September 8, 1998

The Clemson volleyball team is ranked 33rd nationally in the USA Today/AVCA Coaches' Poll released today, moving up from a 39th-place ranking in the preseason.

The Tigers (3-1) upset 30th-ranked Georgia last week 3-2, then defeated Georgia Southern and Eastern Illinois at the Saint Louis Invitational this weekend. Clemson lost to St. Louis in the final match of the tournament.

"We felt like we had a great win against Georgia," said head coach Jolene Jordan Hoover. "The win was a step forward for our program. We were disappointed that we were up 2-0 versus St. Louis and let is slip away. Hopefully, we can use the loss as a learning experience."

Clemson placed five players on the All-Tournament Team, including junior middle hitter Cindy Stern who garnered Tournament MVP honors. Stephanie Schulz, Alison Coday, Melissa Kudelka and Jodi Steffes also represented the Tigers on the All-Tournament Team.

The Tigers finished the 1997 season with a 26-7 overall record and was 10-6 in the ACC, winning its first ACC Title in history.

Clemson will play host to Auburn and Central Florida this weekend at the Big Orange Bash in Jervey Gym. Clemson takes on Auburn Friday at 7 p.m. Auburn will face Central Florida Saturday at 4 p.m., and Clemson will face Central Florida at 2 p.m. on Sunday.

The complete USA TODAY/AVCA Coaches Poll is as follows: 

    1    Penn State            1467
    2    Long Beach State      1464
    3    Southern California   1354
    4    Nebraska              1323
    5    UC Santa Barbara      1174
    6    BYU                   1112
    7    Texas                 1101
    8    Wisconsin             1046
    9    Stanford              1024
   10    Pacific                967
   11    Florida                940
   12    Colorado               864
   13    Hawai'i                851
   14    Ohio State             795
   15    Arkansas               625
   16    Michigan State         562
   17    Loyola Marymount       466
   18    Notre Dame             442
   19    Texas A&M              406
   20    UCLA                   313
   21    San Diego              256
   22    Florida State          228
   23    Washington             136
   24    Washington State       126
   25    Arizona                 99

Others Receiving Votes: Illinois (84), Michigan (64), Minnesota (42), Louisville, (33), Texas Tech (31), Pepperdine (29), Kansas State (21), Clemson (14), Utah (10), Oklahoma (9), Illinois State (8), Miami (Ohio) 4, Sacramento State (4), Colorado State (3), Fresno State (3), Oral Roberts (3), Ball State (2), Arkansas State (1), Georgia (1), Northern Illinois (1).