Annie Fesl and Cincinnati hope to be playing in the BIG EAST final on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET on ESPNU

It's one of the biggest weekends of the season, as 17 teams will clinch automatic bids to the NCAA Championship this weekend. Six of those will be handed out on Saturday, starting with the America East Conference final that begins at 1 p.m. ET. Fans of teams fighting for at-large bids should probably be pulling for Albany (America East), Lipscomb (Atlantic Sun) and North Dakota State (Summit) to win their tournaments, as well as either Florida International or Middle Tennessee in the Sun Belt.

On Sunday, 11 more squads will punch their tickets to the tourney. Bubble teams will likely be hoping that Tulane (Conference USA), Furman (SoCon) and Ohio (MAC) win their tournaments, and that either Notre Dame or Cincinnati takes the BIG EAST and either Saint Louis or Dayton wins the Atlantic 10.

In addition to the conference tournaments, there are seven matchups of ranked teams this weekend and 11 televised matches. Below is a complete list of all of the matches involving a Top-25 team, all of the televised matches and all of the conference finals with an NCAA bid at stake.

WEEKEND SCOREBOARD WATCH
All Times Eastern
Friday
No. 23 Notre Dame vs. Seton Hall (BIG EAST quarterfinals), 3:30 p.m. - Live Stats
No. 1 Penn State at Purdue, 7 p.m. - Live Stats
South Carolina at No. 10 Kentucky, 7 p.m. - Live Stats
No. 12 Minnesota at No. 14 Michigan, 7 p.m. - Live Stats
No. 13 Florida at Tennessee, 7 p.m. - Free Video | Live Stats
Boston College at No. 15 Florida State, 7 p.m. - Live Stats
Iowa at No. 5 Illinois, 8 p.m. - Live Stats
Mississippi State at No. 17 LSU, 8 p.m. - Live Stats
Creighton at No. 21 Northern Iowa, 8 p.m. - Live Stats
New Mexico at TCU, 8 p.m. - TV: The Mtn. (airs Friday, 9:30 p.m. ET) | Free Video | Live Stats
No. 6 Stanford at No. 19 Arizona, 9 p.m. - Free Video | Live Stats
No. 11 California at Arizona State, 9:30 p.m. - Live Stats
No. 7 UCLA at Oregon State, 10 p.m. - Free Video | Live Stats
No. 15 USC at No. 18 Oregon, 10 p.m. - Live Stats
Saturday
America East Conference Championship, 1 p.m. - Tournament Central
Big South Conference Championship, 2 p.m. - Tournament Central
UNLV at No. 25 Colorado State, 3 p.m. - Live Stats
Atlantic Sun Conference Championship, 3 p.m. - Tournament Central
No. 23 Notre Dame at Louisville (BIG EAST semifinals), 3:30 p.m. - Live Stats
No. 9 Nebraska at Kansas, 4 p.m. - Live Stats
Portland at No. 22 Saint Mary's, 4 p.m. - Live Stats
Sun Belt Conference Championship, 4 p.m. - Tournament Central
BYU at San Diego State, 4 p.m. - TV: CBSC (airs Tuesday, 11 p.m. ET) | Free Video | Live Stats
No. 8 Iowa State at Missouri, 6 p.m. - Live Stats
No. 1 Penn State at Indiana, 7 p.m. - Live Stats
No. 20 Saint Louis vs. Xavier (A10 Semifinals), 7:30 p.m. - Live Stats
No. 2 Texas at No. 24 Baylor, 8 p.m. - Live Stats
Wisconsin at No. 5 Illinois, 8 p.m. - Live Stats
No. 12 Minnesota at Michigan State, 8 p.m. - TV: Big Ten Network (airs Sunday, 8 p.m. ET) | Live Stats
Drake at No. 21 Northern Iowa, 8 p.m. - Live Stats
Summit League Championship, 8 p.m. - Tournament Central
Ohio Valley Conference Championship, 8:30 p.m. - Tournament Central
No. 6 Stanford at Arizona State, 9 p.m. - Live Stats
Washington State at No. 4 Washington, 10 p.m. - TV: FSN (delayed) | Free Video | Live Stats
No. 15 USC at Oregon State, 10 p.m. - Free Video | Live Stats
No. 7 UCLA at No. 18 Oregon, 11 p.m. - Live Stats
Sunday
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Championship, Noon - TV: ESPNU (airs 10 p.m. ET) | Tournament Central
Horizon League Championship, 1 p.m. - Tournament Central
Northeast Conference Championship, 1 p.m. - Tournament Central
Maryland at No. 15 Florida State, 1 p.m. - Live Stats
No. 13 Florida at No. 10 Kentucky, 2 p.m. - TV: FSN | Live Stats
Conference USA Championship, 2 p.m. - TV: CBSC | Tournament Central
Southern Conference Championship, 2 p.m. - Tournament Central
Auburn at Mississippi, 2 p.m. - TV: CSS | Live Stats
Alabama at No. 17 LSU, 2:30 p.m. - Live Stats
No. 11 California at No. 19 Arizona, 3 p.m. - Free Video | Live Stats
BIG EAST Conference Championship, 3 p.m. - TV: ESPNU | Tournament Central
Mid-American Conference Championship, 3 p.m. - Tournament Central
Southland Conference Championship, 3 p.m. - Tournament Central
Atlantic 10 Conference Championship, 4 p.m. - TV: CBSC | Tournament Central
Patriot League Championship, 4 p.m. - Tournament Central
Southwestern Athletic Conference Championship, 8 p.m. - TV: ESPNU | Tournament Central

