Brenden Welper | NCAA.com | August 13, 2019

College volleyball rankings: Top 25 recap, facts ahead of Tuesday's first AVCA poll

The top women's volleyball players to watch in 2019

Before the AVCA Division I Preseason Coaches Poll is announced on Tuesday, Aug. 13, it's time to look back at the 2018 NCAA women's volleyball season. (Editor's note: The new poll has been posted here. Full top 25 reactions, analysis here)

The Stanford Cardinal defeated the Nebraska Cornhuskers in five sets to claim its eighth national championship and second in the last three years. Outside hitter Kathryn Plummer led Stanford with 19 kills and 10 digs.

Plummer, an AVCA First-Team All-American in 2018, will return for her senior season this fall, along with Jenna Gray, Morgan Hentz and Audriana Fitzmorris. Gray and Hentz were also named First-Team All-Americans.

In contrast, Nebraska won't have a single senior on the roster in 2019. But the Huskers will have home-court advantage when they host Stanford in a rematch of last year's final on September 18. It'll be an early non-conference test for two clubs that have each won two of the last four national championships.

Reminder!!!

The #AVCA Division I Preseason Coaches Poll will be announced at 3pm ET tomorrow, Tuesday! We will first announce the top-10 at 2pm ET right here on Twitter!
— AVCA (@AVCAVolleyball) August 12, 2019

Stanford and Nebraska finished first and second, respectively, in the final AVCA poll of 2018. Rounding out the top five were No. 3 Illinois, No. 4 BYU, and No. 5 Texas. The poll below was released on Dec. 17, 2018.

RANK	SCHOOL	POINTS	2018 RECORD	PREVIOUS RANK
1	Stanford (64)	1600	34-1	1
2	Nebraska	1533	29-7	6
3	Illinois	1463	32-4	3
4	BYU	1408	31-2	4
5	Texas	1285	23-5	5
6	Penn State	1253	26-8	7
7	Minnesota	1187	27-4	2
8	Wisconsin	1162	25-7	8
9	Oregon	1095	23-11	14
10	Kentucky	1026	26-5	10
11	Florida	821	26-7	16
12	Michigan	799	24-10	18
13	Creighton	770	29-5	9
14	Pittsburgh	709	30-2	11
15	Marquette	689	28-7	15
16	Washington State	668	23-10	19
17	Purdue	645	24-9	12
18	Washington	625	20-13	22
19	Tennessee	398	26-6	19
20	San Diego	364	18-13	NR
21	Southern California	335	22-11	17
22	Cal Poly	287	25-3	13
23	Missouri	228	24-8	24
24	Baylor	197	20-9	25
T-25	Arizona	81	22-11	23
T-25	UCF	81	27-4	21

Notable Numbers: AVCA Division I Women's Poll

Stanford and Nebraska have each been ranked a record 542 times.
The next closest is Southern California at 512.
Nebraska has earned the No. 1 ranking 99 times, more than any other program.
UC Santa Barbara has received 105 top-10 rankings, but has never been ranked No. 1.
Colorado State needs one more top-25 ranking to become the 14th school to reach the 300 mark.
Cal Poly hasn't been ranked No. 1 overall since Oct. 22, 1985, the longest drought for any school that's received the top ranking at least once.
Only 19 different schools have been ranked No. 1 overall since AVCA polling began in 1982.

SCHEDULE: When does the 2019 women's college volleyball season start?

Most total times ranked

1. Nebraska and Stanford: 542
3. Southern California: 512
4. UCLA: 505
5. Hawai'i: 500
6. Penn State: 492
7. Texas: 484
8. Florida: 432
9. BYU: 399
10. Arizona: 325

Most times ranked No. 1

1. Nebraska: 99
2. Penn State: 95
3. Stanford: 73
4. UCLA: 56
5. Hawai'i: 48
6. Southern California: 47
7. Long Beach State: 27
8. Pacific: 18
9. Florida: 16
10. BYU: 15

Most timed ranked in the top 10

1. Nebraska: 486
2. Stanford: 481
3. Texas: 371
4. Hawai'i and Penn State: 366
6. UCLA: 340
7. Florida: 332
8. Southern California: 316
9. Washington: 210
10. Pacific: 189