The college game
College volleyball is really reaching a fever pitch, so I thought it would be good to whip together a post to maybe give some context to forthcoming coverage. First, a roundup of the six major conferences in NCAA Division I. I’ll do another post for other Division I schools, as well as touch a little on Division II and maybe even Division III.
The Pac-12 is the clear class of college volleyball. Last year's national champions UCLA began this season as the country's #1 team, with Pac-12 rivals USC and Stanford also receiving first-place votes, and Washington, Cal, and Oregon all ranked as well. All has pretty much gone to plan.
Defending national champions UCLA dropped an immensely competitive five-setter to fellow national powerhouse Nebraska, as well as the conference opener to USC, but those matches shouldn't and won't effect their national standing much. In fact, as I noted in my coverage of the UCLA/USC match, they were actually #1 in the country with their one loss while three other top-ten teams were still undefeated. It usually doesn't work that way. It means they've beaten who they're supposed to beat, none more solidly than a three-set sweep over Pepperdine. But that loss to
USC has got to sting. Their season so far has been similar. I thought they were in line to be the new #1 team in the country with the win over UCLA, but a three-set loss to Oregon (who are no slouches, but losing in a sweep on your home court as the #2 team in the country has got to sting) probably changes that. They should stay #2 though, unless
Washington gets put ahead of them. They, surprisingly for my money, got one first-place vote in the most recent poll. They were undefeated at the time and remain so, but the only difficult opponent they've faced so far is Purdue (and to their credit, they swept them). But they're not the only undefeated team in the league. No team has yet to hang a loss on
Oregon either. Ranked eighth in the nation in the most recent AVCA poll, they probably should make up the most ground. Who knows if they will. Their only real test in their non-conference schedule was Ohio State, and against them they won a rather strange five-setter where not one of the sets was all that competitive. Where they might have to earn a little name recognition and respect, one school that's not short on it at all is
Stanford, who have played a pretty tough schedule so far. They were one of the entries into probably the most loaded pre-season invitational of them all, the Big Four, with Penn State, Texas, and Florida. The Cardinal didn't face the Longhorns, lost in five to the host Nittany Lions, and beat the Gators in four. They also took a trip across the pond to face Hawaii in their invitational, losing to the Rainbow Wahine in four. The lowest any team mentioned in this paragraph is nationally ranked is Florida at #13. So 8-2 might appear like a disappointing start for a program as storied as Stanford, but it's really not, and even if it were it wouldn't at all compare to the disappointment of
Cal, who are barely above the .500 mark right now. Ranked #17 entering the year, they have not played to that level at all. Their five losses come to relative lightweights San Diego State, Baylor, and San Francisco (twice!), as well as a conference loss to Stanford. Yet they've also beaten Hawaii, which suggests they simply may not be playing to their potential most nights. Perhaps case in point is the fact that they barely squeaked out a win against
Colorado, who like the other teams in the league (Washington State, Oregon State, Utah, and the Arizona schools) don't really figure to be much of a player. They've all had decent-to-good non-conference seasons (and Oregon State may yet prove me a sucker for excluding them), but unless a school is teeny tiny or the team is in the absolute dregs, they don't usually put together a non-conference schedule that they think will give them a losing record. And the only conference wins any of them have are against each other.
