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AVCA Volleyball Rankings Week 8: Florida, Oregon and BYU Climb as Baylor Returns

After a week full of upsets, there's been a shakeup to the AVCA Top 25 poll.
Nicole Reitz|
Oregon has entered the Top 10.
Oregon has entered the Top 10. | Oregon Athletics

It was a week of upsets, which means there's a shakeup to the AVCA Top 25 poll. 

Miami shocked the nation with a reverse sweep over SMU; UCLA took down Penn State in five sets; Baylor swept TCU; Illinois secured its fourth-ranked win over Michigan State; and Iowa State battled for a win over Utah. 

Additionally, the undefeated Nebraska dropped its first set of Big Ten play to Purdue, but of course powered back to victory in the next three sets. Florida moves into the Top 5 after collecting road wins over Texas and Texas A&M, while Oregon enters the Top 10 on a seven-game winning streak. 

Here’s a look at this week’s AVCA Top 25 Rankings and what programs are heating up as October nears its end. 

AVCA Top 25 Rankings 

  1. Nebraska (Previous Rank: 1) 
  2. Pittsburgh (Previous Rank: 2) 
  3. Louisville (Previous Rank: 3) 
  4. Kentucky (Previous Rank: 4) 
  5. Florida (Previous Rank: 7) 
  6. Wisconsin (Previous Rank: 6) 
  7. SMU (Previous Rank: 5) 
  8. Arizona State (Previous Rank: 8) 
  9. Tennessee (Previous Rank: 9) 
  10. Oregon (Previous Rank: 11) 
  11.  BYU (Previous Rank: 14) 
  12. Purdue (Previous Rank: 13)
  13. TCU (Previous Rank: 10 
  14. Texas (Previous Rank: 12) 
  15. Stanford (Previous Rank: 16) 
  16. Penn State (Previous Rank: 15) 
  17. Kansas (Previous Rank: 17) 
  18. Indiana (Previous Rank: 18) 
  19. Texas A&M (Previous Rank: 19) 
  20. Minnesota (Previous Rank: 21) 
  21. Washington (Previous Rank: 20) 
  22. Vanderbilt (Previous Rank: 24) 
  23. North Carolina (Previous Rank: 23) 
  24. Baylor (Previous Rank: NR) 
  25. Colorado (Previous Rank: 25) 

Others receiving votes and listed on two or more ballots: Michigan State 118; UCLA 118; Illinois 74; Colorado State 18; Georgia Tech 12; Miami (FL) 6; Utah 6; Oklahoma 3

Baylor Bears 

The Bears reentered the Top 25 after sweeping TCU, which marked their win over a ranked opponent this season. It was also Baylor’s first Top 10 road win since 2021. 

Baylor was dominant the entire match, collecting more kills (44-40), more aces (7-5), and more digs (40-35) than TCU, while outhitting them .262 to .231. 

Ksenia Rakhmanchik led all players with 23 kills on .463 hitting, while Isabela Haggard recorded her fourth double-double of the season with 32 assists and 10 digs.

Florida Gators 

Though falling to Vanderbilt last week, the Gators recovered and have fought their way into the top five. 

Alec Rothe had a career weekend against Texas A&M and Texas and has been named the SEC Co-Defensive Player of the Week. She tied a conference record with 14 blocks, with six at Texas A&M and eight at Texas. She also matched a career high with two solo blocks against the Aggies and added a career-best six digs. Her nine kills came with a .438 hitting percentage. 

Oregon Ducks 

The Ducks have remained undefeated in October, pushing them into the Top 10. 

After beating Indiana in five sets, they moved on to down Rutgers in four. The team hit .390 on Sunday, with Sjakkie Donkers collecting 20 kills while hitting .475. Alanah Clemente added 17 kills while hitting .375. 

SMU Mustangs 

The Mustangs were stunned by Miami after falling in five sets at home. The reverse sweep kicked SMU down a notch in the rankings, but they managed to get back on track with a sweep of Florida State on Sunday. 

The Mustangs held Florida State to a .086 team hitting percentage, the fifth time the team has held an opponent to .100 or less this season. 

BYU Cougars 

After landing at No. 9 in the NCAA DI women's volleyball in-season Top 16 Rankings, the Cougars are nearing the Top 10 of the AVCA Rankings. 

The Cougars earned their fourth and fifth sweep in a row when they took down Utah and Arizona. The team hit .412 against Utah, holding the Utes to a .244 clip. Claire Little Chambers posted 15 kills, hitting .364, and Elli Mortensen collected 11 kills while hitting .476. 

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Nicole Reitz
NICOLE REITZ

Nicole Reitz graduated from Indiana University Indianapolis with a degree in sports journalism in 2022 and has been writing about softball and baseball since 2018. Her work has been published in various publications like Softball On SI, Softball America, the Indianapolis Star, and SoxOn35th.

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