It’s been a little over a month, but I’m back from parental leave, which means our weekly college volleyball power rankings are also back.
NCAA volleyball Power Rankings: Nebraska, ACC top ESPN’s bracketology
The undefeated Cornhuskers and Longhorns top ESPN’s volleyball bracketology, but the ACC looks like a winner too.
Sam Upshaw Jr./Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Mitchell Northam is a Senior Writer for SB Nation, covering women’s college sports at Breakaway.
This week, ESPN unveiled its first volleyball bracketology of the season, authored by the great Charlie Creme who also puts together their bracket projections for women’s college basketball.
Creme’s projections have Nebraska as the overall No. 1 seed, and the Cornhuskers are joined on the one-line by Texas, Pitt and Louisville. Nebraska remains undefeated with a perfect 16-0 record and are coming off a 3-0 sweep of No. 12 Purdue. The Cornhuskers haven’t lost a set since Sept. 16 — a 3-2 win over Creighton — and are deservedly projected as the top seed.
But Texas, Pitt and Louisville all look like real contenders too. The Longhorns are also unbeaten at 14-0 and have dodged a few upset bids, most recently from No. 17 Tennessee last week.
After opening the season with two losses, Pitt has won 13 of its last 14 games and owns impressive wins over Kentucky, SMU, Penn State, TCU and Arizona State. The Panthers’ 2-3 loss at Miami was a surprise, but it’s one they could afford with so many other ranked wins on their schedule. Elsewhere in the ACC, Louisville is 14-2 and has won seven in a row.
Despite Creme projecting the Big Ten and Big 12 to get the most teams into the field of 64 with 11 apiece, the ACC looks like a real winner in his bracketology. Four of his top eight projected seeds are from the ACC, with SMU and Stanford currently on the two-line. Miami is projected to get a No. 3 seed, while North Carolina is saddled with a No. 8 slot. A seventh ACC team, Georgia Tech, currently finds itself on the tournament bubble.
Creme’s projections, and our power rankings, could get shaken up after some crucial games take place this weekend.
Here’s our updated Power Rankings:
Just missed: Texas A&M, Purdue, Miami, Creighton, Indiana
10. Wisconsin
9. TCU
8. Arizona State
7. SMU
6. Stanford
5. Louisville
4. Pitt
3. Kentucky
2. Texas
1. Nebraska
And here’s the games you need to watch:
- Arizona State at BYU: Thursday, 7 p.m. ET — ESPN+
- UCLA at Wisconsin: Friday, 8 p.m. ET — Big Ten Network
- Pitt at Louisville: Sunday, 1 p.m. ET — ESPN
- Kentucky at Florida: Sunday, 3 p.m. ET — ESPN
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