Nebraska Volleyball Remains No. 1 in AVCA Poll, Loses First-Place Vote to Texas

Two weeks after earning the unanimous top spot in the AVCA poll, Nebraska volleyball maintained the No. 1 ranking but lost another first-place vote to No. 2 Texas.

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

Nebraska volleyball remains at the top of college volleyball, but one of the Huskers' long-time rivals appears to be gaining ground on the Big Red.

The Huskers (10-0) retained their spot as the No. 1 team in the nation on Monday, receiving 57 of the 61 possible first-place votes in the latest AVCA coaches poll. Texas (8-0) claimed the remaining four first-place votes, keeping the Longhorns at No. 2. The Longhorns nabbed an extra first-place vote from last week's poll, as Nebraska earned 58 of the 61 possible first-place votes in the Sept. 15 edition of the poll.

Nebraska has earned victories over three top 10 teams in the latest AVCA polls, taking down No. 5 Pittsburgh in the season-opener 3-1, followed by a sweep over T-No. 3 Stanford. The Huskers reverse-swept T-No. 3 Kentucky on Aug. 31 at Bridgestone Arena, and also have top 25 wins over No. 16 Creighton and No. 23 Utah.

Harper Murray passes the ball after an Arizona serve. | Amarillo Mullen

Nebraska wrapped up its non-conference slate by taking down its in-state rival Creighton in five sets from Omaha on Tuesday, then swept past Arizona Saturday night. The Huskers only lost six sets through 10 matches in non-conference play, and remained as one of only two unbeaten programs in the country.

The Big Ten Conference continued its strong representation in the AVCA rankings with six programs inside the top 25, with four other teams receiving votes in this week's poll. Nebraska led the conference at No. 1, followed by No. 7 Wisconsin, No. 10 Purdue, No. 12 Minnesota, No. 15 Penn State, and No. 17 USC. UCLA, Oregon, Indiana, and Michigan all received votes but remained outside the top 25. UCLA was 11 points behind No. 25 North Carolina for the last spot in the AVCA rankings.

The Southeastern Conference matched the Big Ten with six teams in the top 25, led by No. 2 Texas and T-No. 3 Kentucky. The SEC also included No. 13 Texas A&M, No. 19 Florida, No. 21 Missouri, and No. 22 Tennessee. The SEC also had South Carolina receive votes in this week's rankings.

Rebekah Allick (5) celebrates a kill Virginia Adriano (9). | Amarillo Mullen

The Atlantic Coast Conference also included six ranked teams, with three in the top 10. T-No. 3 Stanford, No. 5 Pittsburgh, and No. 6 Louisville were the top teams from the ACC, while No. 11 SMU, No. 24 Miami (FL), and No. 25 North Carolina all landed inside the top 25. Georgia Tech dropped out of the top 25 from last week, but continued to receive votes in this week's poll.

The Big 12 Conference included two top 10 teams, with six teams inside the top 25 rankings. No. 8 Arizona State and No. 9 TCU remained in the top 10 for another week, as No. 14 BYU, No. 18 Kansas, No. 20 Baylor, and No. 23 Utah earned top 25 nods. Kansas State also received votes from the AVCA.

The Big East Conference was featured in only one team with No. 16 Creighton, while Marquette continued to receive votes. Despite falling to Nebraska in five sets Tuesday at the CHI Health Center in Omaha, the Bluejays pushed up two spots from last week's poll.

Nebraska outside hitter Harper Murray takes a swing against Creighton middle blockers Jaya Johnson and Kiara Reinhardt. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

Other teams receiving votes in this week's poll included UCLA, Georgia Tech, Oregon, Indiana, Marquette, Kansas State, Michigan, Western Kentucky, UC Santa Barbara, Cal Poly, and South Carolina. Six other teams were mentioned on only one ballot for a combined 16 points.

Nebraska volleyball has six regular-season matches remaining against ranked opponents. The Huskers are set to face No. 15 Penn State, No. 10 Purdue, No. 7 Wisconsin, No. 17 USC, and a rematch with the Nittany Lions. The Huskers also have matches remaining against receiving votes UCLA, Oregon, and Michigan.

The Huskers open Big Ten Conference play this week at home inside John Cook Arena, taking on RV Michigan on Wednesday at 6 p.m. CDT, then hosting Maryland at 3 p.m. CDT Saturday. Nebraska then awaits a road test at No. 15 Penn State in University Park, Pa, on Friday, Oct. 3.

AVCA Top 25 Coaches Poll

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

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