Nebraska Volleyball Remains at No. 2 in Latest AVCA Rankings

Pittsburgh is still at the top of the rankings, while the Huskers maintained the 12 first-place votes they received in last week's poll.
Nebraska volleyball players celebrate a point at Washington.
Nebraska volleyball players celebrate a point at Washington. / Nebraska Athletics

Nebraska volleyball continues to stay behind No. 1 Pittsburgh at No. 2 in the AVCA rankings.

The Huskers (26-1, 16-0 B1G) handled their conference tests last week, claiming the "$5 Broken Bits of Chair Trophy" in a four-set win over Minnesota on Thursday followed by a dominant sweep of unranked Indiana on Saturday. Pittsburgh (25-1, 15-1 ACC) continued its dominant season with back-to-back sweeps of conference foes No. 22 Florida State and (RV) Miami.

Nebraska held onto its 12 first-place votes earned last week, matching the high for the season.

The Huskers have lost just five sets in Big Ten play this season, including surviving a five-set thriller against No. 8 Purdue on Oct. 11. The current 23-match winning streak includes conference wins over several ranked teams, including No. 6 Wisconsin, the No. 8 Boilermakers, No. 13 Oregon, No. 16 Minnesota, and No. 21 USC.

Nebraska has also collected wins over No. 3 Louisville, No. 5 Creighton, No. 7 Stanford, No. 9 Arizona State, No. 12 Kentucky and No. 22 TCU, giving the Huskers 11 wins over currently ranked foes. Nebraska also has a win over Washington, which received votes in this week's poll.

The Big Ten remains strong in the AVCA rankings with seven teams earning rankings while eight teams were listed on two or more ballots from voters. The Huskers await No. 4 Penn State on Friday, Nov. 29 in University Park.

Nebraska volleyball players celebrate a point at Northwestern.
Nebraska volleyball players celebrate a point at Northwestern. / Nebraska Athletics

The ACC continued showcasing its conference depth with six teams in the polls including top-rated Pittsburgh, No. 3 Louisville, No. 7 Stanford, No. 10 SMU, No. 15 Georgia Tech, and No. 23 Florida State. SMU is the only team with wins over the top two teams in the country, defeating Nebraska in September while taking down Pittsburgh in October.

The Creighton Bluejays remained perfect in Big East play to rise another spot in the rankings, replacing Stanford at No. 5. It is the highest ranking in the Bluejays' history, matching their 25-2 start - also the best in program history. Creighton earned a share of the Big East regular-season title on Sunday with a sweep of Georgetown.

Nebraska awaits its final stretch of regular-season matches beginning this week, visiting the Iowa Hawkeyes on Wednesday for a 6 p.m. CST match on BTN+. The Huskers then get a rematch with Wisconsin on Saturday at 7 p.m. CST at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. The match will follow the Nebraska football contest against Wisconsin on the Big Ten Network.


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Austin Jacobsen
AUSTIN JACOBSEN

Austin Jacobsen is a radio broadcaster and former Sports Director in Central Nebraska. He has seen the Cornhusker state from all corners; growing up in the Panhandle, completing his college degree in Kearney, working in the rural Sandhills, and now residing in Omaha. Austin is a statewide, regional, and national radio award winner and can usually be found at a high school football field on Friday nights and tuning in to the Huskers wherever they travel. If he is not on the road, Austin enjoys movie dates with his girlfriend and their dog, Ava.