Penn beat Dartmouth on Monday to clinch its first Ivy League title since 2003

Today we take a look at the status of the 31 automatic bids to the NCAA Championship. Three teams already have been clinched, as Colorado State (Mountain West; 15th NCAA berth in a row), Penn (Ivy Group; first NCAA berth since 2003) and Saint Mary's (West Coast; 2nd NCAA berth in a row) have assured themselves spots in this year's tournament. The other 28 bids are still up for grabs, with at least 17 of them set to be decided this weekend. See below for details about all of the automatic bids.

Also, for those schools not fortunate enough to secure an automatic berth, there are, of course, 33 at-large spots available. Make sure to check out the latest version of the NCAA RPI - one of the tools used to determine tournament qualifiers - which was released on Monday and is available here.

If the NCAA Championship field was determined based soley on this RPI listing, and you assume that each conference's automatic bid goes to its highest-ranked team - then the last four teams to make the field as at-large participants would be Missouri State, Washington State, Kansas and Missouri. The first four teams out would be North Carolina, Georgia Tech, Wisconsin and Northwestern. A field determined in that way would include eight teams from both the Big 12 and Pac-10, as well as six from the Big Ten, four from the SEC, plus three each from the ACC, BIG EAST, Missouri Valley and Mountain West and two each from the Atlantic 10, Big West and Sun Belt. All other conferences would have just one participant.