The next league to talk about is the Big Ten (and so we're clear, this is the league with "Ten" in its name that has twelve teams, not the league with "Twelve" in its name that has ten teams. Clear as mud, eh?). Who do we talk about first? It's a coin flip. Heads Nebraska, tails
Penn State, or I guess I could start with them since they beat Nebraska head-to-head. I expect Penn State will be the new #1 team in the country when tomorrow's poll comes out, largely on the basis of that win. To this point in the season, you might have forgiven Penn State to be carrying one loss. They've faced Louisville, Stanford, Texas, and those same Cornhuskers, all teams currently ranked in the top ten in the nation, and they beat them all. Louisville and Texas were even sweeps. This is a great thing about college volleyball — whereas in college basketball and maybe football too (I really wouldn't know) elite teams there will schedule the softest patsies ever until they have to face someone harder, volleyball teams aren't generally afraid of locking horns with the best. Sure, they'll have a few patsies as well, but it's not all patsies. Penn State may have thought they had some of those patsies at the Illinois-Chicago invitational, facing three rather bland teams — the host Flames, the DePaul Blue Demons, and the Oregon State Beavers. In what will probably prove to be the high point of Oregon State's season, they turned a shocking five-set upset against the Nittany Lions. It's a big surprise that that's their only loss so far, but it would probably be a bigger one if it was their only loss of the regular season, considering they still have to face
Nebraska, on the Huskers' home court this time. That match isn't for over a month. They were nearly unanimous as the #1 team in the country on the week 3 poll, with only UCLA and USC nipping a single first-place vote each. They had a nearly immaculate run through their non-conference, although their only truly difficult match was against UCLA and they did suffer a loss to old Big 12 foe Iowa State. But things look to be going all right for the Huskers. There's no shame in losing to Penn State, ever, and they rebounded from that loss with a four-set win over
Ohio State, a team on the fringe of relevancy. They entered the season ranked #24 and have held steady, winning the matches they should win and losing the matches they should lose (or at least, the matches that no one would really say they 'should' win) and that about sums up their season. Their most impressive win is probably against Dayton, a team with similar prestige to them. The other ranked opponents they've played were Oregon, Pepperdine, Florida State, and Nebraska, all losses. Their next conference match is also against a ranked opponent, the
Minnesota Golden Gophers, currently the #12 team in the land. Things have gone well for Minnesota this season. Playing a two-leg series against the Texas Longhorns, the Gophers won the first and lost the second, both on Texas' home court and both by 3-1 counts. Nothing to be ashamed of there. They also sustained a loss to Kansas State, at an invitational hosted by the University of Tulsa, but that's easy to stomach as well as the Wildcats were undefeated in their non-conference play. In an unfortunate scheduling quirk, the Gophers face both Penn State and Nebraska twice, but only once do they match up with
Purdue, who began the season ranked in the top ten overall but haven't quite held that level of play. While their only two losses of the season were to Washington and to Louisville, both solid teams, both were three-set sweeps. They hung the first loss of the season on Michigan State, probably knocking the Spartans out of the polls. The Boilermakers are currently ranked #17 and could really go either way as the season goes on. Their next chance against a ranked opponent comes next weekend, with last season's national runner-up
Illinois making the trip to West Lafayette. The Illini have played one of the toughest schedules in the nation this year, and their homely 7-5 record gives evidence of that. Better things were perhaps expected of Illinois, as they entered the season carrying the #7 national rank. Losses to Dayton and Pepperdine to start the season surely weren't the plan. The Illini narrowly fell to Louisville, and were handily beaten by Minnesota. Their marquee win so far this year certainly is a five-set triumph against Texas, in the Lone Star state. It's interesting how they, a team with a rough record in a difficult schedule, have about the same national prestige as a team who has done well with a weak schedule, a team like
Michigan State, who as I noted above suffered their first loss of the season against Purdue. But they played no difficult matches in their non-conference, so it's difficult to say what if anything their winning streak really means. They were extended to five sets against whoever IPFW is. I'm really not even sure I can point to any of their wins as their most impressive of the season — against Connecticut? Maybe? As a true road match? That's not much to hang your hat on, but goodness knows they'll get opportunities for signature wins in their conference season. The 'best of the rest' in the Big Ten probably starts with the Spartans' cross-state rivals
Michigan, who have played a good non-conference schedule, with a tight loss to nationally-ranked Western Kentucky, but nothing too impressive in terms of foes vanquished. And much the same holds true of Northwestern, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Indiana, probably in that order.
