Nebraska Volleyball Loses One First-Place Vote to Texas in Latest AVCA Poll

Nebraska volleyball remains the No. 1 team in college volleyball, but lost a first-place vote to No. 2 Texas in Monday's AVCA rankings despite sweeping back-to-back Big Ten Conference opponents over the weekend.

Nebraska Volleyball Head Coach Dani Busboom Kelly during the Red-White Scrimmage on Saturday. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

Nebraska volleyball maintained its foothold as the No. 1 team in college volleyball on Monday.

The Huskers (16-0, 6-0 B1G) continued their No. 1 ranking in another edition of the AVCA coaches polls released on Monday, earning 57 of the 61 possible first-place votes. Nebraska lost a first-place vote from last week's 58 first-place votes to No. 2 Texas, as the Longhorns secured four first-place ballots in this week's poll. The Huskers handled Washington and then-No. 12 Purdue over the weekend, sweeping both teams. The Big Red have yet to give up a set in Big Ten Conference play, and last dropped a set on Sept. 16 to Creighton.

Nebraska added a first-place vote from Texas (14-0) in last week's poll, but lost a first-place ballot on Monday as the Longhorns once again sat at No. 2. Texas has remained the No. 2 ranked program since the week two edition of the AVCA polls, having begun the season at No. 5. The Longhorns earned four first-place votes in the Sept. 22 edition of the rankings, and matched that total in this week's poll.

Nebraska senior Allie Sczech finished with five kills on eight swings after entering the match late in the second set. | Nebraska Athletics

Nebraska has earned victories over three of the top six teams in the current rankings, taking down No. 6 Pittsburgh in the season opener 3-1, followed by a sweep over No. 5 Stanford. The Huskers reverse-swept No. 3 Kentucky on Aug. 31 at Bridgestone Arena and have an additional top 25 win over No. 13 Creighton. Pittsburgh (13-3) fell to No. 14 Miami (FL) (15-2) on Friday night in five sets, dropping the Panthers from No. 4 to No. 6 in this week's rankings.

Nebraska and Texas remain the only unbeaten programs in the top 25. The Longhorns also swept their opening weeks of SEC conference play, taking down Vanderbilt, Missouri, Georgia, and Mississippi State in straight sets. Texas finished off No. 16 Tennessee at home Wednesday, earning a five-set win followed by a four-set victory over Alabama in Tuscaloosa on Sunday.

The Big Ten Conference dropped a few positions at the top of the AVCA rankings with two programs in the top 10, eight teams in the top 25, and one other team receiving votes in this week's poll. Nebraska led the conference at No. 1, followed by No. 9 Wisconsin, as the Badgers dropped two spots from last week's rankings. No. 12 Purdue, No. 17 Penn State, No. 18 Minnesota, No. 22 Indiana, No. 23 UCLA, and No. 25 USC. Illinois received votes but remained outside the top 25. The Big Ten gained an additional team in the top 25 this week as UCLA went from receiving votes to a member of the rankings following back-to-back sweeps over Minnesota and USC.

Rebekah Allick (5) fights for possession of the ball with Washington's Alexis Haury (8). | Amarillo Mullen

The Southeastern Conference outpaced the Big Ten with three programs in the AVCA's top 10, while having four teams in the top 25. The SEC is led by No. 2 Texas, No. 3 Kentucky, and No. 10 Texas A&M. The SEC also includes No. 16 Tennessee, as Missouri dropped out of the top 25 last week. Florida and Missouri each earned votes in this week's poll, both sitting just outside the top 25.

The Atlantic Coast Conference led all conferences with four programs in the top 10 while having six ranked teams in Monday's poll. No. 4 Louisville, No. 5 Stanford, and No. 6 Pittsburgh were the top teams from the ACC, while No. 8 SMU, No. 14 Miami (FL), and No. 21 North Carolina all landed in the top 25. Georgia Tech remained out of the top 25 but continued to receive votes.

The Big 12 Conference had one top 10 team with six teams in the top 25. No. 7 Arizona State remained in the top 10 for another week, while No. 11 TCU remained just outside the top 10 teams. No. 15 Kansas, No. 20 Baylor, No. 19 BYU, and No. 24 Colorado earned top 25 nods. Iowa State continued to receive top 25 votes, earning the 29th-highest vote total in this week's poll.

Creighton middle blocker Kiara Reinhardt tips a shot past Nebraska middle blocker Andi Jackson and setter Bergen Reilly. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

The Big East Conference placed only one team in the rankings with No. 13 Creighton, held firm at the same position as last week. Marquette continued to receive votes despite being swept by the Bluejays on Oct. 2 in Milwaukee. The top teams in the Big East will meet again on Nov. 1 at D.J. Sokol Arena in Omaha.

Other teams receiving votes in this week's poll included Florida, Missouri, Illinois, Iowa State, Marquette, Western Kentucky, Georgia Tech, and UTEP. Six teams were mentioned on only one ballot for a combined 14 points.

Nebraska volleyball has six regular-season matches remaining against ranked opponents. The Huskers are set to travel to No. 7 Wisconsin on Oct. 31, then visit No. 18 Minnesota on Nov. 8. The Huskers then travel to the West Coast, taking on No. 23 UCLA and No. 25 USC on Nov. 14 and Nov. 16, respectively. Nebraska's final ranked matchups finish at No. 22 Indiana and a home rematch with No. 17 Penn State on Nov. 28. The Huskers also await a home tilt with RV Illinois on Nov. 6.

Nebraska players celebrate a point at Penn State. The Huskers swept the Nittany Lions 25-6, 25-15, 25-13. | Nebraska Athletics

The Huskers continue Big Ten Conference play this week, staying on the road to visit Michigan State and Michigan on Friday and Sunday. The Big Red will battle the Spartans at 6 p.m. CDT on Oct. 17, then face the Wolverines at 1 p.m. CDT on Oct. 19. Both matches will be streamed on Big Ten+ and will be broadcast across the Huskers Radio Network and its affiliate stations.

AVCA Top 25 Coaches Poll

1. Nebraska (57)
2. Texas (4)
3. Kentucky
4. Louisville
5. Stanford
6. Pittsburgh
7. Arizona State
8. SMU
9. Wisconsin
10. Texas A&M
11. TCU
12. Purdue
13. Creighton
14. Miami (FL)
15. Kansas
16. Tennessee
17. Penn State
18. Minnesota
19. BYU
20. Baylor
21. North Carolina
22. Indiana
23. UCLA
24. Colorado
25. USC

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