Conference	Automatic Qualifier
America East	Tournament Champion Nov. 20-21 - Albany, NY Final: Saturday, 1 p.m. ET Tournament Central Regular-Season Champ: Albany (10-0)
Atlantic Coast	Regular-Season Champion Current Leaders: Florida State, 16-1 (3 left) Duke, 14-3 (3 left)
Atlantic Sun	Tournament Champion Nov. 19-21 - Fort Myers, FL Final: Saturday, 3 p.m. ET Tournament Central Regular-Season Champ: Lipscomb (20-0)
Atlantic 10	Tournament Champion Nov. 20-22 - Dayton, OH Final: Sunday, 4 p.m. ET (CBSC) Tournament Central Regular-Season Champ: Dayton & Saint Louis (14-1)
Big East	Tournament Champion Nov. 20-22 - Louisville, KY Final: Sunday, 3 p.m. ET (ESPNU) Tournament Central Regular-Season Champ: Notre Dame (14-0)
Big Sky	Tournament Champion Nov. 27-28 - Cheney, WA Final: Nov. 28, 7 p.m. PT Tournament Central Regular-Season Champ: Portland State (13-2)
Big South	Tournament Champion Nov. 19-21 - Radford, VA Final: Saturday, 2 p.m. ET Tournament Central Regular-Season Champ: UNC Asheville & Liberty (13-3)
Big Ten	Regular-Season Champion Current Leaders: Penn State, 16-0 (4 left) Illinois, 13-3 (4 left) Minnesota, 12-4 (4 left)
Big 12	Regular-Season Champion Current Leaders: Texas, 16-1 (3 left) Iowa State, 15-3 (2 left) Nebraska, 13-4 (3 left)
Big West	Regular-Season Champion Current Leaders: UC Irvine, 10-4 (2 left) Long Beach State, 10-4 (2 left) UC Santa Barbara, 10-5 (1 left) UC Davis, 10-5 (l left)
Colonial Athletic	Tournament Champion Nov. 23-24 - Richmond, VA Final: Nov. 24, 7 p.m. ET (Free Video) Tournament Central Regular-Season Champ: VCU & Delaware (12-2)
Conference USA	Tournament Champion Nov. 20-22 - Houston, TX Final: Sunday, 1 p.m. CT (CBSC) Tournament Central Regular-Season Champ: Southern Miss (14-2)
Horizon League	Tournament Champion Nov. 20-22 - Cleveland, OH Final: Sunday, 1 p.m. ET Tournament Central Regular-Season Champ: Cleveland State (13-3)
Ivy Group	Penn (22-5, 13-1) Regular-Season Champion
Metro Atlantic Athletic	Tournament Champion Nov. 22-23 - Buffalo, NY Final: Monday, 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPNU) Tournament Central Regular-Season Champ: Fairfield (16-2)
Mid-American	Tournament Champion Nov. 20-22 - Toledo, OH Final: Sunday, 3 p.m. ET Tournament Central Regular-Season Champs: Ohio (15-1, East) & Western Michigan (13-3, West)
Mid-Eastern Athletic	Tournament Champion Nov. 20-22 - Baltimore, MD Final: Sunday, Noon ET (ESPNU - airs 10 p.m. ET) Tournament Central Regular-Season Champs: Maryland Eastern Shore (10-0, North) & Florida A&M (8-0, South)
Missouri Valley	Tournament Champion Nov. 26-28 - Omaha, NE Final: Nov. 28, Time TBA Tournament Central Regular-Season Champ: Northern Iowa (16-0)
Mountain West	Colorado State (22-4, 14-1) Regular-Season Champion
Northeast	Tournament Champion Nov. 21-22 - Brooklyn, NY Final: Sunday, 1 p.m. ET (Free Video) Tournament Central Regular-Season Champ: Long Island (16-0)
Ohio Valley	Tournament Champion Nov. 19-21 - Jacksonville, AL Final: Saturday, 7:30 p.m. CT Tournament Central Regular-Season Champ: Jacksonville State (17-1)
Pacific-10	Regular-Season Champion Current Leaders: Washington, 11-4 (3 left) Stanford, 11-4 (3 left) UCLA, 10-4 (4 left) California, 10-5 (3 left) Arizona, 7-7 (4 left)
Patriot	Tournament Champion Nov. 21-22 - West Point, NY Final: Sunday, 4 p.m. ET Tournament Central Regular-Season Champ: Army (12-2)
Southeastern	Regular-Season Champion Current Leaders: Kentucky, 16-1 (3 left) LSU, 16-2 (2 left) Florida, 14-3 (3 left) Tennessee, 13-4 (3 left)
Southern	Tournament Champion Nov. 21-22 - Greenville, SC Final: Sunday, 2 p.m. ET Tournament Central Regular-Season Champs: Furman (16-0, South) & Samford (11-5, North)
Southland	Tournament Champion Nov. 20-22 - San Antonio, TX Final: Sunday, 2 p.m. CT (Free Video) Tournament Central Regular-Season Champs: Central Arkansas (16-0, East) & Texas State (13-3, West)
Southwestern Athletic	Tournament Champion Nov. 21-22 - Grambling, LA Final: Sunday, 7 p.m. CT (ESPNU) Tournament Central Regular-Season Champs: Alabama A&M (8-0, East) & Grambling State (8-0, West)
Summit	Tournament Champion Nov. 20-21 - Fargo, ND Final: Saturday, 7 p.m. CT Tournament Central Regular-Season Champ: North Dakota State (18-0)
Sun Belt	Tournament Champion Nov. 19-21 - Bowling Green, KY Final: Saturday, 3 p.m. CT Tournament Central Regular-Season Champs: Florida International (17-0, East) & New Orleans (12-6, West) & Arkansas State (12-6, West)
West Coast	Saint Mary's (19-4, 11-1) Regular-Season Champion
Western Athletic	Tournament Champion Nov. 23-25 - Las Vegas, NV Final: Nov. 25, 6:30 p.m. MT (ESPNU) Tournament Central Regular-Season Champ: Hawai'i (26-2, 16-0)

NCAA.com's Volleyball Blog is back again with Championship Committee Chair Terry Gawlik, the Associate Athletic Director at Wisconsin, as the upcoming Championship selection continues to draw near:

Q. What is the process to which schools get to host the first and second rounds of the tournament? And when does that process begin?

A. All first and second rounds of competition in Volleyball are played on the campus of one of the participating institutions. The process to apply for first and second round sites begins with submitted a bid by November 9th.   Within the bid several factors must be present:

--Seating capacity of 2,000
--Exclusive availability for practice and competition beginning on noon -10pm the day prior to the match with each team having a minimum of 1.5 hours of practice,  one hour practices for each team and match times for the first day of competition, and one hour of practice and match play for the final teams competing in the second round.
--In-floor net system, separate locker rooms, and a minimum guarantee.

Once the minimum criteria have been met, the committee will consider geographic proximity and seeding in assigning the sites. The sites are announced when the bracket is released.

Q. How closely does the Committee keep an eye on the conference tournaments coming up?

A. The committee is very interested in the conference tournaments that are hosted as the automatic qualifiers are advanced to the bracket. If a team that is not the number one seed in that conference advances, this could make it interesting within the at large pool.  

Q. How excited is the committee to have Tampa as the host for this year's championship?

A. Very excited. This is the first Division I Women's Volleyball championship to be held in the state of Florida and they are very excited as well. I know the University of South Florida, the Tampa Bay Sports Commission and  the St. Pete Times Forum are working really hard to ensure a great environment for the teams.

