Dec. 21, 2005

Final CSTV/AVCA Top 25 Poll

ATHENS, Ohio - The Ohio volleyball team finished the season ranked No. 14 in the final CSTV/AVCA Division I Coaches Top 25 Poll. The ranking is the highest in the history of the program.

The Bobcats, ranked 15th in the poll prior to Sweet 16 play, jumped one spot to No. 14. The ranking is the highest a Mid-American Conference school has reached since the 1983 Western Michigan squad were ranked 13th. Ohio has now been ranked in the top-25 for 10 consecutive weeks.

Ohio finished the season tied with No. 2 Nebraska and No. 3 Florida for the nation's most wins with 33. The Bobcats finished tied for fourth with Florida with a .917 winning percentage after finishing the season 33-3. Ohio's 33 wins is the most ever for a MAC program.

The Bobcats led the nation in both kills and assists per game this season. Ohio tallied 17.71 kills and 16.53 assists per frame. Savanah Parra (Temecula, Calif.) finished second in the nation with 14.69 assists a game, behind only Courtney Thompson of National Champion Washington.

Ohio advanced further than it ever had before following a 3-0 sweep of Ohio State in the round of 32. The Bobcats advanced to play Arizona, the top seed in Ohio's region, and battled the Wildcats before falling 3-2.

Washington finished first in the poll after sweeping Nebraska, which held the No. 1 spot all year until the final poll, in the national championship match. Nebraska finished second followed by Florida, Santa Clara and Penn State. Tennessee, Arizona, Missouri, Hawai'i and Wisconsin round out the top-10.