2026 Big Ten Volleyball Power Rankings: The First Conference Weekend Delivered

The first weekend of Big Ten volleyball is complete, and just like everyone expected, it was weird.

Ranked matchups, upsets, historic wins – and we’re just getting started.

Five teams (Illinois, Indiana, Nebraska, Washington, and Wisconsin) came out unscathed over the weekend, and of those, two (Illinois and Nebraska) swept both of their opponents.

The wild results led to some major shakeups in the Big Ten Power Rankings for this week. Some teams tumbled, others rose significantly, and two new teams were welcomed into the top five.

Like last week, I used overall and conference records, quality of wins and losses, NCAA stats, EVOLLVE advanced statistics, and the basic eye-test to rank all 18 teams after the first weekend of conference play.

No. 1 Nebraska Cornhuskers (13-0, 2-0, AVCA No. 1)

Previous Position: No. 1 (no change)
Last Week: 3-0 vs. Missouri, 3-0 vs. Rutgers, 3-0 vs. Ohio State

It’s become almost boring at this point, but Nebraska continues to play at a high level, sweeping all three opponents by an average of 9.5 points per set.

EVOLLVE dropped Nebraska to its No. 2 spot after last week, from a rating of 67 to 65.4. This week, Nebraska stayed at second, but its rating rose to 66.2, only .1 behind Pitt (with seven teams currently ranked and three opponents currently receiving votes ahead of them). Which is to say, the meat of Nebraska’s schedule is looming ahead of them.

That girl AJ 👑

AVCA National Player of the Week → @aandijackson pic.twitter.com/YZIOVIZdAV
— Nebraska Volleyball (@HuskerVB) September 29, 2026

Nebraska currently sits atop the conference and second overall in team hitting percentage at .319, led by current Big Ten and AVCA Player of the Week middle blocker Andi Jackson’s .490 (3rd overall in the NCAA). But the Huskers aren’t just an offensive juggernaut. They’re holding their opponents to an NCAA-low .078 hitting percentage, a true whole-team performance. They’re averaging nearly two aces per set, good for third in the Big Ten and that number may be higher if overpasses counted as aces.

The players and coaches continue to say they haven’t reached their peak yet. If that’s the case, opponents should be very concerned.

Up Next: No. 16 Penn State, Maryland

No. 2 Wisconsin Badgers (8-4, 2-0, AVCA No. 6)

Previous Position: 2 (no change)
Last Week: 3-1 vs. No. 17 Oregon, 3-0 vs. No. 10 Purdue

Wisconsin had two opportunities last week to pick up ranked wins and rose to the challenge.

The Badgers started a little shaky, dropping the first set of conference play against an Oregon team that was without one of their star players, Alanah Clemente. But they bounced back, winning the next six sets against the Ducks and Purdue, where they looked particularly unstoppable.

The Badgers are a bit of a statistical oddity. Currently, they sit 60th in the NCAA (14th in the Big Ten) in team hitting percentage (.253) and 237th in the NCAA (17th in the Big Ten) in opponent hitting percentage (.224). They average 1.3 aces per set and 2.3 service errors per set. Their opponents average 1.1 aces and 2.4 service errors per set against them.

Your Big Ten Freshman of the Week - Decelise Champion!

📝 | https://t.co/uw1lsCaiaU pic.twitter.com/WHR6zlfArh
— Wisconsin Volleyball (@BadgerVB) September 28, 2026

To break it down even more, when Wisconsin wins, they’re hitting .308 and holding opponents to .194. When the Badgers lose, they’re hitting .156 and allowing opponents to hit .288.

They are an extreme team, win big or lose big. From watching, they do appear to look more cohesive lately, which should make Badger fans happy. The addition of back-to-back Big Ten Freshman of the Week, Declese Champion, has lifted Wisconsin significantly, as her hitting percentage has generally improved with each game since her debut in early September.

