2017 Week 3: AVCA Poll Notes and Preview

Most of this first part will look very familiar, but its not my fault we play Stanford again!

The Rivalry Redux
With its win over previous #1 Stanford, Penn State moved up two spots to #3 and garnered 12 first-place votes, one of five schools to garner at least one. Who thinks the Nittany Lions are tops? Ray Bechard (Kansas), Sean Burdette (Green Bay), Gilad Doron (Dartmouth), Ray Gooden (Northern Illinois), Tim Horsmon (Dayton), Steve Loeswick (North Florida), Joy McKienzie-Fuerbringer (Long Beach…wow, that must really annoy Brian G!), Ken Murphy (Northern Arizona), Jeff Nelson (New Mexico), Bobbi Peterson (Northern Iowa), Toby Rens (Maryland Eastern Shore) and Jennifer Weiss (Harvard…hmmm, that’s the second Ivy League opinion…they’re really smart, right?!). Ohio State’s Geoff Carlston, meanwhile, was the only coach to still have Stanford at #1. Russ Rose has his team at #5.

But there’s no time to catch their breath, as Penn State will face off against the Card once again this weekend. This will be the second time the two schools have met twice during the regular season, with Penn State winning both contests in 1997 (the third time, however, was not a charm…we didn’t like the ending to that season).

Both schools will have tough challenges the night before: Penn State against 6-0 Colorado (who beat it 3-2 in Boulder last year) and Stanford against 6-0 host Illinois, who swept #24 Western Kentucky and sits third out of the poll in the “receiving votes” category. The Fighting Illini have never beaten Stanford, and will have the crowd on its side as it looks for its first win in seven tries (and against their former coach Kevin Hambly…awkward!).

The History
As Penn State and Stanford prepare for their 21st meeting, here’s a revised look at the series history between the sport’s two premier programs. Penn State holds an 11-9 edge:

• Dec. 10, 1992 (Champaign, Ill.; NCAA Regional Semis): #2 Stanford defeats #9 Penn State 15-13, 15-6, 15-13
• Aug. 23, 1997 (Palo Alto): #2 Penn State defeats #1 Stanford 15-8, 15-13, 15-9
• Sept. 6, 1997 (Storrs, Conn.): #1 Penn State defeats #3 Stanford 14-16, 15-6, 15-12, 15-7
• Dec. 20, 1997 (Spokane, Wash.; NCAA Championship): #3 Stanford defeats #2 Penn State 15-10, 15-6, 2-15, 15-17, 15-9
• Dec. 18, 1999 (Honolulu, NCAA Championship): #1 Penn State defeats #2 Stanford 15-2, 15-10, 15-7
• Sept. 4, 2001 (State College): #9 Stanford defeats #4 Penn State 28-30, 30-26, 30-16, 30-23
  
• Sept. 10, 2004 (Palo Alto): #7 Penn State defeats #12 Stanford 31-29, 23-30, 30-25, 26-30, 15-12
• Aug. 26, 2005 (Omaha): #3 Stanford defeats #5 Penn State 30-24, 30-24, 28-30, 23-30, 15-10
• Sept. 15, 2007 (New Haven, Conn.): #2 Stanford defeats #3 Penn State 30-23, 23-30, 27-30, 30-28, 15-9
• Dec. 15, 2007 (Sacramento; NCAA Championship): #1 Penn State defeats #4 Stanford 30-25, 30-26, 23-30, 19-30, 15-8
• Dec. 20, 2008 (Omaha; NCAA Championship): #1 Penn State defeats #2 Stanford 25-20, 26-24, 25-23
• Sept. 11, 2010 (Gainesville, Fla.): #2 Stanford defeats #1 Penn State 28-26, 25-12, 25-18
• Sept. 9, 2011 (Palo Alto): #3 Stanford defeats #2 Penn State 23-25, 25-19, 27-25, 25-18
• Aug. 31, 2012 (State College): #4 Penn State defeats #9 Stanford 25-13, 25-27, 25-23, 23-25, 15-13
• Dec. 14, 2013 (Lexington, Ky.; NCAA Regional Final): #2 Penn State defeats #3 Stanford 22-25, 25-22, 28-26, 18-25, 15-11
• Sept. 5, 2014 (Palo Alto): #2 Stanford defeats #1 Penn State 18-25, 25-23, 25-22, 16-25, 15-10
• Dec. 19, 2014 (Oklahoma City; NCAA Final Four): #4 Penn State defeats #1 Stanford 25-16, 23-25, 25-22, 25-21
• Sept. 5, 2015 (State College): #1 Penn State defeats #2 Stanford 25-21, 25-22, 25-18
• Sept. 4, 2016 (Boulder, Colo.): #9 Stanford defeats #13 Penn State 26-24, 25-18, 25-22
• Sept. 1, 2017 (College Station, Texas): #5 Penn State defeats #1 Stanford 26-24, 25-17, 18-25, 25-19
• Sept. 9, 2017 (Champaign, Illinois): #3 Penn State vs. #4 Stanford
  

Penn State and Stanford: By the Numbers

     209 NCAA tournament match wins between the two programs*
     157 times one of these programs has been ranked #1**
      16 times the teams have both been ranked in the Top 5 when meeting (including both this year)
      14 national titles between the two programs
      14 times the teams have met on neutral ground
       7 times a team swept (4-3 Penn State)
       6 times the teams have met as No. 1 and No. 2
       4 meetings in Palo Alto
       3 meetings in State College
       2 streaks broken in the series***
       2 times in their entire series history that a team was not in the Top 10 when they played each other (2004, #12 Stanford; 2016, #13 Penn State)

Notes:
*Penn State has 94 tournament game wins, while Stanford has 115…including a consolation match win over Pacific in 1983 for 3rd place.
**Penn State has been ranked #1 a total of 88 times in the poll, Stanford 69 times. Only Nebraska (98 times) has more.
***In the season-opening match of 1997, Penn State broke Stanford’s 50-match home win streak at Maples; in their 2010 meeting, Stanford broke Penn State’s 109-match win streak (a streak that started the match after Penn State’s regular-season loss to Stanford in 2007).

