Nebraska volleyball once again awaits their top-overall rating in college volleyball.
In the latest AVCA rankings released on Monday, the Huskers remained at No. 2. Previous top-rated Pittsburgh fell to conference foe SMU on Saturday in five sets, but the Panthers retained their top spot with 41 total first place votes. Pittsburgh had received every first-place vote in last week’s AVCA rankings.
Nebraska (16-1, 6-0 B1G) was last rated No. 1 in the AVCA Coaches Poll leading into the final week of the 2023 regular season on Nov. 27, being slated as the top overall seed in the 2023 national tournament. The Huskers remain at the No. 2 spot with 19 total first place votes. NU was No. 2 in the preseason polls, sitting behind Texas, and have remained at the second spot for three consecutive weeks.
The Huskers outlasted No. 10 Purdue in five sets on Friday night, then swept Rutgers Saturday at home in the Bob Devaney Sports Center. Nebraska has been lethal in Lincoln, continuing their streak into 36 consecutive victories on their home court.
The Huskers have taken advantage of opponent’s mistakes and capitalizing with their All-American caliber players, as the Huskers limited Purdue to only three service aces while the Boilermakers committed 19 service serrors. Merrit Beason had a season-high 22 kills on Friday, while Andi Jackson returned from injury to provide 14 kills and four blocks. 2023 All-Big Ten players Harper Murray and Rebekah Allick had registered 17 and 10 kills, respectively.
Nebraska has also earned conference recognition with Allick, setter Bergen Reilly, and libero Lexi Rodriguez receiving Big Ten Conference awards through the first months of the season. Likewise, four Huskers were named to the AVCA’s national player of the year award watchlist in September. Beason, Murray, Reilly, and Rodriguez were on the shortlist of 36 national players.
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 last week’s rankings in which Pittsburgh earned all 61 first-place bids. The Mustangs rose to No. 12 after their win over the top-rated Panthers, as SMU has also handed Nebraska their lone loss on the year.
The Huskers have played 10 ranked teams this season, and include three four wins inside of the top 10 over Louisville (No. 4), Stanford (No. 5), Creighton (No. 6), and Purdue (No. 10). Nebraska has also collected wins against Arizona State (No. 13), Kentucky (No. 15), USC (No. 16), and UCLA (RV).
Nebraska remains with two more top-10 matchups this season against No. 3 Penn State and No. 9 Wisconsin. The Big Red will also battle No. 11 Oregon on Nov. 7, RV Washington on Nov. 9, and No. 14 Minnesota on Nov. 14.
The Big Ten Conference remains the premier conference for top-tier volleyball, loaded with seven top-25 teams and nine programs receiving votes. The ACC and Big 12 each has six teams in the latest rankings, while the SEC features four programs.
Nebraska’s next four matchups in conference play feature no ranked opponents with a road weekend at Michigan State on Friday and in Columbus against Ohio State Saturday. The Huskers return to Lincoln to face Illinois on Oct. 25 and Michigan on Oct. 26 before visiting a top-ten battle in Madison against No. 9 Wisconsin.
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