The Lady Topper volleyball team is in the American Volleyball Coaches Association’s preseason Top 25 poll for the first time in school history.

WKU was ranked No. 21 in the first AVCA preseason poll. The Lady Toppers are the only Sun Belt Conference team that made the cut.

WKU joins Louisville, No. 19, and Kentucky, No. 17, as the only teams from Kentucky in the Top 25. Texas, the defending national champion, is ranked No. 1.

The Lady Toppers will face four teams on the preseason list – No. 4 Southern California and No. 16 Purdue on Aug. 31, No. 23 Ohio State on Sept. 6, and No. 22 Dayton on Sept. 20.

“It’s an honor to be looked at by your peers as a nationally-recognized program,” Coach Travis Hudson said in a statement. “It says a lot about your program in general. We worked hard to gain respect nationally. Now we just have to go out and prove that we deserve it.”

WKU finished last season ranked No. 21 and won an NCAA Tournament game for the first time in school history. The Lady Toppers finished 33-4 that season and went undefeated in Sun Belt play.

That 2012 team was ranked No. 33 on the AVCA preseason poll.

The Lady Toppers will kick off the upcoming season on Aug. 30 against Alabama A&M.