UH sand volleyball ranked fifth

The Hawaii sand volleyball team was ranked No. 5 in the AVCA preseason poll announced Friday.

The Rainbow Wahine, 6-7 last season, are ranked behind preseason No. 1 and 2012 national champion Pepperdine. At No. 2 is USC, followed by defending national champion Long Beach State and Florida State.

Rounding out the top 10 are UCLA, Nebraska, Saint Mary’s, Florida International and Stanford.

Hawaii opens its third sand season Friday with dual matches against USC, Loyola Marymount and Long Beach State at Queen’s Beach. The competition on March 8 will involve all four teams in a pairs tournament.

The Wahine roster has seven returnees and 10 newcomers, including 2012 All-American Brittany Tiegs, who played for Florida State before sitting out a season upon transferring to Hawaii.