2017 AVCA Poll

From #14 to #4 in two weeks, thanks to beating three top-ten teams in 8 days. 


Rank


School (First-Place Votes)


Total Points Adjusted


2017 Record


Previous Week


1


Florida (60)


1596


11-0


1


2


Stanford (2)


1476


11-2


2


3


Penn State (2)


1469


13-1


3


4


Nebraska


1385


11-3


8


5


Texas


1378


11-2


5


6


Minnesota


1271


13-2


3


7


Wisconsin


1165


11-2


7


8


BYU


1128


15-1


9


9


Washington


1042


13-2


6


10


Kentucky


1024


12-2


10


11


Kansas


940


14-2


11


12


Creighton


791


11-4


14


13


UCLA


778


9-4


13


14


Michigan State


724


11-2


16


15


Southern California


700


12-3


20


16


Oregon


688


9-3


12


17


Utah


595


12-3


15


18


Purdue


527


13-2


19


19


San Diego


509


10-4


17


20


Iowa State


433


11-2


18


21


Northern Iowa


284


14-4


22


22


Michigan


229


12-4


23


23


Colorado State


188


14-2


24


24


Wichita State


132


12-3


25


25


Colorado


121


12-3


NR

Others receiving votes and listed on two or more ballots: Cal Poly 54; Western Kentucky 53; Florida State 24; Illinois 24; Baylor 19; Ohio State 9; Notre Dame 5

That's nine of the 14 Big Ten teams in the top 31 in the nation. 

 
As the wins keep mounting, the Huskers stay in the Top Five.  This week's poll:


Rank


School (First-Place Votes)


Total Points Adjusted


2017 Record


Previous Week


1


Florida (61)


1597


13-0


1


2


Penn State (1)


1482


15-1


3


3


Stanford (2)


1474


13-2


2


4


Nebraska


1404


13-3


4


5


Texas


1366


12-2


5


6


Minnesota


1286


15-2


6


7


BYU


1183


17-1


8


8


Kentucky


1110


14-2


10


9


Kansas


993


16-2


11


10


Michigan State


973


12-3


14


11


Wisconsin


944


11-4


7


12


UCLA


867


11-4


13


13


Utah


848


14-3


17


14


Washington


832


14-3


9


15


Oregon


673


10-4


16


16


Purdue


658


15-2


18


17


Creighton


564


12-5


12


18


San Diego


530


12-4


19


19


Southern California


484


13-4


15


20


Northern Iowa


351


16-4


21


21


Colorado State


309


16-2


23


22


Wichita State


241


14-3


24


23


Iowa State


185


11-3


20


24


Cal Poly


133


16-2


NR


25


Baylor


91


15-4


NR

Others receiving votes and listed on two or more ballots: Western Kentucky 81; Michigan 47; Colorado 18; Marquette 13; Illinois 10; Missouri State 8; Pittsburgh 3

Eight of the 14 teams in the Big Ten are in the top 30, including five in the top 11. 

 
Here's the latest poll. The Huskers fall a few spots after losing at Wisconsin, snapping their seven-match Big Ten win streak. 


Rank


School (First-Place Votes)


Total Points Adjusted


2017 Record


Previous Week


1


Penn State (48)


1582


17-1


2


2


Stanford (12)


1536


15-2


3


3


Texas (1)


1428


14-2


5


4


Florida (2)


1395


14-1


1


5


Minnesota


1337


17-2


6


6


Kentucky (1)


1267


16-2


8


7


Nebraska


1240


14-4


4


8


BYU


1155


19-1


7


9


Wisconsin


1069


13-4


11


10


Michigan State


974


13-4


10


11


Kansas


963


16-3


9


12


Utah


895


16-3


13


13


UCLA


860


12-5


12


14


Washington


685


15-4


14


15


Oregon


639


11-5


15


16


Creighton


616


14-5


17


17


Purdue


598


15-4


16


18


San Diego


551


14-4


18


19


Southern California


491


14-5


19


20


Colorado State


366


18-2


21


21


Wichita State


283


16-3


22


22


Iowa State


209


12-4


23


23


Cal Poly


177


17-2


24


24


Baylor


151


16-4


25


25


Northern Iowa


105


17-5


20

Others receiving votes and listed on two or more ballots: Western Kentucky 92; Illinois 33; Missouri State 32; Michigan 19; Colorado 15; Pittsburgh 14; Oregon State 10; VCU 7

Nebraska is 14-4 on the season, with losses to #25 Northern Iowa, #15 Oregon, #4 Florida and #9 Wisconsin.  Half of Nebraska's 14 wins have come against ranked opponents, including current #1 Penn State, which Nebraska swept in Happy Valley.

