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Chaos on the Court: More Upsets Shake Up NCAA Volleyball

Seven ranked teams were upset this week across the major conferences, in one of the wildest and competitive weeks of the season.
Abbie Harris|
Tennessee setter Caroline Kerr (11) celebrates getting a point during a NCAA volleyball game between Tennessee and Illinois at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center in Knoxville, Tenn., on Sept. 1, 2026.
Tennessee setter Caroline Kerr (11) celebrates getting a point during a NCAA volleyball game between Tennessee and Illinois at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center in Knoxville, Tenn., on Sept. 1, 2026. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Another week of NCAA volleyball, another round of wild matches among ranked teams.

Over the past week, there were seven upsets among ranked teams, including four teams at or near the top of their respective conferences. The SEC, Big Ten, and Big 12 had two upsets each, with the ACC rounding out the seven.

Read on for highlights from some of the most exciting matches of the past week.

Note: Rankings reflect the most recent AVCA poll, but upsets are based on rankings at the time of play.

No. 6 Tennessee Lady Volunteers Reverse Sweeps No. 7 Kentucky Wildcats 3-2 (17-25, 18-25, 25-19, 25-21, 15-10)

In their first match since Craig Skinner's contract extension, the Kentucky Wildcats cruised to an early 2-0 lead over the Tennessee Lady Volunteers.

In both sets, Kentucky played a complete game, dominating on offense, defense, and from behind the service line to keep Tennessee uncomfortable. But the Lady Vols weren't going down without a fight and rallied to tie the match up 2-2.

Tennessee stepped up its own offense while slowing down the Wildcats. The fifth and final set was the best for Tennessee, as the Lady Vols carried all the momentum and never trailed on their way to a 15-10 victory, shocking the nine-time SEC champions.

Standout Players:

Caroline Kerr (UT): 45 assists, team hitting % of .235 (including .429 in fifth set), 10 digs
Kennedi Rogers (UT): 13 kills, .417 hitting %, 13 digs
Chelsea Sutton (UT): 14 kills, .538 hitting %

Brooklyn DeLeye (UK): 25 kills, .327 hitting % (including .500 in the first set), 2 service aces, 29 points
Kassie O'Brien (UK): 47 assists, team hitting % of .274 (including .552 in second set)
Molly Tuozzo (UK): 24 digs

No. 17 Texas A&M Aggies Relives 2025 National Championship Outcome in Sweep over No. 7 Kentucky Wildcats 3-0 (25-20, 25-23, 25-21)

To say Kentucky had a bad weekend is a bit of an understatement, as the Wildcats lost back-to-back games for the first time since September 2024, when they went on a four-game losing streak against Purdue, Louisville, Stanford, and Auburn.

To add insult to injury, the loss snapped Kentucky's 30-game home-court winning streak, which had been the longest active streak in the country after No. 6 SMU beat No. 2 Pitt at home earlier this year.

Texas A&M showed a different strength in each set. In the first, it was their offense, as the Aggies racked up 17 kills with only five errors to hit .300. In the second, it was grit and determination, as the teams tied nine times and the Wildcats pulled within one at the very end of the match, forcing Texas A&M to dig deep to keep their lead and put the set away. And in the third set, the Aggies played lights-out defense, holding Kentucky to a season-low .029 hitting percentage.

All three sets were won by a final kill by a different Aggie, demonstrating their balanced offense.

Standout Players:

Margot Manning (TAMU): 36 assists, team hitting % of .229 (including .300 hitting % in set 1)
Gabi Rodriguez (TAMU): 12 digs
Kyndal Stowers (TAMU): 16 kills, .314 hitting %, 10 digs


Brooklyn DeLeye (UK): 14 kills, .353 hitting %
Morgan Gaerte (UK): 9 kills, 13 digs, 7 blocks

No. 20 Washington Huskies Out-Last No. 8 Wisconsin Badgers 3-2 (20-25, 27-25, 21-25, 25-18, 18-16)

On the same night as the Milwaukee Brewers played in their first World Series game in more than 40 years, 80 miles away, the Wisconsin Badgers were hosting the red-hot Washington Huskies in a top-25 matchup.

