7th7. Maryland 34 18-14, 7-9 ACC/6th8. Virginia 22 9-25, 2-14 ACC/8th9. N.C. State 10 3-32, 0-16 ACC/9th