MID-WEEK SCOREBOARD WATCH
Top-25 and Televised Matches Before the Weekend - All Times Eastern
Wednesday, November 18
Michigan State at No. 14 Michigan, 6 p.m. - TV: Big Ten Network | Live Stats
Kansas State at No. 2 Texas, 7:30 p.m. - TV: TWC Texas Channel | Free Video | Live Stats
Kansas at No. 8 Iowa State, 7:30 p.m. - Live Stats
No. 24 Baylor at No. 9 Nebraska, 8 p.m. - TV: NET | Free Video | Live Stats
Thursday, November 19
Utah at San Diego State, 9:30 p.m. - TV: The Mtn. | Live Video | Live Stats
Gonzaga at No. 22 Saint Mary's, 10 p.m. - Live Stats

Lauren Williams and USC posted a pair of big victories

Top-ranked Penn State rose to the challenge again on Friday night, sweeping No. 5 Illinois 25-20, 27-25, 25-15 at home in front of 4,163 fans. Blair Brown pounded 17 kills on .538 hitting ans senior Alisha Glass set the Nittany Lions to a .350 team hitting mark. Illinois was led by Laura DeBruler, who had 18 kills on .421 hitting. PSU then swept Northwestern on Saturday for its 92nd consecutive win - which ties the North Carolina women's soccer team's streak from 1990-94 as the second longest in NCAA Division I history in any sport. The NCAA record is 137 consecutive wins, which was done by the Miami men's tennis team from 1957-64.

One of the biggest winners from last week was 17th-ranked USC - which came into the weekend on a three-match losing streak and having won just two of its last nine. But the Women of Troy got a pair of big wins, first outlasting No. 4 Washington in five sets (25-18, 24-26, 22-25, 25-21, 15-13) on Friday and then beating 25th-ranked Washington State 24-26, 25-18, 28-26, 25-16 the following day. Sophomore outside hitter Alex Jupiter (21 kills) led a quartet of players with 14+ kills against the Huskies, while sophomore middle blocker Lauren Williams paced all players with 19 kills and no errors on .559 hitting vs. WSU. Washington sophomore middle blocker Lauren Barfield was in on 11 blocks in Friday's match.

Washington was able to rebound on Saturday for a road sweep (25-19, 25-18, 25-21) of sixth-ranked UCLA in front of 2,569 fans. Senior libero Tamari Miyashiro (23 digs), junior setter Jenna Hagglund (18 digs) and Barfield (7 blocks) led a UW defense that held UCLA to .101 hitting and didn't see a Bruin post more than seven kills. UW junior outside hitter Kindra Carlson had 18 kills to lead all players, while UCLA sophomore libero Lainey Gera finished with 22 digs.

UCLA had moved briefly into first place in the Pac-10 with a 25-23, 25-14, 23-25, 25-23 victory against Washington State on Friday, the Bruins' seventh straight win. Senior outside hitter Kaitlin Sather led UCLA with 19 kills in the match, while Gera added 26 digs. The Bruins, at 10-4 in league play, now stand one-half game behind both Washington and Stanford at the top of the standings. The seventh-ranked Cardinal notched a big win on Friday, beating No. 16 Oregon 25-23, 25-16, 25-23 in front of 2,712. Freshman Karissa Cook and junior Cassidy Lichtman set Stanford to a .378 hitting mark, and Lichtman also led all players with 16 kills on .419 hitting. No. 12 California beat the Ducks on Saturday in four (25-21, 25-21, 23-25, 25-16). Senior outside hitter Hana Cutura posted 28 kills on .442 hitting and 10 digs for the Bears, while junior Carli Lloyd's offense hit .341.

In a clash of Southeastern Conference titans, 19th-ranked LSU knocked off No. 10 Florida in four sets (24-26, 25-23, 25-19, 25-17) on Friday in front of 2,875 fans in Gainesville. Marina Skender led all players with 20 kills, while Brittnee Cooper added 16 on 26 attempts (.500) as the Tigers swept the Gators for the first time since 1991.

The top two teams in the West Coast Conference hooked up on Saturday in Moraga, Calif., with No. 23 Saint Mary's eventually prevailing over 25th-ranked San Diego in five sets (25-18, 25-19, 20-25, 17-25, 15-10). Junior Kapua Kamana'o and redshirt freshman Missy White and set the Gaels to a .342 attack percentage, and junior middle blocker Shannon Lowell posted 23 kills on .381 hitting to help SMC clinch the WCC regular-season title for the first time. Junior Kelsi Myers' USD attack also was prolific, with a .303 hitting mark.

There was just a single instance of an unranked team knocking off a ranked one last week. That occurred on Saturday in Lawrence, Kan., where Kansas beat Baylor 25-18, 19-25, 25-20, 25-20. The Jayhawks got 19 kills from junior outside hitter Karina Garlington, as well as 16 from sophomore outside hitter Allison Mayfield.

No. 14 Michigan was extended to fifth sets against unranked opponents in both of its matches, but the Wolverines ended up prevailing against Purdue on Friday (18-16 in the fifth after saving a match point) and vs. Indiana on Sunday (15-11 in the fifth).

No. 22 Northern Iowa also needed five sets against Wichita State on Saturday, but the Panthers eventually prevailed, 25-15, 19-25, 25-19, 20-25, 15-9, for their 24th consecutive victory. The win clinched the regular-season Missouri Valley Conference crown for UNI.