The Big 12 is next in the pecking order. I pity anyone just learning about college sports, finding out that the Big Ten has 12 teams and the Big 12 has ten teams. Copyrights be damned, just trade names! Any discussion of Big 12 volleyball must begin with
Texas, who were just 8-3 going into the last poll but found that mark good enough for #9 in the country, ahead of three unbeaten teams. This tells us that they've played quite a strong schedule, and indeed that's the case. After easily dispatching the 'patsy' foes at their home invitational, they rather shockingly did likewise against Florida, at Penn State's Big Four tournament. The Nittany Lions ended their season-opening winning streak a day later, and Minnesota made it two losses in a row the following weekend, but Hook'em Horns came back to split the two-night series with the Gophers. They also flubbed against Illinois in five sets, but I go back to the point I made before about good teams not being afraid to face each other. That means even the best teams are likely to carry some losses. The Longhorns' first real test in conference play isn't for a couple of weeks yet, not until October 6 when they travel to
Kansas State, who but for one curious night have been one of the strongest teams in the country this season. They beat Oregon State (who, remember, beat Penn State), they beat Minnesota, they swept Dayton. And yet they laid an egg in their conference opener, losing in a sweep to Oklahoma. Still, there's little doubt this is an NCAA tournament team, as long as they at least keep their head above water in conference play. The same is likely true of
Iowa State, who have flirted with relevancy this season. The Cyclones' season started with a real lull. After an easy win against Cincinnati, they then lost three straight matches. All were to respectable opponents, but no one likes to look at 1-3 next to their name. They actually managed to remain nationally ranked while below .500, which is a bit of a head-scratcher frankly. They also lost a close match to Syracuse, putting them on the brink of falling from the national rankings, though their big win over Nebraska should help them there. A team with a less certain future is
Oklahoma. Now they do have a signature win to their name, that fine three-set sweep over Kansas State that I expect will get them some votes in tomorrow's poll (doubt it'll get them ranked, though). But they also have some cringe-worthy defeats, to Northern Colorado and Colorado State. Interestingly, all four of the Sooners' losses this season have been in true road matches — they are 7-0 at home and 4-0 on neutral courts. But they could be leapfrogged in relevancy, and soon, if the
Baylor Bears can turn an upset on national TV. They play Texas in a televised match on Tuesday night (which I plan to cover). The Bears have the same story as most of the teams appearing low down on the lists in these rundowns — unremarkable wins, and losses against pretty good teams, with maybe one bad loss thrown in for good measure. But if they can find a way past the Longhorns (and chances are, they won't, but if they do), they'll start registering on some radars. Can't say the same will be true anytime for the other teams in the league such as
Kansas, TCU, Texas Tech, or West Virginia (shockingly, Big 12 member Oklahoma State does not sponsor volleyball. For shame!). None of these teams figure to have much chance to turn any heads as the season goes on, but who knows. That's why the word 'upset' exists.
Talk about a top-heavy league. In fairness, the Big East has never really pretended they were all about volleyball. This is a league for football and (especially) basketball. The obvious class of the league and little-doubt league-champion-to-be is
Louisville. Really, it's not even close. They're currently #10 in the nation, and no other Big East team is ranked or even named on any ballots. The Cardinals put together a very solid non-conference season, with wins over Western Kentucky, Purdue, and Illinois. But they began conference play on a sour note, with a five-set loss to a
Notre Dame team that, while battle-tested, lacks any other real high points on their season ledger. Three of their five losses this season have come against teams ranked in the top 5 overall (to then-#1 UCLA, then-#4 Nebraska, and then-#5 USC), and they also fell short against the #17 ranked San Diego Toreros. But a four-set loss to Loyola Marymount doesn't measure up to those other huge opponents. Other than Louisville, the Irish's biggest test in conference play will be
St. John's, who are off to a solid 2-0 start in conference play. They don't have any hugely impressive wins, and losses to Towson, Idaho State, and Maryland obviously don't do them any favors, but they've generally won the matches they should win, and handily. Eleven of their fifteen wins this season have been 3-0 sweeps. In a by-and-large weak Big East, they could end up making some noise. Now, it seems downright insulting to name only three teams in my rundown of a 15-team league (and they all sponsor volleyball), so next down the pecking order is
Marquette? I guess? They're a respectable 10-3 so far this season, and have a decent win against Michigan from their home invitational, but at that same tournament they posted a homely five-set loss to Northern Iowa, and followed that up with another against Pacific. In fact, all three of their losses this season have been in true home matches, which is usually not the hallmark of a quality squad. Of course, they've only played one true road match so far this season. They seem like they belong with the 'best of the rest' scrubs, but in this league that could get them an NCAA tournament bid (the Big East got two at-large bids last year). Or it could just as easily go to teams following the same script, such as
Connecticut, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Seton Hall, DePaul, or South Florida. All follow that same script of unimpressive wins mixed in with some losses (just one in Seton Hall's case, actually, but still their season is nothing to write home about). However, we know for sure the NCAA selection committee won't have to spend any brainpower considering Georgetown, Providence, Villanova, Cincinnati, or Syracuse. Even in a bad league, these teams stand out as bad.
