Iowa State volleyball ranked No. 21 in preseason poll

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Mikinna Kerns/Iowa State Daily

Junior Outside Hitter Jess Schaben bumps the ball during the first round of the NCAA Volleyball Championship against Princeton University at Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa Dec. 01. The Cyclones defeated the Tigers in three consecutive sets.

Spencer Suckow
August 8, 2018

For the seventh time in the Christy Johnson-Lynch era, Iowa State volleyball will begin the season as a ranked team.

The American Volleyball Coaches Association released its annual preseason poll on Wednesday and ranked Iowa State as the No. 21 team in the country. That ranking is four spots higher than the No. 25 ranking that the Cyclones ended the 2017 season with.

The Cyclones are joined in the Top 25 by two other Big 12 teams: Texas and Baylor. The Longhorns check in at No. 3, while the Bears will begin the season ranked No. 16. The Cyclones were also the only team Iowa team that cracked the Top 25.

Iowa State is coming off a season where the team finished with a 22-7 overall record and earned an appearance in the NCAA Volleyball Championship. The Cyclones eventually lost in the second round last year to Wisconsin.

Iowa State will begin its 2018 campaign with an exhibition against South Dakota on Friday, Aug. 17. The regular season will begin the next Friday on Aug 24 against Ole Miss. Both matches will be at Hilton Coliseum.