The week 10 polls are in, and after falling to No. 2 last week, the Badgers remain in the same slot this week in the AVCA Polls. Badgers volleyball, while getting respect in the polling, lost most of their first-place votes to Nebraska after losing in a close match. With the matchup being that close, it’s hard to believe that 63 out of 64 first-place votes now lie with Nebraska as the season continues on.
Believe. pic.twitter.com/zFL6FouUFK
— Wisconsin Volleyball (@BadgerVB) October 30, 2023
The Wisconsin Badgers battled back this week and returned to their winning ways after gaining two wins via the sweep, which they’ve done so well this season. Sarah Franklin led the way for Badgers volleyball and their onslaught on Michigan State and Minnesota.
Movement Around Badgers Volleyball
While Nebraska and Badgers volleyball found their homes in the first and second spots, the rest of the field was pretty chaotic, with plenty of upsets this past week causing jostling behind the two frontrunners.
The top two spots belong to @HuskerVB and @BadgerVB in the latest AVCA/TARAFLEX Division I Women’s Volleyball Poll, but the rest of the top 5 shifted.
See the full poll at https://t.co/IlOc3gkpWb.#WeAreAVCA pic.twitter.com/PKN5LWl78Z— AVCA (@AVCAVolleyball) October 30, 2023
Louisville, Texas, and Stanford all swapped places, with Louisville and Texas moving up to No. 3 and 4 and Stanford dropping to No. 5. This was after Stanford fell to newly minted No. 15 Arizona State. Louisville is doing its best to keep pace with Nebraska and Wisconsin, as they’re 20-2 this season and earned their No. 3 ranking with wins over Miami and Florida State this week.
Arizona State saw the largest rank bump, going from No. 21 all the way up to No. 15. This ranking is largely due to their record of 21-3 being close to the likes of the top 5 and defeating No. 5 Stanford by way of the sweep.
There’s trouble brewing for BYU as they dropped from No. 8 and right out of the top 10 down to No. 12. They dropped two matches to unranked Kansas State by way of the sweep both matches. Penn State and Purdue each fell three spaces to No. 16 and No. 19, respectively, in the rankings.
Penn State took down Michigan but lost to Michigan State, both unranked opponents. Similarly, Purdue dispatched Minnesota but took the upset loss to Illinois in their following match, causing other teams to move up the rankings around them.
Marquette rejoined the top 25 with their recent play. After being ranked No. 19 in the first week of the season, Marquette dropped six of eight matches, most of which were against ranked opponents, including a loss to Badgers volleyball. Since then, they’ve rattled off 12 straight wins, including a win over Creighton, who are now ranked No. 20.