Up Next: No. 15 Indiana, No. 20 Minnesota

No. 3 Purdue Boilermakers (8-3, 1-1, AVCA No. 10)

Previous Position: 3 (no change)
Last Week: 3-0 vs. Maryland, 0-3 vs. Wisconsin

Like their latest Big Ten opponent, Wisconsin, Purdue either plays like a top tier team or they don't. And this weekend, both version of the Boilermakers were present.

Purdue snapped Maryland's 27-consecutive set winning streak (the longest active streak in power four at the time), and extended their own winning streak to 18 sets (longest active streak in the Big Ten) with their sweep over the Terrapins.

The Boilermakers hit a blistering .320, led by freshman Addy Tindall's 15 kills. In the third set, Purdue held Maryland to nine points. When they're on, they're on.

Staying steady at #⃣🔟 pic.twitter.com/NMMFKP5Vzo
— Purdue Volleyball (@PurdueVB) September 28, 2026

And, unfortunately, when they're off, they're very off. While individual players had shining moments, Tindall once again led the team with 11 kills (tied with Wisconsin's Champion). MaryKate Scheumann had two aces (tied with Wisconsin's Isabelle Hoppe). And Grace Heaney was one kill away from her second consecutive double-double against the Badgers.

But the Boilermakers made too many errors (23 attack errors, two blocking errors, four service errors, four receiving errors) against a solid team. By the time Purdue fully regrouped, it was too late and they were well into the third set.

At this point, Purdue's non-conference record has the Boilermakers in the third spot this week but they are on the edge of slipping if they can't bounce back from the loss to Wisconsin. They have the perfect opportunity this week to show they can consistently look like the team that swept SMU earlier in the season.

Up Next: No. 17 Oregon, No. 22 Washington

No. 4: Indiana Hoosiers (9-2, 2-0, AVCA No. 15)

Previous Position: 6 (+2)
Last Week: 3-0 vs. Maryland, 0-3 vs. UCLA (RV)

Biding their time and finally breaking into the top five are the Indiana Hoosiers.

It's not that Indiana hasn't been a good team all season. The Hoosiers have a ranked win and a win over a team receiving votes. Their only losses have been to ranked teams. It just has taken some time for things to shake out. But the Hoosiers have been patient and shown they are, as head coach Steve Aird said at media days, a team with heart and perseverance, looking to improve from their historic season in 2025.

Indiana found different ways to win in each of its conference games. Against UCLA, the Hoosiers relied on their service pressure and defense, holding the Bruins to a season-low .150 hitting percentage and earning nine blocks in the three-set sweep.

Against Maryland, Indiana hit a blistering .361 thanks to the return of opposite Avry Tatum (which allowed Ella Boersema to return to her normal position in the middle). Tatum had 10 kills and six blocks and Boersema had 11 kills and four blocks in the match.

Just the beginning. 🫡 pic.twitter.com/T8AqUyy77A
— Indiana Volleyball (@IndianaVB) September 29, 2026

So far this season, Indiana has shown that last year's success was no fluke and have plenty of opportunities to cement themselves as a top team in the conference.

Up Next: No. 6 Wisconsin, Rutgers

No. 5 Washington Huskies (11-0, 2-0, AVCA No. 22)

Previous Position: No. 8 (+3)
Last Week: 3-1 vs. Michigan State (RV), 3-0 vs. Michigan

Not just welcome to the top five in the Big Ten power rankings but welcome to the AVCA Top 25, Washington!

As one of the four remaining unbeaten teams, it was only a matter of time before the Huskies began receiving national attention. Previously, the only thing holding them back was their schedule. They currently have only one win over a team receiving votes (and that came this week against Michigan State).

Over the weekend, Washington proved to the nation that they are not to be trifled with. The Huskies applied significant pressure from the service line with15 aces on the weekend, out-blocked their opponents 19.5-10, and had multiple players rack up nine-plus kills each.

In their opening match, the Huskies held the Spartans (who came into the game with an NCAA-best .345) to .132, while hitting .310, the second-highest of the season.