Elsewhere, No. 3 Hawai'i, the regular-season WAC champion, swept Boise State and Idaho to run its winning streak to 21. In the BIG EAST, 24th-ranked Notre Dame topped Georgetown and USF to finish 14-0 in league play - its seventh unbeaten mark in BIG EAST action since joining the conference in 1995. No. 20 Saint Louis beat Rhode Island and Temple to finish 14-1 in Atlantic 10 play and share the regular-season league title with Dayton.

TODAY'S SCOREBOARD WATCH
Top-25 and Televised Matches - All Times Eastern
No. 3 Hawai'i at Boise State, 9 p.m. - Live Stats
Colorado State at Utah, 9:30 p.m. - TV: The Mtn. | Live Stats

NCAA.com's Volleyball Blog had another chance to sit down with Championship Committee Chair Terry Gawlik, the Associate Athletic Director at Wisconsin, as the upcoming Championship selection gets closer:

Q: Texas picked up its first loss last week leaving only one undefeated team in the country. Does losing late in the year hurt more than early on in the Committee's eyes?

A: Time of year would certainly come into play if there were numerous losses heading down the stretch. One loss to a top 10 team toward the end of the season would not be a huge factor, but it does make the seeding a little more challenging. Teams should be peaking during this time and I am sure that coaches are  working intently toward that goal. This is what makes the season fun to watch as the drama unfolds.  As stated in last week's blog, the committee has noticed the parity in Division I women's Volleyball. The intensity that teams face, whether on the road or at home within conference play  is immense.


Q: There are six Pac-10 teams in the top 20 of the latest RPI, can the Committee remember having a conference with so many teams at the top like that?

A: Yes the committee is aware that the Big Ten and the Pac-10 both have been in similar situations at different times over the past 3 years.  The committee has access to the RPI for each team that is under consideration which will allow this type of detail to be reviewed thoroughly throughout the process.


Q: As a member of the committee, how do you find yourself keeping track of every day's results?

A: The Committee structure is designed to make sure we cover the entire country. We have 10 national committee members and 8 regional advisory committees to assist in the process. The internet is a wonderful tool that I am sure all committee members are using. The NCAA statistical staff has also done a great job of putting together several tools for the committee to use throughout the year. Results are turned in by all the conferences to the NCAA and shared with the committee. In addition, we are able to pull results into an on line system that all the committee members can access to track results. Tracking the results as the season progresses is time consuming and takes a commitment from every member. We have conference calls every two weeks to review the results incrementally and prepare ourselves on how the teams are performing. This helps to educate everyone prior to selections.

Between the information the NCAA gathers and provides, the AVCA site, and the schools and conference web pages, it's not hard to find information. More and more volleyball is being shown on television, and committee members do their best to watch as many matches as they can.

Hana Cutura led Cal to two big victories

It was a week of mixed results for many teams, as several squads posted an impressive victory and also suffered a disappointing defeat. One exception to that was No. 13 California, which headed North and posted a pair of wins in Washington. On Friday, the Bears beat 24th-ranked Washington State for the 14th consecutive time by scores of 25-16, 25-23, 23-25, 25-16 in front of 2,134 fans. Senior outside hitter Hana Cutura led the way with 19 kills and 10 digs, while junior Carli Lloyd set the Golden Bears to a .336 hitting mark and also added nine kills (on 12 errorless attempts) and eight digs. A night later, Cutura posted 33 kills on. 299 hitting to lead Cal to a five-set (23-25, 25-18, 14-25, 25-23, 15-13) upset of No. 4 Washington in front of a crowd of 2,602 that hadn't seen the Huskies lose at home previously this season. Cutura - who also had eight digs and four blocks - also became Cal's all-time leader in kills, now with 1,825. The Bears have now won six of their last seven, with four of those wins coming against ranked teams. Junior outside hitter Kindra Carlson led the Huskies with 26 kills and 12 digs.

Washington posted a big victory of its own on Friday, taking the battle of the conference's top two teams in three sets, 25-21, 25-23, 25-19 against fifth-ranked Stanford in front of 4,557 fans. The Cardinal, three-time defending Pac-10 champs, had dealt UW its first defeat of the season in a five-set decision last month. Stanford junior libero Gabi Ailes recorded 29 digs in the three-set affair. The Cardinal - which had lost back-to-back matches for the first time since 2005 - rebounded on Saturday with a sweep (25-17, 25-20, 25-22) of Washington State that saw junior outside hitter Alix Klineman pound 18 kills. Ailes notched 25 more digs - giving her 54 in six sets over the weekend for a stratospheric average of 9.00 per set.

