Nebraska Volleyball Retains Top Spot in AVCA Top 25, Garners 57 First-Place Votes

The Huskers remained at the top of the latest poll after a fast start to Big Ten Conference play with back-to-back sweeps.

Nebraska outside hitter Harper Murray and setter Bergen Reilly communicate during a match against Creighton. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

Nebraska volleyball begins its second week in Big Ten Conference play where it began in the opening week - atop the latest AVCA top 25 rankings.

The Huskers (12-0, 2-0 B1G) copied their spot from the Sept. 22 edition of the AVCA coaches rankings, garnering 57 of the 61 possible first-place votes to remain at No. 1 in the poll. Nebraska opened its conference action with sweep victories over Michigan and Maryland last week, maintaining its lead over No. 2 Texas (10-0) for the top spot. The Longhorns were able to add an extra first-place vote in the Sept. 22 edition of the rankings but remained at four first-place votes in this week's ranking.

Nebraska has earned victories over three of the top five teams in the current rankings, taking down No. 5 Pittsburgh in the season opener 3-1, followed by a sweep over No. 4 Stanford. The Huskers reverse-swept No. 3 Kentucky on Aug. 31 at Bridgestone Arena and have an additional top 25 win over No. 14 Creighton.

Bergen Reilly (2) and Laney Choboy (6) celebrate Rebekah Allick's (5) kill. | Amarillo Mullen

Nebraska and Texas are the only unbeaten programs in the top 25. The Longhorns have won their two SEC conference openers, sweeping both Vanderbilt and No. 21 Missouri on Wednesday and Friday, respectively.

The Big Ten Conference continued its strong representation in the AVCA rankings with three programs in the top 10, seven teams in the top 25 and two other teams receiving votes in this week's poll. Nebraska led the conference at No. 1, followed by No. 7 Wisconsin, No. 10 Minnesota, No. 13 Purdue, No. 16 Penn State, No. 17 USC, and No. 24 UCLA. Indiana and Illinois received votes but remained outside the top 25. UCLA was the highest-vote-receiving team outside the top 25 in last week's AVCA rankings, and jumped No. 25 North Carolina to enter the polls this week.

The Southeastern Conference paced the Big Ten with three programs in the AVCA's top 10, while having six teams in the top 25. The SEC is led by No. 2 Texas, No. 3 Kentucky, and No. 9 Texas A&M. The SEC also includes No. 19 Tennessee, No. 21 Missouri, and No. 23 Florida. The SEC also had Auburn receive votes in this week's rankings.

Rebekah Allick (5) high fives Bergen Reilly. | Amarillo Mullen

The Atlantic Coast Conference also had six ranked teams, with three in the top 10. No. 4 Stanford, No. 5 Pittsburgh, and No. 6 Louisville were the top teams from the ACC, while No. 11 SMU, No. 22 Miami (FL), and No. 25 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 five teams in the top 25. No. 8 Arizona State remained in the top 10 for another week, while No. 12 TCU slipped three spots from last week's poll. No. 15 Baylor, No. 18 Kansas, and No. 19 BYU earned top 25 nods. Utah was the lone program to fall out of the AVCA's rankings from last week, as the Utes fell behind Colorado in the receiving-votes category of the poll. Iowa State also received votes in this week's poll.

The Big East Conference placed only one team in the rankings with No. 14 Creighton, while Marquette continued to receive votes. Creighton meets Marquette in Milwaukee for a road test Thursday, Oct. 2.

Other teams receiving votes in this week's poll included Colorado, Indiana, Utah, Georgia Tech, Illinois, Marquette, Iowa State, Auburn, Western Kentucky, and UC Santa Barbara. Seven teams were mentioned on only one ballot for a combined 14 points.

Teraya Sigler celebrates a Husker point. | Amarillo Mullen

Nebraska volleyball has six regular-season matches remaining against ranked opponents. The Huskers are set to face No. 16 Penn State, No. 13 Purdue, No. 7 Wisconsin, No. 17 USC, No. 24 UCLA, and a rematch with the Nittany Lions.

The Huskers continue Big Ten Conference play this week, traveling to University Park, Pa., for a top 25 battle Friday with Penn State. First serve is set for 7 p.m. CDT with television coverage on FOX. Nebraska continues its road weekend at Rutgers on Saturday for a 6 p.m. CDT contest.

AVCA Top 25 Coaches Poll

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

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