But unlike the Brewers, the favored Badgers were unable to hold off the Huskies and fell in a thrilling five-set match.

In a true back and forth battle, the teams split the first four sets, relying heavily on their pin hitters - freshmen Decelise Champion and Audrey Flanagan for Wisconsin and sophomore Simona Mateska for Washington.

The Badgers looked like they were getting out to a 2-0 lead, but the Huskies fought off four set points to tie the match at 1-1.

Wisconsin refocused and cut down on service errors to pull away late in the third. But Washington, and Mateska, specifically, refused to go out that easily and shocked the Badgers and fans with their decisive set 4 win. The fifth was a hard-fought, extra-points battle as neither team was able to pull away from one another until a final service ace from Washington sealed the game 18-16.

Standout Players:

Kylie Kleckner (Washington): 13 kills, .163 hitting %, 18 digs, 3 service aces
Simona Mateska (Washington): 31 kills (Big Ten Record), .424 hitting %, 13 digs
Kaitlyn Nguyen (Washington): 23 digs

Jaela Auguste (Wisconsin): 12 kills, .400 hitting %, 5 blocks
Decelise Champion (Wisconsin): 20 kills, 1 error, .352 hitting %
Audrey Flannagan (Wisconsin): 15 kills .211 hitting %, 3 service aces
Lynney Tarnow (Wisconsin): 10 kills, .562 hitting %, 5 blocks

No. 16 Penn State Nittany Lions Down No. 10 Oregon Ducks 3-1 (25-17, 23-25, 25-19, 25-20)

In front of an electric crowd for their annual "Dig Pink" match at Rec Hall, Penn State snapped Oregon's seven-match winning streak and secured their first top-10 victory since early September's win over No. 15 Stanford.

Penn State set the tone of the match early as the team, led by opposite Kennedi Martin and outside Whitney Launstein, racked up 13 kills with only one error.

Oregon was able to regroup in the second set from the service line and in the back row to hold off the Nittany Lions and tie the match up. But the Ducks were no match for Martin in the final two sets as she earned a (at the time) Big Ten week-high 25 kills across the four sets. Across all four sets, the Penn State defense kept Oregon in check, totaling 11 blocks, 51 digs, and forcing 28 hitting errors.

Standout Players:

Whitney Launstein (PSU): 15 kills, .364 hitting %, 5 blocks, 9 digs
Kennedy Martin (PSU): 25 kills, .431 hitting %, 4 blocks
Alexis Stucky (PSU): 45 assists, .346 team hitting % (including .545 team hitting % in set 1)

Alanah Clemente (UO): 13 kills, .114 hitting %, 3 blocks
Sjakkie Donkers (UO): 15 kills, .156 hitting %,
Alaina Pollard (UO): 8 kills, 1 error, .500 hitting %

No. 17 Kansas Jayhawks Stun No. 13 TCU Horned Frogs 3-0 (32-30, 25-11, 26-24)

The match between two of the top Big 12 teams may have ended as a sweep, but fans of Kansas and TCU volleyball got their money's worth as the teams faced off in extra points in two of the three matches.

The first set was everything that makes college volleyball worth watching. TCU was down early but showed tenacity as they overcame the deficit and never let Kansas get more than three points ahead of them.

The teams tied 21 times and traded eight leads over the course of the 62 points that finally ended with back-to-back Reese Ptacek points. The Jayhawks carried the momentum from the marathon set into the second, stifling TCU's offense and cruising to a 2-0 lead.

The Horned Frogs woke back up in the third set after Kansas, once again, jumped out to an early lead to tie the game at 14-14. After seven ties, including one at 24-24, back-to-back kills from Taylor Stanley and Grace Nelson finished the match and the sweep.