Back with a #⃣ but nowhere near satisfied

🔗 https://t.co/FfMYj9ccN8 pic.twitter.com/JQN0EvRhWb
— Washington Volleyball (@UWVolleyball) September 28, 2026

Last year, the Huskies had a disappointing season, going 13-17 and 8-12 in conference play. At Big Ten Media Days this year, head coach Leslie Gabriel owned the previous record and claimed that they took the lessons from the past and applied them to the future. So far, it seems she and the team are making good on that promise.

Up Next: Illinois, No. 10 Purdue

No 6. Michigan State Spartans (11-1 1-1, AVCA RV)

Previous Position: No. 7 (+1)
Last Week: 1-3 vs. No. 22 Washington, 3-1 vs. No. 16 Penn State
Up Next: UCLA (RV), USC (RV)

No. 7 Penn State Nittany Lions (9-3, 1-1, AVCA No. 16)

Previous Position: No. 5 (-2)
Last Week: 3-1 vs. Michigan, 1-3 vs. Michigan State (RV)
Up Next: No. 1 Nebraska,

No. 8 Oregon Ducks (10-2, 1-1, AVCA No. 17)

Previous Position: No. 10 (+2)
Last Week: 1-3 vs. No. 6 Wisconsin, 3-1 vs. No. 20 Minnesota
Up Next: #10 Purdue, Illinois

No. 9 Minnesota Golden Gophers (6-4, 0-2, AVCA No. 20)

Previous Position: No. 4 (-5)
Last Week: 1-3 vs. Illinois, 1-3 vs. No. 17 Oregon
Up Next: Northwestern, No. 6 Wisconsin

No. 10 Illinois Fighting Illini (10-3, 2-0)

Previous Position: No. 16 (+6)
Last Week: 3-1 vs. No. 20 Minnesota, 3-0 vs. USC (RV)
Up Next: #22 Washington, #17 Oregon

No. 11 USC Trojans (7-5, 1-1, RV)

Previous Position: No. 9 (-2)
Last Week: 3-0 vs. Northwestern, 0-3 vs. Illinois
Up Next: Michigan, Michigan State (RV)

No. 12 UCLA Bruins (10-3, 1-1, AVCA RV)

Previous Position: No. 11 (-1)
Last Week: 0-3 vs. No. 18 Indiana, 3-0 vs. Northwestern
Up Next: Michigan State (RV), Michigan

No. 13 Ohio State Buckeyes (8-4, 1-1)

Previous Position: No. 17 (+4)
Last Week: 3-1 vs. Iowa, 0-3 vs. No. 1 Nebraska
Up Next: Rutgers, Northwestern

No. 14 Iowa Hawkeyes (12-4, 1-1)

Previous Position: No. 14 (no change)
Last Week: 1-3 vs. Ohio State, 3-0 vs. Rutgers
Up Next: Maryland, No. 16 Penn State

No. 15 Michigan Wolverines (9-4, 0-2)

Previous Position: No. 12 (-3)
Last Week: 1-3 vs. No. 16 Penn State, 0-3 vs. No. 22 Washington
Up Next: USC (RV), UCLA (RV)

No. 16 Rutgers Scarlet Knights (9-5, 0-2)

Previous Position: No. 15 (-1)
Last Week: 0-3 vs. No. 1 Nebraska, 0-3 vs. Iowa
Up Next: Ohio State, No. 15 Indiana

No. 17 Maryland Terrapins (10-3, 0-2)

Previous Position: No. 13 (-4)
Last Week: 0-3 vs. No. 10 Purdue, 0-3 vs. No. 18 Indiana
Up Next: Iowa, No. 1 Nebraska

No. 18 Northwestern Wildcats (7-6, 0-2)

Previous Position: No. 18 (no change)
Last Week: 0-3 vs. USC (RV), 0-3 vs. UCLA (RV)
Up Next: No. 20 Minnesota, Ohio State

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