Nebraska Volleyball Stays at No. 2, Gets 11 First-Place Votes

The Huskers still trail Pittsburgh in the latest AVCA rankings, but the they garnered two additional first place votes compared with last week.

Nebraska volleyball players celebrate a point against Michigan. / Nebraska Volleyball

Nebraska volleyball continues to stay near the top of the AVCA rankings while dominating its competition in Big Ten Conference play.

The Huskers (22-1, 12-0 B1G) remained perfect in conference play over the weekend despite a jump in competition, traveling to face No. 7 Wisconsin on Friday. The sweep, coupled with the dominant performance against Northwestern on Sunday, kept Nebraska locked in at the No. 2 spot in this week's AVCA rankings behind No. 1 Pittsburgh.

The top-rated Panthers (21-1, 11-1 ACC) have won six matches in a row since suffering their only defeat to now-No. 10 SMU in five sets on Oct. 12. Pittsburgh has remained the No. 1 team in the country with 49 first-place votes, two fewer than last week. Nebraska garnered 11 first-place nods, adding two more from the Oct. 28 polls.

Nebraska volleyball players celebrate a point against Purdue. The Huskers won in five sets. / Nebraska Athletics

Nebraska has garnered first place votes each week while at No. 2, but had lost first-place consideration in two consecutive weeks. In the Oct. 14 edition of the rankings, the Huskers garnered 19 first-place votes followed by 10 in the Oct. 21 poll. The Big Red nabbed only nine first-place votes in last week's AVCA polls.

Nebraska was last rated No. 1 in the AVCA Coaches Poll leading into the final week of the 2023 regular season on Nov. 27, being slated as the top overall seed in the 2023 NCAA tournament. Big Ten foe Penn State (22-1, 12-0 B1G) garnered a first-place vote in this week's poll as well, sitting the Nittany Lions at No. 3. It is the second consecutive week that Penn State has garnered a first-place vote.

The Huskers had received a first-place vote in every AVCA ranking this season outside of two weeks - following their loss at SMU on Sept. 3 and in the Oct. 7 rankings in which Pittsburgh earned all 61 first-place votes.

Oct 25, 2024; Lincoln, NE, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers setter Bergen Reilly (2) and middle blocker Rebekah Allick (5) block Illinois Fighting Illini outside hitter Averie Hernandez (8) during the third set at Bob Devaney Sports Center. / Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

The Big Ten Conference remains one of the strongest in collegiate volleyball, with four top ten programs and seven ranked in the top 25. Nebraska (No. 2), Penn State (No. 3), Wisconsin (No. 7), and Purdue (No. 9) lead the way while Oregon (No. 12), Minnesota (No. 14), and USC (No. 20) round out the conference's ranked teams. Washington received votes for the second consecutive week while Michigan and UCLA fell out of consideration.

The ACC has three teams within the top six, as No. 1 Pittsburgh is also placed with No. 4 Louisville and No. 6 Stanford. The Cardinal dropped a five-set thriller at Miami (FL) on Friday, dropping them one spot. The conference has seven ranked teams - matching the Big Ten - with No. 10 SMU, No. 16 Georgia Tech, No. 24 Florida State, and No. 25 North Carolina. Miami (FL) also received votes for consideration.

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 21-2 start - also the best in program history.

Lexi Rodriguez (left), Harper Murray (middle) and Bergan Reilly celebrate a kill from Rebekah Allick. / Amarillo Mullen

The Huskers have played 10 ranked teams this season, and have four wins inside the top 10 over Louisville (No. 4), Creighton (No. 5), Stanford (No. 6), and Purdue (No. 9). Nebraska has also collected wins against Arizona State (No. 11), Kentucky (No. 13), and USC (No. 20).

Nebraska faces three more top-15 matchups this season against No. 3 Penn State, No. 12 Oregon and No. 14 Minnesota. The Big Red will battle the Ducks on Nov. 7, Washington on Nov. 9, and No. 14 Minnesota on Nov. 14.

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