As I looked at the remaining teams to see whether the SEC or the ACC merited mentioning, I realized that I really don't have the foggiest idea who's in which conference anymore. So for no real reason let's start with
Florida, who despite their high national ranking haven't actually had that remarkable a season. They were the team to emerge winless from Penn State's Big Four tournament, losing to the other two visiting teams Texas and Stanford. Those are perfectly acceptable losses, but they're also the only particularly noteworthy opponents on Florida's schedule so far this year. The best win on their ledger so far is probably the conference triumph over Kentucky, which doesn't really say a whole lot. Amazingly they don't play
Tennessee but once, and not until November, even though they're probably the next best team in the conference. They haven't done anything too remarkable this season. They've won the matches they should win and they've lost to top teams like Florida State and BYU, while winning matches against softer competition. Conference play so far has been a battle for them, as they await league newcomers
Texas A&M, who have competently won every match they 'should' win this season, but have nothing all that impressive to their name in the win column. As a member of the 'Also receiving votes' camp on the most recent national poll (they're in essence #28 in the nation), they've got a chance to turn some heads, though a five-set loss to Kentucky isn't gonna get it done. They have every reason to be confident with their season going forward, but obviously they can't just expect to end up in the NCAA tournament, a situation similar to the one
Kentucky likewise find themselves in. They're on the cusp of the poll just like the Aggies and have an important test with Tennessee coming up. Their downfall so far this year was a four-match losing streak, two against very good opponents (Nebraska and Florida) and two against not-so-good opponents (Oklahoma and LSU). They'll likely find themselves fighting tooth-and-nail for an at-large NCAA tournament bid with
South Carolina, among perhaps other teams. The Gamecocks have had a solid early season, winning those 'should win' matches, and all fairly comfortably, though they've had no signature wins and carry a loss to
Auburn as well. Auburn's story is pretty much exactly the same. Lots of wins over weak competition, and a couple of losses, to Texas A&M and Wichita State in their case. Conference play will certainly involve one of these teams rising above the chaff. Could be USC (yep, they use that abbreviation too), could be Auburn, could be
Missouri, could be Alabama, could be Georgia. But it probably won't be
LSU or either of the Mississippi schools. Not such good marks for these teams so far. (League member Vanderbilt does not sponsor volleyball)
First off, this is the only conference where I could find a quick reference for standings. How messed is that? Seems like a pretty basic thing to offer. Anyway, while their conference schedule hasn't started so well
Florida State is still probably the best team in the league. They're ranked #15 in the most recent poll. A loss to Pepperdine is acceptable, as is a true road loss to a conference opponent (Miami), and that's all they've had in the L-column so far. They've got three wins over ranked teams, toppling Tennessee, Iowa State, and Ohio State so far. This is a team to be reckoned with, and while no other team in the league is ranked,
North Carolina is pretty close. The Heels have won the matches they'd expect to win and are a solid winning streak away from getting some heads turning their way. They have dropped just two matches so far this season, both to decent competition — a sweep loss to Kentucky to kick off their season and a four-setter to
North Carolina State, and I'm not sure why they're not at least getting votes. Maybe they will on tomorrow's poll. They haven't played any strong competition, true, but they've run off a 13-1 start to their season, with seven three-set sweeps among the 13 wins. Their only loss is a five-setter to Virginia Commonwealth, and five-setters can go either way any time. They're off to a 3-0 start in conference, and next weekend they'll face a team with a remarkable similar profile to theirs in
Georgia Tech. The Yellowjackets are also 3-0 in conference play, and have lost on this season only to Florida (which is fine) and to Indiana (which…..ehhh, moving on). It's an interesting match with two teams on very much the same path and, quite obviously, only one of them will continue on it. They're slightly better off than
Virginia Tech, who are showing promise at the same time as shakiness. They came within a race to 15 of knocking off Florida State (likewise Michigan), and own very strong conference wins against Virginia and Miami (both sweeps), but also sport a loss to High Point. They need to get their act together, just like
Miami, Boston College, Duke, Wake Forest, Clemson, and Maryland. The ship has probably already sailed on Virginia.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
