Nebraska volleyball garnered more love in this week’s AVCA rankings, adding two more first-place votes from last week’s poll.
The Huskers (28-1, 18-0 B1G) remained at No. 2 but tallied 14 first-place votes compared to the 12 the Big Red received over the past two weeks. Nebraska continued to pace behind No. 1 Pittsburgh, as the Panthers (27-1, 17-1 ACC) concluded another dominant weekend, sweeping Wake Forest and NC State on the road.
The 14 first-place votes are the highest for the season for the Huskers. Nebraska earned respect with back-to-back sweeps in Big Ten play Wednesday and Saturday. The Huskers won in Iowa City over the Hawkeyes on Wednesday, then dispatched No. 7 Wisconsin in three sets at home Saturday.
The Huskers have lost just five sets in Big Ten play this season, including surviving a five-set thriller against No. 8 Purdue on Oct. 11. The current 25-match winning streak includes conference wins over several ranked teams, including No. 7 Wisconsin, the No. 9 Boilermakers, No. 13 Oregon, No. 15 Minnesota, and No. 20 USC. The Huskers also took down RV Washington earlier this year.
Nebraska has also collected wins over No. 3 Louisville, No. 5 Creighton, No. 6 Stanford, No. 8 Arizona State, No. 12 Kentucky and No. 22 TCU, giving the Huskers 11 wins over currently ranked foes.
The Big Ten remains strong in the rankings with seven teams represented while eight teams were listed on two or more ballots.
The ACC continued showcasing its conference depth with six teams in the poll, including top-rated Pittsburgh, No. 3 Louisville, No. 6 Stanford, No. 10 SMU, No. 19 Georgia Tech, and No. 21 Florida State. SMU is the only team with wins over the top two teams in the country, defeating Nebraska in September before taking down Pittsburgh in October.
The Creighton Bluejays remained perfect in Big East play. Their No. 5 ranking is the highest ranking in program history, and their 27-2 start is also their best ever. Creighton won the regular-season Big East crown, going unbeaten in conference play, and begins its conference tournament in Omaha later this week.
Nebraska plays its final two regular-season matches this week, starting with a visit Friday to No. 4 Penn State for a 4 p.m. CST first serve. The showdown with the Nittany Lions will likely determine the Big Ten championship, as Nebraska can claim the conference crown with a win. The Huskers wrap up their regular season at Maryland on Saturday night.
AVCA Poll
- Pittsburgh
- Nebraska
- Louisville
- Penn State
- Creighton
- Stanford
- Wisconsin
- Arizona State
- Purdue
- SMU
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Oregon
- Texas
- Minnesota
- Baylor
- Utah
- Florida
- Georgia Tech
- Southern California
- Florida State
- TCU
- Dayton
- Missouri
- North Carolina
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