close
close

Apre-salomemanzo

Breaking: Beyond Headlines!

Wisconsin continues its rise in the latest Power 10 women’s volleyball rankings
aecifo

Wisconsin continues its rise in the latest Power 10 women’s volleyball rankings

The Power 10 rankings for Week 9 are available. Here’s what you need to know.

1. Pitt (previous 1)

Pitt volleyball

Pitt remains in first place after picking up another top-5 victory, this time against ACC rival Louisville. It was one of the best volleyball matches I have ever seen. Bre Kelley was phenomenal with 12 kills and 10 blocks, and Olivia Babcock had 22 kills. It was the Panthers’ first five-set win, so we saw they could go the distance.

2. Nebraska (previous 2)

Nebraska women's volleyball

Nebraska remains No. 2. I don’t think there’s any debate here about the two best teams. But I couldn’t be more excited about Nebraska vs. Wisconsin this Friday. This is still one of the best matchups of the entire season.

3. Penn State (previous 3)

Penn State sits in third place, coming off an impressive performance against USC on the road. Izzy Starck continues her wild freshman campaign; she had seven kills in addition to 43 assists against the Trojans in a four-set victory.

4. Louisville (previous 4)

Louisville remains No. 4. I’m not penalizing the Cardinals for their five-set loss to Pitt. It was on the road, part of a dynamic rivalry and they competed for every point. Anna DeBeer went wild. Additionally, they then went on the road and beat SMU in four sets.

5. Stanford (prev. 5) and 6. Creighton (prev. 6)

Stanford remains in 5th place after two sweeps against Cal. Same with Creighton at No. 6 – the Bluejays added two more sweeps to their resume.

No. 7 Wisconsin (previous 9)

Wisconsin women's volleyball

Wisconsin moves to No. 7 after a sweep of Purdue at Mackey Arena in front of 15,000 Purdue fans. I watched in person and was so impressed with Wisconsin. It was a pretty dominant performance at the net with 15 blocks. Charlie Fuerbringer went on an 11-0 run at the service line and the offense executed well. I think this Badgers team is finally getting to where they want to be, just in time to take on Nebraska this week.

8. Kansas (previous 8)

Kansas is ranked 8th. The Jayhawks notched a ranked victory over Utah in straight sets.

9. Texas (previous 7)

Texas drops two spots after being upset by SEC rival Texas A&M in five. The Longhorns failed, 18-16, in this final set.

No. 10 SMU (previous 10)

SMU maintains 10th place despite a defeat against Louisville. It was the Mustangs’ third loss in six games — with a win over then-undefeated No. 1 Pitt in between — but until I felt like someone on the outside, like Oregon, had enough ranked wins to get in, SMU is holding on.