Aug. 22, 2000

MACON, Ga. - The Trans America Athletic Conference 2000 Volleyball Preseason Poll is out and the University of Central Florida is picked to win the 2000 TAAC regular-season and tournament championship titles, as voted on by TAAC Head Coaches.

UCF (19-12 overall, 9-0 TAAC), won the 1999 regular-regular season title and was defeated by Florida Atlantic University 3-2 in the Championship match of the 1999 TAAC Volleyball Tournament. The Golden Knights have won six of the last eight TAAC volleyball tournament titles.

The Owls of FAU (17-13, 7-2) are picked to finish second in the 2000 regular-season after finishing third last year. FAU won its second straight TAAC tournament championship last year and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. FAU fell to Stanford 3-0 in the first round of the 1999 NCAA Volleyball Tournament.

Georgia State University (15-19, 5-4) comes in third. The Panthers fell to top seed UCF 3-2 in the semi-finals of the 1999 TAAC Volleyball Tournament. GSU was the tournament runner-up in both the 1997 and 1998 seasons and last won the TAAC title in 1991.

The Dolphins of Jacksonville University (15-12, 7-2) find themselves in the fourth spot, after finishing second during the 1999 regular-season. JU fell to third seed FAU 3-1 in the semi-finals of the 1999 TAAC Tournament.

Samford University (14-19, 5-4) is picked in the fifth spot this season. The Bulldogs were the fifth seed in the 1999 TAAC Volleyball Tournament and fell to GSU 3-1 in the first round. Jacksonville State University (14-17, 3-6) arrives on the scene in the sixth spot, after finishing eighth last season.

The Stetson University Hatters (10-14, 3-6) and the Troy State University Trojans (10-23, 4-5) come in tied for seventh place. Stetson won its only TAAC Volleyball title in 1985. TSU advanced to the 1999 TAAC Volleyball Tournament as the sixth seed. The Trojans fell in the opening round 3-1 to eventual champion FAU.

Rounding out the poll are Campbell University (9-21, 1-8) and Mercer University (3-15, 2-7) in the ninth and tenth spots respectively. Neither team advanced to the 1999 TAAC tournament.

The top six teams based on conference winning percentage will advance to the 2000 TAAC Volleyball Tournament on November 17-18 in Boca Raton, Fla. at the FAU Arena. The winner will advance to the first round of the 2000 NCAA Championship via the TAAC's automatic bid.

TAAC 2000 Volleyball Preseason Poll
# School Points '99 Record '99 TAAC '99 TAAC Champ
1 UCF (4) 87 19-12 9-0 (1st) 1-1 (2nd)
2 FAU (2) 79 17-13 7-2 (3rd) 3-0 (Champion)
3 GSU (3) 78 15-19 5-4 (t4th) 1-1 (t3rd)
4 JU 63 15-12 7-2 (2nd) 0-1 (t3rd)
5 Samford 59 14-19 5-4 (t4th) 0-1 (t5th)
6 JSU 37 14-17 3-6 (t7th) n/a
t 7 Stetson 35 10-14 3-6 (t7th) n/a
t 7 TSU 35 10-23 4-5 (6th) 0-1 (t5th)
9 Campbell 17 9-21 1-8 (10th) n/a
10 Mercer 14 3-15 2-7 (9th) n/a
first place votes in parenthesis, voted on by TAAC Head Coaches
Predicted 2000 TAAC Tournament Champion: UCF