WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
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Big Ten CommunicationsPublished: 9/18/2024, Last updated: 9/19/2024
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Big Ten Weekly Volleyball Central Sept. 18-22

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AVCA Top 25 Poll | Big Ten Weekly Release

  • Seven of the Big Ten’s 18 teams are mentioned in this week’s AVCA Coaches Poll, announced on Monday. The poll includes No. 3 Penn State, No. 5 Nebraska, No. 6 Purdue, No. 7 Wisconsin, No. 12 Oregon, No. 17 Minnesota and No. 21 USC. UCLA and Washington received votes in this week’s poll. 
  • It’s the final week of non-conference play and four Big Ten teams remain unbeaten (Michigan, Penn State, Purdue and Washington). Of the 14 remaining undefeated teams, four of them are from the Big Ten, the most of any Division I conference. 
  • With its win over Wichita State on Saturday, Nebraska has now won 30 home matches in a row dating back to Nov. 26, 2022. It’s the longest active home win streak in Division I women’s volleyball.
  • Penn State leads the Big Ten and is second in the nation in hitting percentage (.334). Taylor Trammell leads the Nittany Lions in this category, hitting .523 so far this season with 52 kills and six errors on 88 attempts. 
  • Washington is 8-0 for the first time since 2016. The Huskies have received votes for four straight weeks in the AVCA top 25 poll and are the second team out of the top 25. Washington closes its non-conference slate at Long Beach State and vs. Pepperdine this week.
  • Wisconsin outside hitter Sarah Franklin set a new program record for most kills in a single match with 33 kills in a 3-1 win vs. Marquette on Tuesday at the Kohl Center.  The record was previously held by Dana Rettke from 2018. Franklin hit .517 (33-2-60) on the night and surpassed 1,500 kills with her fifth kill of the evening. Franklin’s 33 kills were the most in any Big Ten match this season. 
  • As of Monday, Sept. 16, Penn State is just one of four teams in the country with at least three wins over ranked opponents this season. The Nittany Lions have topped then-No. 15 Tennessee, No. 4 Louisville and then-No. 9 Kentucky and will have a chance to take down the No. 1-ranked Pittsburgh Panthers on Wednesday night on ACCN. 
  • Nebraska is the other Big Ten team with three ranked wins so far in 2024 (then-No. 9 Kentucky, No. 9 Creighton and No. 14 Arizona State). Nebraska will play a pair of top-10 matchups this week, starting with No. 2 Stanford on Wednesday on Big Ten Network at 8 p.m. ET. The Huskers will return to the KFC Yum! Center on Sunday to take on No. 4 Louisville at 12:30 p.m. ET on ABC. 
  • Additional TV and ranked matchups this week include a pair of  top 10 matches for Purdue at the Kansas Invitational (vs. #10 Kansas on Thursday and vs. #9 Creighton on Friday). Wisconsin hosts Texas A&M on Sunday on Big Ten Network at 8 p.m. ET. 
  • In a Friday night showdown, Nebraska took down #14 Arizona State in straight sets, which averaged 141,000 viewers on BTN. 
  • The AVCA announced on Wednesday the creation of a Watch List for its 2024 Division I Player of the Year Award, presented by Nike Volleyball. The inaugural list, which will be announced Wednesday-Friday includes 36 players. The Watch List will be narrowed down in November with the 2024 AVCA Player of the Year announced on Friday, Dec. 20 in Louisville, Ky., during the AVCA Convention. The Big Ten has had nine National Players of the Year, including the 2023 recipient Sarah Franklin.