We have two newcomers in this week's latest college volleyball Power 10 rankings. UCLA and Nebraska enter this week's Power 10 after they picked up big ranked wins over the weekend.
Here is the latest Power 10 after Week 7 of college volleyball:
1. Texas (1)
The Longhorns stay at No. 1 this week, the same spot they have held this entire season. Guess what, they still have yet to slip up or lose a game. They went down two sets to Kansas over the weekend then pulled off the reverse sweep to remain perfect on the season. Skylar Fields posted 26 kills on .417 hitting for the match followed by Logan Eggleston with 18. They made their case even further with a sweep over Kansas the following night.
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2. Louisville (2)
Louisville also remains at No. 2 this week as they stand alone with Texas as the two remaining undefeated teams in college volleyball. Such an impressive feat for two teams playing strong schedules. The Cards just pulled off its seventh consecutive sweep over the weekend with three-set wins over Boston College and Syracuse. In the win over Boston College, the scores weren't even close — they cruised past them.
3. Pittsburgh (3)
The Panthers just lost their first match of the season to Georgia Tech in five sets. Normally, that warrants a drop in the rankings, but they still have the third or fourth best resume in the nation. If it were up to me, Pitt and Wisconsin would be tied. They both have a loss and some really good wins, but I think the five-set loss to Georgia Tech is a better loss than Wisconsin's to an unranked team. This Pitt team is 9-0 on road/neutral. They beat Tennessee at home, beat Baylor on a neutral court and beat Washington State on a neutral court. That is exactly why they had the No. 1 RPI ranking last week. So, I give them the edge here.
Chinaza Ndee put up 17 kills for Pitt on .406 hitting and Kayla Lund had 16 kills on .333 hitting. But, Julia Bergmann led the Yellow Jackets with 24 kills. What is even more exciting is the upcoming matchups between Pitt and Louisville. Just two more weeks until that ACC battle is decided.
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4. Wisconsin (4)
Wisconsin will stay put at No. 4 this week, for further reasoning, see the above point. I feel as if they should be tied with Pittsburgh, as a one-loss team that made it to the semifinals the past two years, but I gave Pitt the edge due to their resume this season.
Wisconsin's most recent sweep over Minnesota was impressive, and they just concluded the weekend with a four-set win over Illinois.
5. Purdue (5)
Purdue stays put at No. 5 this week. After they notched their second loss of the season to Illinois, they avenged that loss this weekend with a five-set win over the Illini. Grace Cleveland led with 17 kills and six blocks followed by Caitlin Newton who chipped in 12. Hayley Bush posted 45 assists on the match, and it was Bush that got the match point.
6. Kentucky (7)
Kentucky remains in the 6-8 range for me. The reigning champs had three players in double-digit kills in their weekend sweep over Alabama. The Wildcats have now won five straight. I don't see any big reasons to move them up or down by too many spots.
7. Nebraska (NR)
Lauren Stivrins is back and so are the Huskers in my Power 10 rankings. Nebraska has won six straight now, including a big Big Ten win over Penn State last Friday. Stivrins wasn't the sole reason for the win though, Madi Kubik, Ally Batenhorst and Lindsay Krause all had phenomenal matches and this team looks like it finally found its go-to lineup and its groove for the rest of the season. The freshmen look to be gelling nicely with the rest of the team, and with Stivrins back on the court there looks to be some more leadership out there. If you wanted the match against Penn State, you could not argue that this is not a top-10 team. Penn State played great and they have shown just how talented they are this season, but the Huskers were able to take them down on the ROAD. That is a difficult thing to do at a place like Penn State's Rec Hall. The win was impressive, the Huskers are now undefeated in the Big Ten and they are looking good for the rest of the season.
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8. BYU (6)
This drop may feel unwarranted for BYU, and it might feel wrong for a 16-1 team. But with all of these teams playing such tough competition and getting wins, I have a hard time putting BYU above them when they aren't playing the same caliber of teams. I still think this is a great team and absolutely will finish the season ranked and seeded, but I give kudos to the teams that have more ranked wins.
The Cougars, though, have swept the last nine opponents. That is impressive no matter who you are playing.
9. UCLA (NR)
Hello, UCLA! Welcome to the Power 10. The Bruins make a grand entrance this week after a statement win over Utah on Sunday. Not only that, but they swept them. UCLA is now 12-2 on the season with multiple ranked wins, and they absolutely deserve to be ranked in my book. In the win over Utah, freshman outside hitter Charitie Luper posted a career-high 20 kills at a .400 clip to go with seven digs and two solo blocks. Mac May was behind her with 12 kills on the match. This team is a force to be reckoned with in the Pac-12.
10. Penn State (9)
This one was hard. I was completely torn between Penn State and Ohio State, and I honestly don't think there is a right or wrong answer to this. Penn State has the head-to-head victory over the Buckeyes, but they now have four losses on the season. Ohio State only has two losses, but they have a slightly weaker schedule and not as good of wins compared to Penn State. I have been harping on ranked wins all season, so I am going to give the Nittany Lions the slight edge. They lost to Nebraska this week, but if you watched the match, they still looked really impressive. They have a win over Ohio State and are second in the Big Ten currently, so they stay in my Power 10, for now.
