There aren’t many changes to my Week 12 women’s volleyball Power 10 rankings, but there’s a big week ahead. Let’s go through it.
1 & 2. Pitt (Prev. 1) & Nebraska (Prev. 2)
It’s the same battle at the top with Pitt and Nebraska, who are in a league of their own. Pitt remains at No. 1, with Nebraska at No. 2.
The Cornhuskers have a rematch this week against Wisconsin who’s on the rise, which means things could change. Pitt has another week until its rematch against Louisville.
3. Penn State (Prev. 3)
The No. 4 Nittany Lions get their 13th sweep of the season 🧹
Maggie Mendelson lands the final kill against Illinois 💪#B1GVolleyball x @PennStateVBALL pic.twitter.com/Ok9wl50a90
— Big Ten Volleyball (@B1GVolleyball) November 16, 2024
Penn State stays at No. 3, but the next two weeks are critical for the Nittany Lions. They have a matchup against Purdue on Thursday, Washington on Sunday and Nebraska next week.
4. Louisville (Prev. 4)
Louisville also stays put at No. 4. The Cardinals head to Virginia to face Virginia and Virginia Tech this week before they host Pitt and travel to Stanford to end the regular season ahead of selections.
5. Creighton (Prev. 5)
Creighton won the Big East regular season title. The Bluejays stay put here.
6. Wisconsin (Prev. 7)
Now here is my one move. I pushed Wisconsin up a spot to No. 6.
The Badgers have been on fire. They swept Penn State two weeks ago, swept USC and took down UCLA in four sets. This team is finally peaking at the right time with the talent we knew it had early on.
7. Stanford (Prev. 6)
Stanford slides one spot down to No. 7, despite securing its fourth straight sweep last week — this time over Virginia Tech and Virginia. Kami Miner led the offense to a combined .491 hitting percentage in the wins with 13 assists per set.
8. SMU (Prev. 8)
SMU holds on at No. 8. The Mustangs have made it through the toughest part of ACC play and look to win out.
9. Arizona State (Prev. 9)
Arizona State is at No. 9. The Sun Devils only have one Big 12 loss this season and will look to win out as well.
10. Purdue (Prev. 10)
Lizzie Carr: the Big Ten leader in hitting % last week. 😤
➡️ .600 attack %
➡️ 13 kills
➡️ 1 error
➡️ 20 attacks pic.twitter.com/KSkrswgRmr— Purdue Volleyball (@PurdueVB) November 18, 2024
The Boilermakers close out the Power 10 with a big next two weeks looming with three out of four ranked opponents left to play. They were swept by Penn State earlier this season, so it will be interesting to see how they respond in the rematch on Thursday.