Big Ten Weekly Volleyball Central Sept. 10-16

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Big Ten Statistics | NCAA Statistics | Big Ten Record Book | Big Ten Weekly Release - Sept. 10

• Seven Big Ten volleyball programs were among this week’s AVCA/TARAFLEX Top 25, announced on Monday: #1 Nebraska, #6 Wisconsin, #12 Penn State, #13 Minnesota, #14 Purdue, #16 USC and #24 UCLA. Oregon and Indiana received votes. 
• Seven Big Ten programs remain undefeated through the first two weeks of play. The Big Ten leads all Division I conferences with seven, followed by the ACC (6), Big 12 (5), SEC (2) and Big East (2). Thirty-three teams boast an unblemished record. 
• Indiana head coach Steve Aird became the fourth coach in program history to record 100 wins. Aird and the Hoosiers are 5-0 for the first time in his tenure and the first time since 2017. The Hoosiers have won 15-straight sets after dropping the first two games of the season. It’s the longest streak by the program since winning 18 consecutive sets during the 2010 campaign.
• Iowa is off to its best start (6-0) since 2009. A win over SEMO on Thursday will mark the best start in school history. Through two weekends, setter Claire Ammeraal has been the tournament MVP at the Rebel Challenge and Kwik Star Klassic. Ammeraal has a triple-double, two double-doubles, leads the team in assists (174) and has 56 digs, 36 kills and 13 blocks.
• Maryland’s Duru Gökçen was named UMBC Tournament MVP, totaling 20 kills and 21 blocks across the Terps’ 3-0 weekend. 
• Penn State’s match on Sept. 1 vs. TCU totaled 731,000 viewers on FOX. The Nittany Lions hosted Kentucky on Friday for a top 5 matchup that amassed 554,000 viewers, also on FOX. 
• Purdue’s Ryan McAleer tallied 30 digs in a 3-2 victory over No. 15 Kansas. It was the most digs by a Boilermaker since 2021, and she became the 12th Boilermaker to tally 30 digs in a single match. 
• USC won the 2025 Trojan Invitational to move to 5-0 to start the season for the first time under head coach Brad Keller, and the Women of Troy are off to their best start since 2015. The Trojans beat No. 13 Creighton (3-0), UC Santa Barbara (3-2) and San Diego (3-2), and Abigail Mullen was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, while teammates Reese Messer and London Wijay were named to the All-Tournament Team. 
• Six Big Ten teams are among the top 25 nationally in hitting percentage. Indiana is third nationally with a .347 hitting percentage, followed by Minnesota (8th - .320), Michigan (9th - .319), Rutgers (12th - .307), Nebraska (15th - .302) and Wisconsin (21st - .296). 
• Michigan State leads the nation in opponent hitting percentage, holding opponents to just a .076 hitting percentage through five matches. The Spartans and first-year head coach Kristen Kelsay are enjoying a 5-0 start to the 2025 season for the first time since 2022. 
• The We Give Blood drive turns school pride into life-saving purpose. Powered by Abbott and the Big Ten, this is the largest blood donation competition of our time - tackling the national blood shortage. Students, fans, alumni and communities across the country are backing their favorite Big Ten schools by donating blood. Every donation can help save up to three lives - and bring your school one step closer to winning $1 million to advance student or community health. You can find any blood center or mobile drive in the U.S. to donate blood between August 27 and December 5 and upload proof of donation at BigTen.Org/Abbott or text DONATE to Abbott (222688) and follow the prompts. Messaging and data rates may apply.