Half of the top ten teams are from the Big Ten, and two of the top five. Eight of the conferences 14 teams are in the top 30.

Nebraska continues conference play with matches against Northwestern and Illinois at the Devaney Center. 

 
Nebraska remains in a holding pattern at No. 7.  Everyone above us won, so we're still here for another week.


Rank


School (First-Place Votes)


Total Points Adjusted


2017 Record


Previous Week


1


Penn State (56)


1591


21-1


1


2


Stanford (8)


1538


19-2


2


3


Texas


1439


17-2


3


4


Florida


1388


18-1


4


5


Minnesota


1342


21-2


5


6


Kentucky


1276


19-2


6


7


Nebraska


1267


18-4


7


8


Wisconsin


1108


15-6


9


9


Michigan State


1057


16-5


10


10


BYU


993


21-2


8


11


Washington


960


18-5


14


12


Kansas


819


19-4


11


13


San Diego


810


17-4


18


14


Creighton


748


18-5


16


15


Utah


627


17-6


12


16


Oregon


587


14-6


15


17


Southern California


514


16-7


19


18


UCLA


483


13-8


13


19


Iowa State


458


16-4


22


20


Colorado State


442


22-2


20


21


Wichita State


324


20-3


21


22


Purdue


310


17-6


17


23


Cal Poly


264


21-2


23


24


Baylor


155


18-5


24


25


Western Kentucky


103


25-2


NR

Others receiving votes and listed on two or more ballots: Colorado 92; Missouri State 40; Illinois 20; Oregon State 18; Northern Iowa 12; VCU 10

That's five Big Ten teams in the Top Ten, six in the Top 25. 

Nebraska has beaten every other Big Ten team in the Top Ten, including a sweep at home of #1 Penn State. 

 
Movin' on up!  Huskers go up one spot after another weekend sweep. Last week's victims were #22 Purdue and unranked Indiana. 

Purdue benefitted from losing to Nebraska by also rising one spot, from #22 to #21 this week. 

Yes, it's true - there actually are unranked teams in the Big Ten.  Honest.


Rank


School (First-Place Votes)


Total Points Adjusted


2017 Record


Previous Week


1


Penn State (56)


1592


23-1


1


2


Stanford (8)


1539


21-2


2


3


Texas


1424


19-2


3


4


Florida


1417


20-1


4


5


Minnesota


1349


23-2


5


6


Nebraska


1289


20-4


7


7


Kentucky


1223


20-3


6


8


Michigan State


1085


17-6


9


9


BYU


1061


23-2


10


10


Wisconsin


971


16-7


8


11


Kansas


901


20-4


12


12


San Diego


883


19-4


13


13


Washington


828


19-6


11


14


Creighton


758


20-5


14


15


Utah


624


18-7


15


16


Oregon


609


15-7


16


17


Southern California


573


18-7


17


18


UCLA


511


15-8


18


19


Colorado State


444


24-2


20


20


Wichita State


338


22-3


21


21


Purdue


265


18-7


22


22


Cal Poly


247


22-2


23


23


Baylor


240


20-5


24


24


Iowa State


232


17-5


19


25


Colorado


191


19-6


NR

Others receiving votes and listed on two or more ballots: Western Kentucky 111; Missouri State 36; Illinois 16; Oregon State 16; VCU 12; Northern Iowa 5

Six Big Ten teams are ranked right now, including five in the Top Ten. 

 
A note on the remainder of the Huskers' schedule.  Nebraska has six matches left before the end of the regular season.  They have, by far, already faced the toughest part of their conference schedule.  Eight of the Huskers' first 14 opponents were ranked at the time they played Nebraska.  The Huskers have one conference loss - to Wisconsin - but have already played and beaten each of the top seven teams in the conference.

