In the preseason poll released by the AVCA on Tuesday, the Blue Raiders are ranked 15th with Penn State holding onto the No.1 position.

"We weren't ranked in last year's preseason poll and we ended the season 15th so I don't give a lot of credence to this. It is nice to be recognized and see that school's think we are going to have a good season but the preseason means nothing," head coach Matt Peck said.

Middle Tennessee is the only team from the Sun Belt ranked in the preseason poll with rival Western Kentucky receiving votes.

"What does matter is the poll at the end of the season and last year we finished 15th which was great. I think people realize we have a good group coming back and good recruits coming in," Peck said.

Hawai'i, who the Blue Raiders defeated in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, is ranked 12th in the poll.

Iowa State is ranked 18th in the poll. Middle Tennessee will face the Cyclones in its second tournament of the season on Saturday, Sept.6.

Along with Western Kentucky, the Blue Raiders will play Duke, Tulane and Ohio during the 2008 season. These four teams all received votes in the preseason poll.

"No. 18 Iowa State will be our first match against a preseason ranked opponent, who we are playing here in our tournament. We will also be playing Ohio, Duke, Tulane and Western Kentucky so we have our work cut out for us. There will be a lot of movement on the poll the first couple of weeks," Peck said.

Middle Tennessee ended the 2007 season with the fourth best record in the country at 35-3 behind national champion Penn State, Stanford and Nebraska.

The Blue Raiders also made history during the 2007 season as the first Middle Tennessee team in any sport to advance to the round of 16 in any sport.

"It is an honor; we have never been ranked preseason so it is a great accomplishment. We will look at it as an accomplishment and focus on the season because what really matters is what happens at the end of the season," Peck said.

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