Aug. 14, 2008

LOS ANGELES -- The USC women's volleyball team has been placed in a tie for third place with Texas in the 2008 Molten/Volleyball Magazine Preseason Top 20 poll. The Women of Troy are coming off their fourth NCAA Final Four appearance in the last six seasons.

USC returns four starters from last year's squad, including junior All-America setter Taylor Carico.

Defending national champion Penn State is No. 1 in the poll with Stanford at No. 2. Nebraska is picked at No. 5 in the poll, followed by UCLA, Washington, Florida, Cal and Oregon.

USC opens the season, ironically, against Texas in the battle for the "true" No. 3 spot on Aug. 29 at the Runza/AVCA Showcase in Omaha, Neb. The match will be broadcast live at 9:30 p.m. Central on CBS College Sports.