The most noteworthy result of the week probably occurred on Wednesday in Ames, Iowa, where No. 8 Iowa State handed second-ranked Texas its first defeat of the season in a five-set decision (22-25, 25-22, 25-15, 20-25, 15-12). Rachel Hockaday (25 digs), Ashley Mass (23 digs) and Debbie Stadick (six blocks) paced the ISU defensive effort that held the Longhorns - which ranked second in Division I in attack percentage - to a season-low .189 mark. Senior outside hitter Destinee Hooker led all players with 27 kills and added 12 digs and two aces for UT, which had won nine in a row against the Cyclones. Iowa State then had its 11-match winning streak ended on Saturday when 10th-ranked Nebraska - which lost to the Cyclones for the first time in 76 all-time meetings last month - posted a three-set win (25-16, 25-22, 25-23) in front of a record crowd of 10,203 fans cramming Hilton Coliseum. Sydney Anderson orchestrated an extremely balanced attack (three players had nine kills and two more posted eight) that finished with a .327 attack percentage against the Big 12's top defensive team.  

Two teams - 18th-ranked Arizona and No. 20 Baylor - prevailed in a matchup of ranked squads and also suffered an upset against an unranked team last week. Paige Weber led the Wildcats to a .317 hitting mark in a 25-20, 25-21, 23-25, 25-17 victory at 14th-ranked Oregon on Friday night. But Oregon State then snapped its six-match losing streak on Saturday with a four-set (30-28, 23-25, 25-16, 25-22) upset of Arizona. Senior outside hitter Rachel Rourke led the Beavers with 31 kills on .373 hitting and 12 digs.

  Baylor got swept at home on Wednesday by Oklahoma by scores of 25-22, 25-20, 25-20. Sophomore Brianne Barker set the Sooners to a .311 hitting mark, while junior middle blocker Francie Ekwerekwu had 18 kills on just 26 attempts for a .654 mark. But the Bears would bounce back on Saturday to notch their first win against a ranked team on the road in more than 10 years - an 18-25, 25-13, 25-27, 25-23, 18-16 triumph over 23rd-ranked Texas A&M. An 18-6 blocking advantage propelled Baylor to victory despite 26 kills and 16 digs from TAMU senior outside hitter Sarah Ammerman. The Aggies also were upset on Wednesday, as Kansas State notched a 25-20, 25-27, 25-22, 21-25, 16-14 home victory that saw junior libero Lauren Mathewson record a school-record 41 digs.

No. 7 UCLA remained hot and battled to a five-set (25-17, 14-25, 25-16, 17-25, 15-12) victory over its biggest rival, 17th-ranked USC, on the road in front of 4,619 fans. Sophomore middle blocker Amanda Gil led the Bruins with 16 kills on .560 hitting and seven blocks. UCLA - winner of six straight - is now just 0.5 games behind Washington for the Pac-10 lead. 

The marquee matchup in the Big Ten went to fifth-ranked Illinois - which won 25-27, 25-22, 25-21, 25-17 over No. 15 Michigan on Friday. The Illini got 21 kills from junior outside hitter Laura DeBruler and 12 blocks from junior middle blocker Johannah Bangert. Illinois will take a 12-match winning streak into Friday's showdown at No. 1 Penn State, winners of 90 in a row.

San Francisco earned a three-set (25-15, 25-23, 25-23) upset of No. 22 San Diego on Saturday, as senior libero Haley Carroll had 16 digs and became the first West Coast Conference player ever to record 2,000 in her career. Junior Sarah Mandala had 15 kills for USF.

MATCHUPS OF TOP-25 TEAMS THIS WEEKEND
All Times Eastern
Friday, November 6
No. 15 Michigan at No. 5 Illinois, 8 p.m. - Live Stats
No. 5 Stanford at No. 4 Washington, 10 p.m. - TV: FSN (delayed) | Free Video | Live Stats
No. 13 California at No. 24 Washington State, 10 p.m. - Live Stats
No. 7 UCLA at No. 17 USC, 10 p.m. - Live Stats
No. 18 Arizona at No. 14 Oregon, 10 p.m. - Live Stats
Saturday, November 7
No. 20 Baylor at No. 23 Texas A&M, 7:30 p.m. - Free Video | Live Stats
No. 10 Nebraska at No. 8 Iowa State, 9 p.m. - Live Stats
No. 13 California at No. 4 Washington, 10 p.m. - Free Video | Live Stats
No. 5 Stanford at No. 24 Washington State, 10 p.m. - Live Stats

TELEVISED MATCHES THIS WEEKEND
All Times Eastern
Friday, November 6
Memphis at East Carolina, 7 p.m. - TV: CBSC (airs Tuesday at 7 p.m.) | Live Stats
Notre Dame at Marquette, 8 p.m. - TV: Time Warner Cable Sports 32 (Milwaukee) | Live Stats
No. 5 Stanford at No. 4 Washington, 10 p.m. - TV: FSN (delayed) | Free Video | Live Stats
Fresno State at No.3 Hawai'i, 1 a.m. - TV: KFVE | Live Stats
Saturday, November 7
No. 15 Michigan at Northwestern, 8 p.m. - TV: Big Ten Network | Live Stats
Montana at Northern Arizona, 9 p.m. - TV: Universityhouse | Live Stats
Sunday, November 8
SMU at UCF, 1 p.m. - TV: Bright House Sports Network | Live Stats
Auburn at No. 9 Florida, 1:30 p.m. - TV: SportSouth & Sun Sports | Live Stats
Purdue at No. 12 Minnesota, 2 p.m. - TV: Big Ten Network | Live Stats
No. 19 LSU at Arkansas, 2 p.m. - TV: CSS | Live Stats
Houston at Tulane, 2 p.m. - TV: CBSC (airs Wednesday at 7 p.m.) | Live Stats
Utah State at No. 3 Hawai'i, 10 p.m. - TV: KFVE | Live Stats

