Nebraska volleyball remains locked in to the second position of the AVCA rankings after a trip to the Pacific Northwest.
The Huskers (24-1, 14-0 B1G) swiftly handled Oregon and Washington last week on their road tests, keeping the Big Red at No. 2 in the latest poll. Nebraska continues to chase No. 1 Pittsburgh, as the Panthers (23-1, 13-1 ACC) held on to their top spot. Nebraska did add another first place vote to their total, earning 12 first-place nods in this week’s poll.
Nebraska swept No. 11 Oregon in Eugene on Thursday then handled Washington on Saturday to maintain the Huskers’ unblemished mark against conference opponents. The Huskers have not dropped a set since Oct. 26 hosting Michigan – a four-set win in Lincoln.
The Huskers have lost a total of four sets in Big Ten play this season, including surviving a five-set thriller against No. 8 Purdue on Oct. 11. The current 21-match winning streak includes conference wins over several ranked teams, including No. 3 Louisville, No. 5 Creighton, No. 6 Wisconsin, No. 7 Stanford, the No. 8 Boilermakers, No. 9 Arizona State, and No. 23 USC.
Nebraska has also collected wins over No. 13 Kentucky and No. 18 TCU, giving the Huskers nine wins over currently ranked foes.
The Big Ten remains strong in the AVCA rankings with seven teams earning rankings while eight teams were listed on two or more ballots from voters. The Huskers face No. 16 Minnesota on Thursday in Lincoln, while awaiting No. 4 Penn State on Friday, Nov. 29 in University Park.
The ACC continued showcasing its conference depth with six teams in the polls including top-rated Pittsburgh, No. 3 Louisville, No. 7 Stanford, No. 10 SMU, No. 15 Georgia Tech, and No. 22 Florida State. SMU is the only team with wins over the top two teams in the country, defeating Nebraska in September while taking down Pittsburgh in October.
The Huskers had received a first-place vote in every AVCA ranking this season outside of two weeks – following their loss at SMU on Sept. 3 and in the Oct. 7 rankings in which Pittsburgh earned all 61 first-place votes.
The Creighton Bluejays remained perfect in Big East play to rise another spot in the rankings, replacing Stanford at No. 5. It is the highest ranking in the Bluejays’ history, matching their 23-2 start – also the best in program history.
Nebraska awaits its final stretch of home regular-season matches beginning this weekend, hosting the Golden Gophers Thursday and welcoming Indiana on Saturday. Both matches will be played at the Bob Devaney Sports Center with television coverage on the Big Ten Network.
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