The college volleyball world just saw another shakeup in the AVCA Coaches Poll, but there’s one team that absolutely refused to budge: Nebraska. The Cornhuskers are still the top-ranked squad in the country, and frankly, it feels like nobody can even touch them right now. They blazed through all three of their games last week, including a dominant sweep at home over then-No. 20 Baylor, where Harper Murray and Manaia Ogbechie absolutely lit it up with 12 kills each. Yeah, that’s how you stay on top.
The Undefeated Rollers and a Champion’s Wild Ride
Right there with Nebraska, No. 2 Pittsburgh is just flat-out refusing to lose. The Panthers are a perfect 10-0 on the season, coming off a huge ranked win over Tennessee in the ACC/SEC Challenge, plus three more victories in the Panther Challenge against Jacksonville, Wright State, and High Point. And holy smokes, Olivia Babcock is an absolute force, already sitting third in the entire nation with a staggering 126 kills on this young season. She’s a problem for opposing defenses.
But not everyone had such a smooth ride. No. 15 Texas A&M, the defending national champions, had an unbelievably wild week. They kicked things off with a massive top-five victory over then-No. 4 Stanford in the ACC/SEC Challenge, thanks to Kyndal Stowers delivering her third consecutive match with at least 10 kills. You think they’re rolling, right? Nope. They then dropped a heartbreaker at home, falling to Wisconsin in a five-set thriller that also marked the season debut of the Badgers’ outside/opposite hitter Decelise Champion. Talk about a rollercoaster of emotions.
Upsets, Sweeps, and Standings After Week 3
That No. 6 Wisconsin team, though, couldn’t quite seal the deal on their Lone Star State trip. After taking down Texas A&M, they later fell to Texas in four sets to wrap up their weekend. Ouch. Meanwhile, No. 9 Penn State made a serious statement, sweeping Stanford in straight sets. That gave Stanford an ugly 0-2 week against top-ranked opponents, which is definitely a rough patch for a team once sitting at No. 4. Elsewhere, Purdue took a trip to the Bahamas and absolutely dominated, sweeping the Paradise Invitational with quality wins against Houston and SMU. Outside hitter Addy Tindall was a beast, racking up 31 kills in just two games for the Boilermakers.
The updated AVCA Coaches Poll shows Nebraska at the top with 48 first-place votes, followed by Pittsburgh with 15. The rest of the top 25 includes Louisville, Kentucky, SMU, Wisconsin, Texas, Stanford, Penn State, Florida, Purdue, Arizona State, TCU, Minnesota, Texas A&M, Tennessee, Colorado, Baylor, Southern California, Creighton, Indiana, Kansas, Oregon, BYU, and North Carolina. What’s next for Nebraska? They have two top-25 matchups on deck, including a huge in-state rivalry game against No. 20 Creighton this Wednesday, September 16. Can they keep this insane momentum going? We’re about to find out!
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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