Big Ten Weekly Volleyball Central - Nov. 6-12

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BIG TEN WEEKLY RELEASE - NOV. 6

For the second-straight week the Big Ten has four teams among the ACVA top-25 and one team receiving votes in the Week 11 poll.
29 of the 47 highest-attended women’s volleyball matches this year have featured at least one Big Ten opponent.
Wisconsin Head Coach Kelly Sheffield (284-58 Wisconsin record, 170-36 Big Ten record) tied Pete Waite for the most conference wins at Wisconsin with a 3-0 win over Illinois on Saturday. In the win, the Badgers set a school record with 17 blocks in a three-set match.
At 23-0 overall and 14-0 in conference play, Nebraska is the only Division I team to remain perfect through week 11. With the 2-0 week, the Huskers have matched the 2006 team’s record who began the year 23-0. Nebraska eyes the opportunity to equal the 2005 Husker team that started the year 28-0. Ranked No. 1 in the AVCA Coaches Poll for the third-straight week, Nebraska has been ranked No. 1 in 105 all-time polls, the most in NCAA history.
Nebraska’s Bergen Reilly earned Big Ten weekly honors for the second week in a row and senior outside hitter Merritt Beason was named the Big Ten Player of the Week for the fifth time this season after tallying a career-high 27 kills vs. Penn State and tying the program record for most kills in a three-set match (21 vs. Rutgers). Beason was also named NCAA Volleyball’s Big Time Performer in the 3-0 sweep over Rutgers.
Purdue earned a series-sweep of Penn State for the first time since 1982 and the first time in the Dave Shondell era. Purdue improved to 5-3 vs. top-25 opponents and 9-3 versus teams either receiving votes or ranked in the AVCA weekly poll. The Boilermakers moved up three spots in this week’s AVCA poll to No. 16.
Penn State’s Zoe Weatherington reached 1,000 career kills with her first kill vs. Nebraska on Friday night at Rec Hall. Weatherington became the third Penn State player this season to reach the milestone, with Jess Mruzik and Camryn Hannah recording 1,000 career kills in September.
Following this week’s slate of matches, Penn State will have played three of its last four vs. top-25 opponents. The Nittany Lions host #2 Wisconsin on Saturday at Rec Hall for their second-straight Saturday night matchup vs. a ranked opponent. Last weekend’s five-set thrill vs. #1 Nebraska was in front of a sell out crowd at Rec Hall. The Nittany Lions are 9-2 at home this season and 26-3 vs. Wisconsin inside Rec Hall. Penn State will have to host Michigan on Friday before welcoming the Badgers, with the Nittany Lions owning a 29-2 all-time record at home vs. the Wolverines.
Minnesota’s Melani Shaffmaster tallied her Big Ten-leading 14th and 15th double-double of the season last week, recording 31 assists and 10 digs in the Gophers’ win over Ohio State before dishing out 43 assists and 12 digs in a 3-1 win at Northwestern.
Michigan State earned a pair of 3-0 sweeps over Maryland and Iowa this weekend extending its win streak to three and jumping to fifth in the Big Ten standings with an 8-6 conference record. With the 2-0 week, the Spartans improved to 16-9 overall, securing an over .500 overall record for the first time since 2018. Michigan State’s three-match win streak is the team’s longest since 2017 and they’ll look to extend the streak at Ohio State on Wednesday and at #16 Purdue on Sunday. Three of the Spartans’ final six matches are against AVCA ranked opponents, with a home-away series with Purdue and a visit to State College, Pa., for a battle with the Nittany Lions on Nov. 17. Ohio State’s Emily Londot continued to lead the Buckeyes in a 1-1 split this weekend to RV Minnesota (loss) and Indiana (win). Londot’s conference-leading 4.86 kills/set ranks fifth across NCAA Division I. Londot and the Buckeyes will close the regular season with three road and three home matches, highlighted by a road test at RV Minnesota and a home match with #19 Penn State. Ohio State looks to even the season series against the Gophers and Nittany Lions.