Natalia Valentin and Florida International are 14-0 in Sun Belt Conference play

With only three and a half weeks left before the NCAA Championship field is announced (Sunday, Nov. 29 at 3 p.m. ET on ESPN News), it's time to examine how some of the big conference races are shaping up. First we'll take a quick look at what's happening at the top of the standings in each of the 13 leagues that have at least one team that is ranked or receiving votes in this week's AVCA poll. Below that, we revisit the 19 squads across the country that continue to remain perfect in conference action.

Atlantic 10
Dayton leads the way with an 11-1 league mark, with four matches to go. No. 21 Saint Louis stands one-half game back, at 10-1, with five to play - though the Flyers topped the Billikens in the teams' only meeting of the regular season. The conference tournament - which has been won by one of those two schools for each of the last six years (Dayton in 2003, '04, '05 and '07; Saint Louis in 2006 and '08) - takes place Nov. 20-22 in Dayton, with six teams qualifying. The championship match (Nov. 22, 4 p.m. ET) will be televised live by CBS College Sports Network.

Atlantic Coast
No. 16 Florida State is atop the standings with a 12-1 conference record, with seven matches remaining. The Seminoles have a one-game lead on Duke (11-2), and those two will meet on Friday in Tallahassee. FSU - which has won just one regular-season ACC crown (co-champions with Duke in 1992) - took a five-set decision in Durham last month. Georgia Tech - the only team to have defeated the Seminoles in ACC action - is 10-3 and will play host to FSU on Nov. 14. The ACC does not have a conference tournament.

Big 12
Second-ranked Texas stands a perfect 13-0 in one of the nation's toughest conferences and has a two-game lead over No. 8 Iowa State (11-2) with seven matches to play. The Longhorns and Cyclones will hook up tonight in Ames. UT - seeking its first outright Big 12 title since 1997 after being co-champs in each of the last two years - won in three sets in Austin in September. Iowa State has never finished higher than fourth since the Big 12 was founded in 1996. The Big 12 does not have a conference tournament.

BIG EAST
Notre Dame remains unbeaten in league play with a 10-0 record and four matches left. Cincinnati - which lost in five sets at Notre Dame in October - is right behind at 9-1, with Pittsburgh at 8-2. The Fighting Irish are seeking their first BIG EAST title since 2005, after having claimed at least of a share of the regular-season crown each year from 1999-2005. The BIG EAST Championship takes place Nov. 20-22 in Louisville (the Cardinals are the defending champions), with the top eight teams qualifying. The championship match (Nov. 22, 3 p.m. ET) will be televised by ESPNU.

Big Ten
Top-reanked Penn State has won 57 consecutive Big Ten matches and again stands atop the conference with a 12-0 record and eight matches to play. No. 5 Illinois is two back at 10-2, and the Fighting Illini will head to Happy Valley on Nov. 13. PSU - which is seeking its seventh consecutive outright Big Ten crown - won in three sets at Illinois in September. The Big Ten does not have a conference tournament.

Big West
UC Davis sits atop the conference standings with a 9-2 mark with five matches to play. UC Santa Barbara - which lost in five at UCD in October - is right behind at 9-3, while Long Beach State is in third at 7-3. The Aggies will play at LBSU - which beat UC Davis in three on Oct. 9 - on Saturday and will play host to UCSB on Nov. 13. In just its third season as a member of the Big West, UC Davis went 1-15 in league action in 2007 and 4-12 a year ago. The Big West does not have a conference tournament.

Missouri Valley
No. 25 Northern Iowa leads the way with a 12-0 record in league action and six matches remaining. Missouri State - which lost in four at UNI on Oct. 17 - is in second place with a 10-2 mark. Those teams will hook up again on Nov. 13 in Springfield, Mo. The State Farm MVC Championship takes place from Nov. 26-28 in Omaha. UNI has won eight of the last 11 MVC tournaments - though the Bears knocked off the Panthers in the title match in 2008.

Mountain West
Colorado State is in first place with a 10-1 record and six matches remaining. TCU - the lone squad to defeat the Rams in league play (3-0 on Oct. 22; CSU won 3-0 at home on Sept. 26) - is right behind at 10-2, while Utah is in third at 8-2. CSU will be at Utah on Nov. 12, having swept the Utes at home on Oct. 17. The MWC does not have a conference tournament.

