College Volleyball Rankings: Oregon Ducks Ranked No. 8 In Preseason NVCA Coaches Poll

Football isn't the only soon-to-be-starting sport in which the Oregon Ducks will enter the season in the top ten. The preseason edition of the NVCA Volleyball Coaches Poll came out this morning, with defending national runner up Oregon taking the  No. 8 spot. Of course, this being the Pac-12, that places Oregon only fourth among conference teams, behind No. 3 Stanford, No. 4 Southern California, and No. 5 Washington. UCLA is also ranked at No. 12. Defending national champion Texas holds down the top spot, followed by perennial title contender Penn State.

The Ducks lose four seniors from last year's squad, most notably national player of the year Alaina Bergsma, as well as Liberos Kellie Kawasaki and Haley Jacob, and outside hitter Katherine Fischer. However, they return a wealth of talent led by All-American setter Lauren Plum and outside hitter Liz Brenner.

The volleyball squad makes their first appearance in the green and yellow exhibition this Saturday night. The first counting match is August 30 in the Oregon Classic against Eastern Washington.