(BIG TEN) – Eight Big Ten volleyball programs were among this week’s AVCA/TARAFLEX Top 25: #1 Nebraska, #6 Wisconsin, #12 Penn State, #13 Minnesota, #14 Purdue, #16 USC, #21 Indiana and #24 Oregon. Michigan and UCLA received votes in the poll.
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The Big Ten won the inaugural Allstate Big Ten/SEC Volleyball Challenge Week, compiling a 16-13 record against SEC foes. No. 14 Purdue swept No. 12 Texas A&M, No. 5 Wisconsin rallied past No. 17 Florida in five sets, Michigan State swept both LSU and South Carolina, while No. 21 Indiana beat Georgia and the nationally ranked Aggies. Washington clinched the Challenge title for the conference with a four-set win against Oklahoma at the Sooners’ McCasland Field House.
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Iowa swept Iowa State on Tuesday for its first win in Ames since 1994. It was the Hawkeyes’ first win over the Cyclones since 2021.
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Michigan State earned its fifth-straight sweep and sixth-consecutive victory on Tuesday with a 3-0 win over Western Michigan. The Spartans have won 17-straight sets, their highest total since winning 23-straight sets during the 2018 season.
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Oregon’s Marina Crownover became the program’s first Big Ten Setter of the Week, leading Oregon to a 3-0 week to improve to 5-0 on the season.
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Michigan’s Ella Demetrician was named the Valpo Popcorn Classic MVP after recording double-doubles in both matches. She posted 13 kills, 16 digs and five blocks against Cincinnati before registering a career-high 21 kills with 16 digs and five blocks against Valparaiso.
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Minnesota’s Mckenna Wucherer earned her first career Big Ten Weekly Honor, being named Big Ten Player of the Week after she combined for 42 kills, averaging 5.25 kills per set and hit .350 in Minnesota’s pair of matches against Auburn (W, 3-1) and #17 Florida (L, 1-3).
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Nebraska at DePaul drew 8,786 fans to Wintrust Arena on Friday night, setting the single-match indoor attendance record in the state of Illinois for a women’s college volleyball match. Two days later, 43,067 fans filled Wrigley Field for Penn State vs. Kentucky and Nebraska vs. Missouri, becoming the second-largest attended volleyball event in Big Ten history.
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Purdue will play in the first of its kind destination tournament in Nassau, Bahamas, for the Paradise Invitational, Sept. 11-13. The Boilermakers are set to make history as part of the first internationally played NCAA volleyball match, and the first collegiate volleyball match ever played in the Bahamas.
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Wisconsin plays two more opponents in the Top 25 this week, visiting No. 19 Texas A&M and No. 9 Texas. Five of the Badgers’ six opponents so far this season have been among the Top 25, four of which were among the Top 10.
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The Big Ten Conference will usher in a new era of collegiate volleyball this fall with the launch of its inaugural tournament November 20-25, 2026, at Fishers Event Center in Fishers, Ind. The top 15 teams in the regular-season standings will qualify for the tournament, bringing the nation’s premier volleyball programs together in one venue for the first time. Three matches will be played in the opening round of the tournament, followed by four second-round matches. The competition will then progress through the quarterfinals and semifinals, culminating with the championship match slated for November 25 on FOX. One off day will be built into the tournament schedule. The Big Ten regular-season schedule will decrease from 20 to 17 matches, in a single, round-robin format to account for the tournament.
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