Skip to main content

NCAA volleyball Power Rankings: Nebraska, Texas lead mid-season top 16 reveal

Nebraska and Texas are at the top of the NCAA’s mid-season top 16 reveal and this week’s power rankings for volleyball.

Nebraska v Purdue
Nebraska v Purdue
Getty Images
Mitchell Northam
Mitchell Northam is a Senior Writer for SB Nation, covering women’s college sports at Breakaway.

Contenders for the national championship came into clearer focus this week when the Division I volleyball committee unveiled its top 16 seed projections for the NCAA Tournament.

To the surprise of no one paying attention, Nebraska and Texas lead the way with the top two spots. The Cornhuskers are still undefeated with an 18-0 record heading into a two-game home-stand this weekend against Northwestern and Michigan State. The Longhorns are also unbeaten at 16-0, and have road games at Ole Miss and LSU coming up.

Joining Nebraska and Texas on the projected one-line are Pitt and Kentucky. The Panthers are 15-3 in the top-heavy ACC and mostly recently took down then-ranked No. 4 Louisville. The Wildcats are 14-2, have won 11 in a row, and notched their last win over Florida.

Lurking on the two-line are SMU, Louisville, Arizona State and Purdue. The Mustangs have won six in a row, including victories over the Cardinals and a ranked Miami team.

There’s a lot of volleyball to be played between now and the NCAA Tournament selection show, set for Nov. 30.

Here’s our updated Power Rankings:

Just missed: Wisconsin, TCU, Texas A&M, Indiana, Kansas

10. Creighton

9. Purdue

8. Stanford

7. Louisville

6. Arizona State

5. SMU

4. Kentucky

3. Pitt

2. Texas

1. Nebraska

And here’s the games you need to watch:

  • Texas at Ole Miss: Friday, 8 p.m. ET — SEC Network
  • Arizona State at Arizona: Saturday, 8 p.m. ET — ESPN+
  • Minnesota at Purdue: Sunday, 1 p.m. ET — Big Ten Network+
  • Louisville at North Carolina: Sunday, 3 p.m. ET — ESPN
College Volleyball
13 best NCAA volleyball players in the transfer portal, so far13 best NCAA volleyball players in the transfer portal, so far
College Volleyball

More than 700 players have entered the transfer portal for NCAA volleyball. Among them is Penn State’s Izzy Starck.

By Mitchell Northam
College Volleyball
NCAA women’s volleyball bracket takeaways: Nebraska is the top seedNCAA women’s volleyball bracket takeaways: Nebraska is the top seed
College Volleyball

Nebraska is the No. 1 overall seed in the 2025 NCAA volleyball tournament. The bracket for the 64-team field is set.

By Mitchell Northam
College Volleyball
NCAA volleyball Power Rankings: Pitt continues to impress in tough ACC playNCAA volleyball Power Rankings: Pitt continues to impress in tough ACC play
College Volleyball

Powered by Player of the Year candidate Olivia Babcock, Pitt volleyball keeps winning against tough ACC competition.

By Mitchell Northam
College Volleyball
$327K in gambling bets gets NCAA volleyball coach two-year show-cause$327K in gambling bets gets NCAA volleyball coach two-year show-cause
College Volleyball

Former Indiana assistant coach Brett Agne placed more than 700 bets over a five-month period, according to the NCAA.

By Mitchell Northam
Women's College Basketball
Q&A: ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips on growing women’s sportsQ&A: ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips on growing women’s sports
Women's College Basketball

The ACC has discussed adding women’s basketball viewership to its revenue distribution model.

By Mitchell Northam
College Volleyball
NCAA volleyball Power Rankings: Nebraska, ACC top ESPN’s bracketologyNCAA volleyball Power Rankings: Nebraska, ACC top ESPN’s bracketology
College Volleyball

The undefeated Cornhuskers and Longhorns top ESPN’s volleyball bracketology, but the ACC looks like a winner too.

By Mitchell Northam

Comments
Loading comments
Getting the conversation ready...