It's Week 10 of women's college volleyball, and with double digits comes double the chaos. Yesterday, the NCAA DI Committee released its second in-season rankings of the year, and just after these picks were released, there were two top-10 upsets. After the dust has settled, Michella Chester explains where her top teams finish in this week's Power 10 rankings:
1. Nebraska (Previous: 1) | 2. Wisconsin (2)
The undisputed top two teams remain the same. Nebraska beat Maryland and Rutgers in straight sets this weekend and continue to lead the Big Ten with a 21-0 (12-0) record. Wisconsin put the hammer down on Michigan State on Friday and won the Border Battle against Minnesota on Sunday, sweeping both teams. Wisconsin ran an efficient offense all weekend, spearheaded by Sarah Franklin, who hit respective .500 — a season best — and .455 clips with 38 combined kills. These two teams are likely to continue to dominate until they face off again on Nov. 24.
“I love the atmosphere. When Border Battle comes around, everyone shows out and shows up.”
— NCAA Women's Volleyball (@NCAAVolleyball) October 29, 2023
Following No. 2 @BadgerVB's victory over Minnesota in the Border Battle, @sarahfrankk13 shares with @michellachester her thoughts on the atmosphere, the team, and what is next for… pic.twitter.com/Fj4UKAz2HU
3. Louisville (4)
The Cardinals hosted a pair of Florida-based ACC foes and bulldozed through them both in straight sets. Opposite Aiko Jones was all over Miami on Sunday, killing 10, digging up seven, and tallying three blocks and aces. Cara Cresse continues to hit cleanly, averaging a .459 hitting percentage this season, which ranks in the top-5 nationally. With these impressive numbers, Louisville jumps Stanford for the No. 3 spot this week and travels to Georgia Tech and Clemson this week for more in-conference challenges.
4. Stanford (3)
After the DI Committee named them the No. 2 team in the nation yesterday, the Cardinal move down a peg in the Power 10 after getting swept by Arizona State and falling to 18-3 this season. Stanford didn't even reach 20 points in the first and third sets, as the Sun Devils contained all hitters except for Caitie Baird to single-digit kills. Nevertheless, the Cardinal have killed a stellar 14.7 balls per set this year and Kami Miner keeps proving that she's the top setter in the nation, leading Stanford to rank first in the nation at 13.81 A/S.
5. Oregon (7)
Oregon topped Washington State (3-1) and Washington (3-0) this past week and land in the No. 5 space in the Power 10. The Ducks slightly beat out Texas for this spot with their two top-10 wins (Pitt and Wazzu). The Washington match saw one of Oregon's most methodical offensive performances yet with only nine total errors for a team clip of .442. Senior Morgan Lewis had a day against the Huskies, knocking down 15 bombs with no errors on 23 swings.
6. Texas (6)
Give us alllll the energy @asjiaoneal 🔥#HookEm pic.twitter.com/BTjulZpF0a
— Texas Volleyball (@TexasVolleyball) October 28, 2023
Still at No. 6 is Texas. The Longhorns do, in fact, have top-10 wins over Minnesota and BYU, but those carry less weight as both of those squads are ranked lower now. Texas is out-blocking its opponents 209-150 this year and has been tested by TCU and Baylor recently, both of whom pushed the Longhorns to five. Nevertheless, the Longhorns have demonstrated endurance down the stretch to prevail, now tallying 11 consecutive wins.
7. Pitt (9)
The Panthers promenaded two spots in the Power 10 with sweeps over Virginia Tech and Wake Forest. That's now five straight sweeps for Pitt. Although Pitt lacks a top-10 victory, top-15 quarrels with Georgia Tech and Louisville loom in the near future for the Panthers before heading into the conference tournament. Pitt's defensive front line currently leads the nation in blocks per set, averaging 3.14 in 64 sets this season. Six-foot-four blocker Emma Monks has totaled 90 block assists and 13 BS this year, and Olivia Babcock and Chiamaka Nwokolo aren't far behind her with 78 and 74 total blocks respectively.
8. Washington State (5)
Alas, the Cougars fall in the rankings again. After sitting comfortably in the top-5 for four consecutive weeks, Washington State drops to No. 8 after losing three of its past four matchups — including two against unranked opponents. In these three losses, Wazzu has shown weakness on the attack and defense, getting out-killed 187-157 and out-dug 211-180.
9. Arkansas (10)
Arkansas moves up one spot after defeating South Carolina and ranked Florida in Week 9. The Gamecocks didn't go down easy, forcing 41 ties within Friday's match and five match points in Set 2 (South Carolina won 30-28). Ultimately, Arkansas built a brick wall at the net, largely thanks to Zoi Evans' nine blocks, and shut down South Carolina, 3-1 (25-19, 28-30, 26-24, 25-21). The Razorback block continued to thrive against Florida as Arkansas held a 9-6 advantage and stopped Florida at a .000 clip in the second set to sweep them in three. The Razorbacks are among the top 15 teams in the nation at the service line, serving up 181 balls with no-return policies.
2️⃣ for No. 2️⃣ 👏 pic.twitter.com/KveM716ATY
— Razorback Volleyball (@RazorbackVB) October 27, 2023
10. Arizona State (NR)
Welcome to the Power 10, Arizona State. Despite their 21-3 record, the Sun Devils have been overlooked in the rankings this season, as they had lacked wins over ranked teams. But the Sun Devils have proven themselves, knocking out ranked Oregon on Oct. 15 and Stanford in straight sets on Sunday. In Arizona State's and Stanford's September bout, the Cardinal handed the Sun Devils their first loss of the season, outhitting them .339 to .125 (its lowest clip of the season, still). This past weekend, Arizona State returned the favor, holding the Committee's newly-minted No. 2 team to .194 hitting — and star hitter Kendall Kipp to only six kills — while out-acing the Cardinal 6-3. This marked Arizona State's first sweep over Stanford since 1993 and propelled the Sun Devils into this week's Power 10.