Standout Players:

Aisah Asiono (KU): 12 kills, .407 hitting %, 3 blocks
Reese Messer (KU): 38 assists, .272 team hitting % (including .593 hitting % in set 2), 14 digs
Grace Nelson (KU): 13 kills, .195 hitting %, 11 digs, 2 blocks, 2 service aces

Rosemary Archer (TCU): 22 assists, 7 digs, 1 service ace
Evan Hendrix (TCU): 16 kills, .282 hitting %, 11 digs,

In Battle for Big Twelve Supremacy, the No 9 BYU Cougars Pounces No. 10 Arizona State Sundevils 3-1 (20-25, 25-14, 25-19, 25-23)

Like a few weeks ago, I promise this is an upset because, at the time of play, Arizona State was ranked No. 8 and BYU was No. 11. And at the time, Arizona State was the favorite for the Big 12. With the win, BYU's winning streak extended to 14 matches and they remain undefeated at 9-0 in conference play.

Arizona State utilized strong service pressure and offensive presence to take an early lead in the first set, holding off a late surge from the Cougars to go up 1-0. But BYU flipped the script and completely dominated the second set, which saw zero lead changes or ties. Both teams settled into the third and fourth set, going point for point in both until pivotal 3-0 runs in the third and a 6-0 run in the fourth (and withstanding a 5-0 run from Arizona State in the fourth) pushed BYU ahead for the upset victory.

Standout Players:

Sophia Callahan (BYU): 13 kills, .476 hitting %, 3 blocks
Alex Bower (BYU): 23 assists, .261 team hitting % (including .414 hittng % in set 2)
Kaylie Kofe (BYU): 22 assists, .261 team hitting % (including .414 hitting % in set 2)
Elli Mortensen (BYU): 12 kills, 2 service aces, 14 digs, 2 blocks

Noemie Glover (ASU): 13 kills, 5 blocks, 6 digs
Ella Lomigora (ASU): 7 kills, .375 hitting %, 5 blocks

No. 22 North Carolina Tarheels Chop No. 18 Stanford Cardinal 3-2 (25-17, 17-25, 20-25, 25-20, 15-11)

North Carolina and Stanford came into the match looking for their first ranked conference win. The Cardinal hadn't beaten a ranked team since the Opening Spike Classic in August, when they bested No. 8 Wisconsin and No. 17 Kansas.

North Carolina came out with upset intentions on their mind behind freshman Addison West's near-perfect .800 hitting percentage. Stanford took the next two sets thanks to its adjusted and improved defense both at the net and in the back row. A back-and-forth set in the fourth, timed with an unfortunate injury to Stanford setter Logan Parks, ultimately went to the Tar Heels and set the stage for a dramatic, must-win fifth set for both teams.

Teams traded long runs, kills (12 total), and errors (13 total, including four straight at the end of the match) before North Carolina clinched the upset and their first ranked win of the season.

Standout Players:

Zoe Behrendt (UNC): 27 assists, .448 team hitting % in set 1, 4 digs
Safi Hampton (UNC): 15 kills, 12 digs, 2 blocks
Jackie Taylor (UNC): 13 kills, .480 hitting %, 14 blocks

Lizzy Andrew (Stanford): 14 kills, .400 hitting %, 11 blocks, 2 aces
Julia Blyashov (Stanford): 20 kills, 12 digs, 5 blocks
Logan Parks (Stanford): 45 assists, 9 digs

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Abbie Harris
ABBIE HARRIS

Abbie Harris has been talking about women's sports to anyone who would listen, and sometimes to those who wouldn't, for as long as she can remember. She has been the host of a weekly Nebraska women's sports podcast for over a year, primarily covering volleyball, women's basketball, and softball. Harris holds three degrees, including a Ph.D. from Saint Louis.

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