The average RPI of the Husker's first 14 opponents was 44.7.  Their combined record is 229-115 (.665 winning percentage)

The average RPI of the Huskers' last six opponents is 77.3.  Their combined record is 79-77 (.506 winning percentage)

We've already played three of our final six opponents, all three were 3-0 sweeps.  The toughest opponent left on the schedule according to RPI is Ohio State at #31. The toughest opponent by record is Maryland at 16-10.

That's all a long-winded way of saying that Nebraska is looking pretty good for a conference championship right now.  We have six matches left against the bottom of the conference, and we hold the tiebreaker over the Nos. 1, 3, 4, 5 & 6 teams in the conference. 

And remember kids - this is a rebuilding year.  We lost the Rolfzen twins, Justine Wong-Orantes & Andie Malloy after last year's conference championship, and we started the season 0-2.  We also lost all of our assistant coaches from last year - Chris (& Jen) Tamas are coaching Illinois (they're 18-7 this year) and Dani Busboom-Kelly who is now head coach at Louisville (they're 18-6).

This was the year the Big Ten was supposed to take advantage of our youth.  Oops.

 
Rank


School (First-Place Votes)


Total Points Adjusted


2017 Record


Previous Week


1


Penn State (64)


1600


25-1


1


2


Texas 


1489


21-2


3


3


Florida


1479


22-1


4


4


Stanford


1395


22-3


2


5


Nebraska


1360


22-4


6


6


Kentucky


1263


22-3


7


7


Minnesota


1204


24-3


5


8


Michigan State


1130


19-6


8


9


BYU


1077


25-2


9


10


Washington


1020


21-6


13


11


San Diego


943


21-4


12


12


Wisconsin


817


17-8


10


13


Creighton


781


22-5


14


14


Southern California


719


20-7


17


15


Purdue


711


20-7


21


16


Kansas


670


21-5


11


17


Utah


571


19-8


15


18


UCLA


482


16-9


18


19


Baylor


444


21-5


23


20


Oregon


367


16-8


16


21


Wichita State


361


24-3


20


22


Cal Poly


329


24-2


22


23


Iowa State


192


18-6


24


24


Colorado State


172


25-3


19


25


Missouri State


75


24-5


NR

Others receiving votes and listed on two or more ballots: Colorado 68; Western Kentucky 23; Oregon State 20; VCU 19; Illinois 9; North Texas 4; Louisville 3

Six ranked Big Ten teams this week, including four of the top eight and six of the top 15 teams in the country. 

Huskers move up a spot again this week thanks to Minnesota's four-set loss at #15 Purdue. The Boilermakers also swept #12 Wisconsin on the weekend allowing them to jump six spots in the polls.  Wisconsin, you may recall, is the only Big Ten team to have beaten Nebraska this year.

There are no off weeks in the Big Ten.

 
Stop me if you've heard this before, but the Huskers are at #5 in this week's AVCA poll.

Because the Big Ten is stupid, the Huskers and Penn State are tied atop the conference. Nebraska and Penn State played head-to-head just once this year, in Happy Valley, where the Huskers TROUNCED the Nittany Lions in a 3-0 sweep. With one weekend (two matches) left in the regular season, the Huskers just need to win out to earn a share of the Big Ten Championship.  So, even though we absolutely owned Penn State head-to-head, that doesn't matter and they'll get a share of our conference title - again, because the Big Ten is stupid.

So here's this week's poll.  More below...


Rank


School (First-Place Votes)


Total Points Adjusted


2017 Record


Previous Week


1


Penn State (64)


1600


27-1


1


2


Texas


1499


22-2


2


3


Florida


1471


23-1


3


4


Stanford


1414


24-3


4


5


Nebraska


1364


24-4


5


6


Kentucky


1278


24-3


6


7


BYU


1179


27-2


9


8


Minnesota


1098


25-4


7


9


San Diego


1038


23-4


11


10


Michigan State


984


20-7


8


11


Wisconsin


924


19-8


12


12


Washington


899


22-7


10


13


Southern California


813


21-8


14


14


Kansas


716


22-6


16


15


Utah


665


21-8


17


16


Purdue


617


21-8


15


17


Creighton


562


23-6


13


18


Baylor


528


23-5


19


19


UCLA


504


17-10


18


20


Wichita State


395


26-3


21


21


Cal Poly


359


26-2


22


22


Iowa State


231


20-6


23


23


Colorado State


178


27-3


24


24


Oregon


151


16-10


20


25


Missouri State


94


26-5


25

Others receiving votes and listed on two or more ballots: Colorado 59; Michigan 52; Oregon State 48; Western Kentucky 30; VCU 22; Illinois 18; Louisville 9

