Nebraska Volleyball Maintains Unanimous No. 1 Ranking for Third Consecutive Week

The Huskers have earned every first-place vote in the AVCA rankings since Nov. 3.

Harper Murray (left) and Dani Busboom Kelly chat before the start of the second set. | Amarillo Mullen

Nebraska volleyball remains the consensus top team in college volleyball.

The Huskers (26-0, 16-0 Big Ten) maintained their streak as the unanimous No. 1 team in college volleyball on Monday, earning all 61 first-place votes in the latest AVCA coaches poll rankings. It is the third-straight week that the Cornhuskers have earned every first-place vote, and have earned all 61 votes five times this season.

Nebraska's run of 48 consecutive sets won and 15 consecutive sweeps came to an end on Friday night as the Huskers took down UCLA 3-1 in front of a record crowd at Pauley Pavilion. Following a late-Friday match, Nebraska remained in Los Angeles and swept USC Sunday to move to 26-0 and perfect in Big Ten Conference play. Prior to the set loss on Friday, Nebraska had not lost a set since Sept. 16 in Omaha to Creighton.

Virginia Adriano (right) high fives Laney Choboy (red) after a kill. | Amarillo Mullen

Nebraska has earned victories over six of the top 15 teams in the current rankings, taking down No. 4 Pittsburgh in the season opener 3-1, followed by a sweep over No. 5 Stanford. The Huskers reverse-swept No. 2 Kentucky on Aug. 31 at Bridgestone Arena and won in a sweep over No. 11 Purdue on Oct. 12. Nebraska also has top 25 wins over No. 10 Wisconsin, No. 12 Creighton, No. 16 USC, No. 19 Minnesota, and No. 24 Penn State.

The Huskers remain the only unbeaten program in college volleyball. The Huskers 26-match win streak is the longest in the nation ahead of No. 2 Kentucky, as the Wildcats boast a 22-2 record and 15-0 SEC mark. Kentucky has won 19 straight matches, as its last loss came on Sept. 10 against Pittsburgh.

The Big Ten Conference remained strong in the top 10 rankings, as No. 1 Nebraska led the pack while No. 10 Wisconsin added a top 10 team for the conference. No. 11 Purdue, No. 16 USC, No. 17 Indiana, No. 19 Minnesota, and No. 24 Penn State totaled seven ranked Big Ten programs in this week's AVCA rankings. Michigan and UCLA each received votes in this week's rankings.

Virginia Adriano slaps hands with Taylor Landfair after a Nebraska point against Minnesota. The freshman opposite recoded eight kills and two blocks against the Gophers. | Nebraska Athletics

The Southeastern Conference continued to hold firm with three top-10 teams in No. 2 Kentucky, No. 3 Texas, and No. 6 Texas A&M. The SEC also included No. 18 Tennessee to total four top-25 rated teams. Florida and Missouri each received votes in this week's rankings, but failed to crack the top 25.

The Atlantic Coast Conference leads all conferences with four top 10 programs, as No. 4 Pittsburgh, No. 5 Stanford, No. 7 Louisville, and No. 8 SMU led the ACC. The Mustangs moved up two spots in this week's poll from No. 10 last week. No. 14 Miami (FL) and No. 15 North Carolina also earned top 25 nods, totaling five ranked programs for the conference.

The Big 12 Conference had one top 10 representative as No. 9 Arizona State led the conference in this week's rankings. The conference also included No. 13 Kansas, No. 20 TCU, No. 21 Colorado, No. 22 Iowa State, No. 23 Baylor, and No. 25 BYU. Kansas State also received votes in this week's poll.

Creighton huddles on the sideline during a match against Nebraska. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

The Big East Conference placed only one team in the rankings with No. 12 Creighton, remaining at the same spot as last week's poll. The Bluejays wrapped up another Big East regular season crown this week, handling Georgetown on Senior Day in a 3-0 sweep at D.J. Sokol Arena on Nov. 9, then earning back-to-back sweeps on Friday and Saturday over St. John's and Seton Hall. Xavier also received votes in this week's poll.

Other teams receiving votes in this week's poll included Western Kentucky, UTEP, Florida, Kansas State, Missouri, Michigan, San Diego, UCLA, and Xavier. Eight teams were mentioned on only one ballot for a combined 19 points. No teams dropped from the top 25 rankings in this week's poll.

Nebraska volleyball has two regular-season matches remaining against ranked opponents. The Huskers are set to travel to No. 17 Indiana on Saturday, then return to Lincoln for a Black Friday matchup against No. 24 Penn State on Friday, Nov. 28, at 5:30 p.m. CST from the Bob Devaney Sports Center.

Andi Jackson hypes up Campbell Flynn as Nebraska routs Penn State. | Nebraska Athletics

The Huskers continue Big Ten Conference play this week, welcoming Iowa to the Bob Devaney Sports Center on Thursday at 7 p.m. CST, then traveling to No. 17 Indiana for a 5 p.m. CST first serve. The Iowa contest will be broadcast on FS1, while the Huskers and Hoosiers will compete on B1G+. Both matches will be broadcast across the Huskers Radio Network and its affiliate stations.

AVCA Top 25 Coaches Poll

1. Nebraska (61)
2. Kentucky
3. Texas
4. Pittsburgh
5. Stanford
6. Texas A&M
7. Louisville
8. SMU
9. Arizona State
10. Wisconsin
11. Purdue
12. Creighton
13. Kansas
14. Miami (FL)
15. North Carolina
16. USC
17. Indiana
18. Tennessee
19. Minnesota
20. TCU
21. Colorado
22. Iowa State
23. Baylor
24. Penn State
25. BYU

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