'Six Rotations': Nebraska Dominates a Week Filled with Landmark Events

Daniel Gillman and Mick Haley dissect the AVCA Top 25 Coaches Poll, give Nebraska their flowers, and look ahead to the SEC/Big Ten Challenge and Wrigley Field in Episode 3.

Six Rotations is a YouTube show hosted by Daniel Gillman and Mick Haley covering Women's College Volleyball / Daniel Gillman

Every week until a champion is crowned, the YouTube show "Six Rotations" will be available here, with a brief rundown of each episode and the top upcoming matches around the country.

The First Full Week of the Regular Season

It was a week filled with landmarks for the sport, as the top-ranked Nebraska Cornhuskersstole the show in the No. 1 vs No. 2 match against Texas on Sunday in Las Vegas.

This came after winning the pot in Spikes Under the Lights at the Dallas Cowboys' AT&T Stadium on Thursday.

Nebraska won matches in both an NFL stadium (NCAA Volleyball history) and an NHL venue (T-Mobile Arena) in the span of three days. They stay at the top spot, garnering 57 of 63 first-place votes.

Leaping from No. 4 to No. 2 are the Pitt Panthers, led by the Izzy Starck/Olivia Babcock duo. They took down Kansas and Wisconsin at home in the Opening Spike Classic (both in four sets). Wisconsin head coach Kelly Sheffield had the highest of praise for the back-to-back AVCA National Player of the Year Olivia Babcock.

Wisconsin coach Kelly Sheffield said that Olivia Babcock is the “best attacker in probably the last 30 years of college volleyball."

— Abby Schnable (@AbbySchnable) August 30, 2026

Kentucky stayed pat at No. 3, while Stanford rose one spot with the four set win over Wisconsin (without Jaela Auguste), which kept them at the five spot.

Here is the top five from the new AVCA-Taraflex Division I Women's Volleyball Poll! https://t.co/hJDwGT1c9y#WeAreAVCA pic.twitter.com/4RSFwBb8bb

— AVCA (@AVCAVolleyball) August 31, 2026

Week 1 @AVCAVolleyball / Taraflex Dl Women's Volleyball Top 25 🏐#NCAAWVB pic.twitter.com/vk12GEISk8

— NCAA Women's Volleyball (@NCAAVolleyball) August 31, 2026

Unfortunately, Purdue and Texas were hit with the injury bug this past weekend.

After the announcement that Purdue would be without their All-American outside hitter Kenna Wollard to start the season, their other All-American outside hitter Grace Heaney went down vs Creighton in a match that the Boilermakers would lose in five. The Longhorns took down TCU on Saturday, but lost sophomore outside hitter Abby Vander Wal for the season with a knee injury in the first set.

The Week Ahead

Just when you thought August had milestone matches... This week will feature the first volleyball ever played at two iconic Chicago landmarks: Wrigley Field & Wintrust Arena.

The SEC/Big Ten Challenge starts on Tuesday, running from Sept. 1-6, featuring all 18 Big Ten schools and all 16 SEC. On Sep. 6, the Challenge features a FOX doubleheader with a trio of Top 15 teams. These matches will be held outdoors at Wrigley Field (home of the Chicago Cubs). Also on Sunday, the Broadway Block Party returns in Nashville with four top 25 teams playing in the NHL's Nashville Predators home, Bridgestone Arena.

Here are the top matches of the week:

Tues, Sep. 1	Time (EST)	Location	TV
No. 21 Indiana vs Georgia	6 p.m.	West Lafayette, Ind. (Mackey Arena)	FS1
No. 14 Purdue vs No. 12 Texas A&M	8 p.m. (follows IU-UGA)	West Lafayette, Ind.(Mackey Arena)	FS1
No. 17 Florida vs No. 11 Minnesota	9 p.m.	Madison, Wis.	BTN

Wed, Sep. 2	Time (EST)	Location	TV
No. 12 Texas A&M vs No. 21 Indiana	5 p.m.	West Lafayette, Ind. (Mackey Arena)	BTN
UCLA vs No. 3 Kentucky	7 p.m.	Lexington, Ky.	ESPN2
No. 17 Florida vs No. 5 Wisconsin	8 p.m.	Madison, Wis.	FS1
No. 15 USC vs No. 9 Texas	9 p.m.	Austin, Texas	ESPN2
No. 1 Nebraska vs South Dakota St	8 p.m.	Brookings, S.D. (First Bank & Trust Arena)	Midco Sports
No. 8 SMU vs No. 18 TCU	7:30 p.m.	Ft. Worth, Texas	ESPN+

Thur, Sep. 3	Time (EST)	Location	TV
Auburn vs No. 5 Wisconsin	8 p.m.	Madison, Wis.	FS1

Fri, Sep. 4	Time (EST)	Location	TV
No. 18 TCU vs No. 6 Louisville	4 p.m.	Louisville, Ky.	ACC Network
No. 1 Nebraska vs DePaul	6 p.m.	Chicago, Ill. (Wintrust Arena)	FS1
No. 2 Pitt vs No. 24 BYU	8 p.m.	Provo, Utah	ESPN+

Sat, Sep. 5	Time (EST)	Location	TV
No. 17 Florida vs No. 20 Baylor	2 p.m.	Waco, Texas	ESPN+

Sun, Sep. 6	Time (EST)	Location	TV
No. 6 Louisville vs No. 9 Texas	12	Nashville, TN (Bridgestone Arena)	ABC
No. 21 Indiana vs No. 22 Tennessee	3	Nashville, TN (Bridgestone Arena)	ESPN2
No. 3 Kentucky vs No. 13 Penn St	7	Chicago, IL (Wrigley Field)	FOX
No. 1 Nebraska vs Missouri	9 (follows UK-PSU)	Chicago, IL (Wrigley Field)	FOX
No. 18 TCU vs No. 14 Purdue	1	West Lafayette, IN	BTN

Next episode will be Monday, Sep. 7

You can find all archived "Six Rotations" episodes HERE