As women's volleyball squads round out their conference schedules — and a week removed from the DI Committee's second in-season poll — here's where Michella Chester ranks her Power 10 teams:
1. Nebraska (Previous: 1) | 2. Wisconsin (2)
There's no movement in the top two spots, but that's because Nebraska just narrowly escaped Penn State on Friday in its first reverse sweep of the season. The Nittany Lions had a stellar first set, hitting .552 and posting no errors, and continued to out-hit the Huskers in the second set, killing 18 to Nebraska's 14. The Huskers garnered some momentum in the third to keep the match alive, and didn't let off the gas until the end of the fifth set, which the Huskers nearly took, 15-13. Merritt Beason killed a career-best 27 balls on .426 hitting with five digs and three blocks to usher the Huskers to victory. On Sunday, it was business as usual as Nebraska swept Rutgers on the road.
As for Wisconsin, a four-set win over a top-20 Purdue squad and a straight-set win over Illinois summed up their week. Wisconsin's point of weakness was revealed in the second set of the Purdue match, during which the Badger offense was held to hitting in the negatives, erring more balls (10) than they killed (9). After the Badgers regained their footing in the third set, reigning Big Ten Player of the Week Sarah Franklin heaved the Badger offense to dominate in the fourth, putting up four early kills and two blocks to take an 11-3 advantage before speeding ahead to a 25-14 victory.
Although they've both proven time and time again why they deserve the top two spots in the polls, Nebraska and Wisconsin have seen some threats recently. They must continue to play with targets on their back until their rematch in two weeks.
Happy in Happy Valley 😄 pic.twitter.com/sxZGZuPIuB
— Nebraska Volleyball (@HuskerVB) November 4, 2023
3. Stanford (4)
Following Louisville's loss, Stanford re-claims the No. 3 slot in this week's rankings. The Cardinal took on Pac-12 foe Washington State for the second time this season, and took down the Cougs in four sets (for the second time this season). Sami Francis shined for the Cardinal, knocking down a season-best 12 kills and blocking five. That was Stanford's sixth top-10 win of the season — most of any school — and they will continue to be challenged with a top-5 opponent as they face Oregon this Thursday.
4. Oregon (5)
The Ducks have steamrolled through their conference schedule, tacking on a pair of wins over Utah and Colorado this week. A season-high 12 service aces defined their match against Colorado, five contributed by Mimi Colyer. Setter Hannah Pukis added two aces of her own, as well as 45 assists and leading the dig count with 17. Going head-to-head with Stanford in Maples Pavilion will determine if the ceiling is higher for the Ducks in the postseason.
5. Texas (6)
BLOOOOOCK!!!
— Texas Volleyball (@TexasVolleyball) November 3, 2023
Texas up 1️⃣0️⃣-5️⃣ 🤘#HookEm pic.twitter.com/aTAjmS8TZ6
Texas has reached the top-5 of these power rankings for the first time in 10 weeks. In Week 10, the Longhorns notched back-to-back sweeps over West Virginia. In both matches, they hit above their season average of .270, hitting .359 and .330 respectively. The Longhorns post a perfect 13-0 conference record and lead the Big 12 in blocks, totaling 220 with an average of 2.93 per set. The rest of their Big 12 schedule is against unranked opponents, so Texas could maintain this spot if it continues its defense-heavy approach.
6. Louisville (3)
Just below the top-5, we find Louisville, who came up short in a four-set loss to Georgia Tech on Friday night. Statistically, the Cardinals kept up with the Yellow Jackets, with both teams assisting 48 and Louisville racking up 51 kills to Tech's 50. In the fourth set, however, the Yellow Jackets shot out to a six-point lead, largely fueled by Bianca Bertolino at the service line, and Louisville failed to make up the deficit in front of a roaring Georgia Tech gymnasium. This was Louisville's third loss of the season, which ties the Cards with Georgia Tech — and Pitt and Florida State, win-percentage-wise — at the top of the ACC. After hosting the Tobacco Road Rivals next week, Louisville will be tasked with Pitt and Georgia Tech once again to try to claim the conference.
7. Washington State (8)
Wazzu has tallied four losses in its last six matches, including two against top-10 opponents Stanford and Oregon. Washington State showed promise against Stanford, out-blocking the Cardinal 12-11, but didn't show the depth that Stanford had on both ends of the court. Pac-12 competition is tight this year — five of Washington State's six losses have been against conference opponents — and the Cougars will need to post a strong performance down the stretch if they look to make a deep run in the tournament.
8. Georgia Tech (NR)
Make way for the Yellow Jackets. Georgia Tech storms into the Power 10 after that impressive outing against Louisville team. Outside hitter Bianca Bertolino made her presence known at first serve, acing thrice in the first four plays of the match. Bertolino tallied a career-high seven aces as well as seven kills and a team-high 16 digs. The Georgia Tech middles also had a day — filling in for an injured Liv Mogridge — as Anna Boezi and DeAndra Pierce combined for nine blocks and 17 kills. Georgia Tech shut out Notre Dame at home on Sunday and look ahead to avenge their earlier losses to Pitt and Miami next.
7️⃣ 𝗔𝗖𝗘𝗦 𝗜𝗡 𝗢𝗡𝗘 𝗚𝗔𝗠𝗘?! 🤯
— NCAA Women's Volleyball (@NCAAVolleyball) November 4, 2023
Following No. 10 @GTVolleyball’s upset over No. 3 Louisville, @BiancaBertolin0 and her coach spoke to us on her seven aces‼️#NCAAWVB pic.twitter.com/isA4Twiqw2
9. Pitt (7)
Pitt got leapfrogged by the Yellow Jackets as the third ACC school in this week's Power 10. An unranked loss to Florida State bumps the Panthers down a couple of spots; Pitt dropped the first two sets, then pushed the match to five, but were held to a low .074 hitting percentage in the fifth set to fall 16-14. A four-set win over Miami was redemption for Pitt as they will take on Georgia Tech next to leverage its authority in the ACC.
10. Tennessee (NR)
Arkansas and Arizona State drop out to make way for the Lady Vols, who have won three matches in a row, including a five-set thriller against Florida. Although ranking third in SEC standings, Tennessee spearheads the conference in hitting percentage (.290), kills per set (14.59) and assists per set (13.34). If Tennessee survives Ole Miss and Georgia in Week 11, it could have the potential of moving up in these rankings.
