Nebraska Volleyball Goes Back-To-Back Weeks as Unanimous No. 1 Team by AVCA

For the second week in a row, Nebraska volleyball remains head and shoulders above the rest of college volleyball.

The Huskers (6-0) retained their spot as the unanimous No. 1 team in the nation on Monday, receiving all 61 first-place votes from the latest edition of the AVCA Coaches poll. Nebraska remains at No. 1 after opening the season at the top of the polls, beating out preseason No. 2 Penn State with 40 first-place votes compared to the Nittany Lions’ 21. Texas (4-0) remains at No. 2 behind the Huskers in this week’s rankings.

Nebraska has earned three victories over top ten opponents to begin the season. The Big Red opened the 2025 campaign at Lincoln’s Pinnacle Bank Arena in the AVCA First Serve, taking down previous No. 3 Pittsburgh and No. 6 Stanford in the opening weekend. After handling unranked Lipscomb, the Huskers then downed then-No. 7 Kentucky in a reverse sweep to maintain their No. 1 rating. Since those matchups, Pittsburgh fell to No. 7, while Stanford and Kentucky rose in the polls to No. 5 and No. 3, respectively.

The Huskers continued their dominant start to the season with back-to-back sweeps over non-conference opponents. Nebraska handled Wright State 25-16, 25-16, and 25-20 on Friday, then won over California 25-15, 25-18, and 25-12 on Sunday. Nebraska remained one of seven top 25 programs with an unbeaten record.

The Big Ten Conference continued to stay well represented in the AVCA rankings with seven teams earning top 25 spots while two more received votes in this week’s poll. Nebraska led the conference at No. 1, followed by No. 6 Wisconsin, No. 12 Penn State, No. 13 Minnesota, No. 14 Purdue, No. 16 USC, and No. 24 UCLA. Oregon was the top-vote receiving team outside of the top 25, while Indiana also received votes.

The Southeastern Conference featured three teams inside the top 10 and five teams inside the top 25. No. 2 Texas and No. 3 Kentucky both remained behind Nebraska at the top overall spot, while No. 8 Texas A&M, No. 11 Florida, and No. 23 Missouri all remained in the top 25. Tennessee and LSU also received votes in this week’s poll.

The Atlantic Coast Conference nabbed four spots in the top 10 and six spots in this week’s AVCA rankings, placing behind the Big Ten Conference for total teams represented. No. 4 Louisville led the ACC ahead of No. 5 Stanford and No. 7 Pittsburgh, while No. 10 SMU rounded out the conference’s top ten teams. No. 21 Georgia Tech and No. 25 North Carolina jumped in the rankings, as North Carolina remains unbeaten and had received votes in last week’s poll. Miami (FL) also received votes.

The Big 12 Conference included one top-10 team and six total programs in this week’s top 25. No. 9 Arizona State slipped two spots from No. 7 last week but remained inside the AVCA top ten. No. 15 TCU, No. 17 Kansas, No. 19 BYU, No. 20 Baylor, and No. 22 Utah remained in this week’s poll. Arizona and Colorado also received votes in this week’s rankings.

The Big East Conference had one representative, as Nebraska’s in-state rival, Creighton, landed at No. 18. The Bluejays and Huskers match up in Omaha on Tuesday, Sept. 16, at the CHI Health Center. The Big East also saw Marquette receive votes in this week’s poll.

Other teams receiving votes include Oregon, Tennessee, Dayton, Marquette, Western Kentucky, Arizona, Miami (FL), Indiana, UTEP, Colorado, UC Santa Barbara, LSU, and South Florida. Six other teams were mentioned on only one ballot for seven combined points.

Nebraska volleyball remains with nine matches on its schedule against ranked opponents: No. 22 Utah, No. 18 Creighton, No. 12 Penn State, No. 14 Purdue, No. 8 Wisconsin, No. 13 Minnesota, No. 24 UCLA, No. 16 USC, and a rematch with the Nittany Lions.

The Huskers are back in action for the Husker Invitational this weekend at John Cook Arena, battling No. 22 Utah on Friday, Sept. 12 at 6 p.m. CDT. Nebraska will then host Grand Canyon University on Saturday at 6 p.m. CDT, followed by the Huskers’ in-state tilt with Creighton the following Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. CDT. The Big Red wraps up the non-conference slate hosting RV Arizona on Saturday, Sept. 20 at 8 p.m. CDT.

AVCA Top 25 Coaches Poll

1. Nebraska (61)
2. Texas
3. Kentucky
4. Louisville
5. Stanford
6. Wisconsin
7. Pittsburgh
8. Texas A&M
9. Arizona State
10. SMU
11. Florida
12. Penn State
13. Minnesota
14. Purdue
15. TCU
16. USC
17. Kansas
18. Creighton
19. BYU
20. Baylor
21. Georgia Tech
22. Utah
23. Missouri
24. UCLA
25. North Carolina

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