That's still six Big Ten teams in the top 16 teams, including four in the Top 10.  Michigan and Illinois are in the "others receiving votes," and

Nebraska's last two opponents are Northwestern and Iowa, both at the Devaney Center.  Nebraska has played both teams already this year, on the road. Both matches were 3-0 sweeps.  Nebraska has not lost a single game to Iowa in 17 straight matches.  So that's probably a win.  Northwestern is 14-16 overall, and should also pose no problem.

Penn State's last two opponents are #11 Wisconsin and #8 Minnesota.  While Nebraska's remaining opponents are 32-29 overall, Penn State's are a combined 44-12. Both matches are on the road. The match between Penn State and Minnesota will be the teams' first meeting this year.  Penn State beat Wisconsin 3-1 in Happy Valley a month ago. If Penn State loses either match, Nebraska is likely the lone Big Ten Champion.

So you're Gopher and Badger fans for one week, and I don't want to see any complaining about this, you hear me?

 
Rank


School (First-Place Votes)


Total Points Adjusted


2017 Record


Previous Week


1


Nebraska (64)


1600


32-4


5


2


Florida


1524


30-2


3


3


Penn State


1479


33-2


1


4


Stanford


1413


30-4


4


5


Texas


1315


27-3


2


6


Kentucky


1275


29-4


6


7


Southern California


1176


25-10


14


8


Michigan State


1136


24-9


12


9


BYU


1091


30-3


7


10


Minnesota


979


28-6


8


11


Utah


948


24-10


13


12


Wisconsin


903


22-10


11


13


San Diego


766


25-5


9


14


UCLA


739


21-11


17


15


Washington


639


25-8


10


16


Creighton


561


26-7


15


17


Illinois


527


23-11


NR


18


Purdue


492


23-10


16


19


Colorado


443


24-10


NR


20


Missouri


377


22-12


NR


21


Baylor


321


24-7


18


22


Cal Poly


264


27-3


21


23


Wichita State


214


29-4


20


24


Colorado State


170


29-4


23


25


Iowa State


147


22-7


22



Others receiving votes and listed on two or more ballots: Western Kentucky 107; Kansas 73; Oregon 58; Pittsburgh 20; Northern Iowa 19; Missouri State 12; Miami (FL) 5

So here's the post-mortem on the 2017 season.  Nebraska receives all 64 first-place votes to finish the season, as they should, since they beat the pants off everyone in the tournament. 
 

Nebraska played eight matches against teams ranked in the final Top 10.  They went 7-1 against those teams, with their only loss coming against Florida in the second match of the season without Kelly Hunter. 

The Nos. 2, 3, 6, 8 & 10 teams combined for 23 total losses on the year.  Nebraska accounted for seven of those, or just under 1/3 of all of their combined losses. 

Penn State & Florida combined for four total losses on the season.  Nebraska was three of them.  The only other loss was Florida losing to Kentucky - the team Nebraska beat in the Regional Finals.

Nebraska was Florida's second win and final loss. 

Nebraska ended the seasons of the Nos. 2, 3, 6 & 19 teams in the final poll.

The Big Ten finished with seven of the Top 25 teams, including four of the Top 10. The Pac-12 finished with six ranked teams, including two in the Top 10. The SEC had three ranked teams, including two in the Top six (Nebraska trounced both of them).  The Big XII had three ranked teams, only one (Texas) in the Top 10. 

Creighton finished the season ranked #16 at 26-7.  Nebraska and Creighton have promised to renew their rivalry next season. 

A Big Ten team held the #1 ranking for the final eight weeks of the season.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Florida has been the darling team all year, even holding the #1 spot for a while after Nebraska beat Penn State. 

Penn State should have been #2.  Put the Nittany Lions against Florida or Kentucky on a neutral court (away from those awful Husker fans that vex them all so much) and Penn State beats them both. 

I have no idea why the Volleyball world doesn't recognize the supremacy of the Big Ten this year.  It's been a weird year. 

 
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