Pacific-10
No. 4 Washington leads the way with a 9-2 league mark and seven matches remaining, while fifth-ranked Stanford and No. 7 UCLA are right behind with 8-3 records. The Huskies will play host to Stanford on Friday and head to UCLA on Nov. 14. The Cardinal dealt UW its first loss of the season in a five-set decision on Oct. 10, while the Huskies won in four against the Bruins on Oct. 16. Stanford has been the conference champion in each of the past three years. The Pac-10 does not have a conference tournament.

Southeastern
No. 11 Kentucky is atop the Eastern Division with a 10-1 mark and seven matches remaining. Right behind is ninth-ranked Florida, at 10-2, and Tennessee is in third at 8-3. The Wildcats will wind up the season with matches against those two, first visiting Gainesville on Nov. 22 and then welcoming the Lady Vols on Nov. 25. UK won in five at home against Florida on Oct. 2 and lost 3-1 to Tennessee on Oct. 21. In the Western Division, No. 19 LSU is 10-2 with six matches remaining and is three clear of second-place Auburn (6-5). The SEC does not have a conference tournament.

Sun Belt
Florida International is 14-0 in conference play, but Middle Tennessee (12-0) is right behind in the East Division. The Panthers won the first matchup between the teams, in four sets at home on Oct. 4. On Saturday, FIU heads to Murfreesboro, Tenn., for the rematch. The West Division is wide open, with New Orleans and Denver currently tied for first at 8-5. Arkansas State is right behind at 9-6, while Arkansas-Little Rock is 8-7 and North Texas is 6-7. The Pioneers play host to the Privateers on Thursday. The Sun Belt Championship takes place from Nov. 19-21 in Bowling Green, Ky.

West Coast
No. 25 Saint Mary's is on top of the standings with an 8-1 conference mark, with five to play. Right behind is 22nd-ranked San Diego, which is 7-2 and beat the Gaels in four sets on Oct. 17. SMC plays host to the Toreros on Nov. 14. USD has claimed at least a share of the WCC title in each of the last three seasons, while Saint Mary's has not won a conference crown since joining the WCC in 1987. The WCC does not have a conference tournament.

Western Athletic
No. 3 Hawai'i - which has won at least a share of the WAC regular-season title in all 13 years of league membership - is on pace to extend that streak, with an 11-0 record in league action with five to play. New Mexico State is in second with a 9-3 mark, while Idaho is 8-3. The Rainbow Wahine will play at Idaho on Nov. 14 after sweeping the Vandals at home in September. The six-team WAC Championship will be Nov. 23-25 in Las Vegas. The championship match (Nov. 25, 6:30 p.m. MT) will be televised by ESPNU.

---

Teams Undefeated in Conference Play

Conference	School	Conf. Record	This Week
America East	Albany	7-0	Friday at UMBC Sunday at Stony Brook
Atlantic Sun	Lipscomb	17-0	Saturday at USC Upstate
Big 12	Texas	13-0	Wednesday at Iowa State Saturday at Missouri
BIG EAST	Notre Dame	10-0	Friday at Marquette Sunday at Syracuse
Big Ten	Penn State	12-0	Friday at Wisconsin Saturday at Iowa
Ivy	Penn	9-0	Friday at Columbia Saturday at Cornell
MEAC	Florida A&M	5-0	Thursday vs. Bethune-Cookman Saturday at Bethune-Cookman
MEAC	Maryland Eastern Shore	8-0	Friday vs. Coppin State Sunday vs. Howard
Missouri Valley	Northern Iowa	12-0	Friday vs. Illinois State Saturday vs. Indiana State
Northeast	Long Island	12-0	Saturday at Saint Francis (Pa.) Sunday at Robert Morris
Ohio Valley	Jacksonville State	14-0	Friday vs. Austin Peay Saturday vs. Tennessee State
Patriot	Army	10-0	Friday at Navy Saturday at American
Southern	Furman	12-0	Friday at UNC Greensboro Saturday vs. Belmont
Southland	Central Arkansas	12-0	Thursday vs. McNeese State Saturday vs. Stephen F. Austin
SWAC	Grambling State	7-0	Wednesday at Mississippi Valley
SWAC	Alabama A&M	6-0	Thursday vs. Alabama State
Summit	North Dakota State	15-0	Saturday vs. South Dakota State
Sun Belt	Florida International	14-0	Friday at Western Kentucky Sunday at Middle Tennessee
WAC	Hawai'i	11-0	Friday vs. Fresno State Sunday vs. Utah State

---

TODAY'S SCOREBOARD WATCH
Top 25 and Television Schedule
Purdue at Indiana, 7 p.m. - TV: Big Ten Network | Live Stats
No. 2 Texas at No. 8 Iowa State, 7:30 p.m. - Live Stats
Missouri at No. 10 Nebraska, 8 p.m. - TV: NET | Free Video | Live Stats
Oklahoma at No. 20 Baylor, 8 p.m. - Live Stats
No. 23 Texas A&M at Kansas State, 8 p.m. - TV: FSN | Live Stats
Kansas at Colorado, 9 p.m. - TV: FSN | Live Stats