Stanford’s Top Competition
Not many programs can claim they have a winning record over the Cardinal—in fact, there are only four. Here are the only five programs that Stanford does not hold a winning record over:

• St. Louis (0-1) .000
• Michigan (2-3) .400
• Hawaii (13-19) .406
• Penn State (9-11) .450
• Nebraska (6-6) .500

Poll Notes

Minnesota’s Turn: Three polls, three different #1s. Can Minnesota last more than a week? From the Gopher SID: “The last time the Gophers were ranked No. 1 was just last season in the 2016 weekly polls. Minnesota entered the 2016 NCAA tournament as the No. 1 ranked team and was also ranked No. 1 during the Oct. 3, 2016 poll. Prior to last year's No. 1 rankings, Minnesota was last ranked No. 1 in 2004.” The Gophers have been in the top spot a total of six times, one of only 19 programs to ever be there. That ranks them 12th all time. Who’s just ahead of them? Texas (tied with Washington in 10th place with 10 times ranked #1), who the Gophers will have to beat in Austin if they want to stay there. (Florida, next in line to move up, ranks #9 all time with 13 times in the top spot). The Gophers and Longhorns have a 4-4 series record, with Texas 2-1 at home.

Double Take: What two programs have been the biggest thorn in Penn State’s side? The Lions are 10-16 against Nebraska and 6-8 against UCLA (if the Bruins hadn’t backed out of the Big/Pac Challenge, we bet that would be an even split). Those two teams—who rank #12 and #11—will meet twice this weekend in Lincoln. Nebraska has also been a pain in the Bruins’ butt, holding a 10-4 advantage in the series--but UCLA has won three times in Lincoln, the last a 3-2 win in 2009. The Huskers are one of only three programs to have a winning record over UCLA, joined by Stanford (49-40) and Northern Iowa (1-0). [Note: The Bruins are deadlocked with three storied programs: Hawaii (37-37), Florida (3-3) and Wisconsin (2-2)].

Not-so-Shocking: Wichita State enters the poll at #23 this week. From the Shocker SID: “It is the first ranking in the poll for the Shockers since the preseason poll on Aug. 12, 2013 when WSU was ranked 24th. It is the highest ranking for the Shockers since they were also 23rd in the final poll of the year on Dec. 18, 2012. WSU is off to a 6-0 start for the first time since 2008.” (Lionsfan already had them in his poll…just sayin’.)

Rams, too! From the Colorado State SID: “The Colorado State volleyball team returns to the AVCA Coaches' Poll at No. 25 this week following a perfect 4-0 week, including winning the Home2Suites Invite at Florida State. The Rams picked up a come-from-behind win against TCU and an upset against then-No. 15 Florida State with a 3-0 sweep. The win against the Seminoles was the first for CSU against a Top-25 opponent since 2014 and the first sweep against a ranked team since 2012. This is the first time this season that Colorado State has been ranked in the AVCA poll. The Rams were last ranked in the first week of the 2016 poll, which was the 47th straight week dating back to the 2013 season. This is the 269th week that Colorado State has been ranked.” The Rams host #16 Michigan this weekend.

Just Around the Corner… The Kentucky @ Kansas matchup came early this week, and Lionsfan apologies for overlooking it in his preview last week (he can’t write THAT fast between the poll release and a Monday night game!). There are two similar big matchups just around the corner to start Week 4: #20 Florida State travels to #2 Florida on Tuesday, the same night that Northern Iowa heads to #22 Iowa State.

Other Notable Results

• After dropping two more matches to Auburn and Florida, 0-4 North Carolina dropped out of the poll.

Conference Rollcall: The Big Ten continues to lead all conferences with 8 teams in the Top 25 (#1 Minnesota, #3 Penn State, #6 Wisconsin, #12 Nebraska, #16 Michigan, #17 Purdue, #21 Michigan State, #24 Ohio State, with Illinois now receiving votes), followed by the Pac 12 with 6 (#4 Stanford, #8 Washington, #11 UCLA, #14 Oregon, #18 Utah, #19 Southern Cal, with Washington State receiving votes).

The Big Matches: Week 3
Arguably the most intense week of action, this week is packed:

#1 Minnesota @ #5 Texas
#21 Michigan State @ #2 Florida
#3 Penn State vs. #4 Stanford (N)
#17 Purdue @ #7 Kansas
#9 Creighton @ #7 Kansas
#9 Creighton vs. #17 Purdue (N)
#11 UCLA @ #12 Nebraska (x2)
#23 Wichita State @ #14 Oregon
#15 San Diego @ #18 Utah
#16 Michigan @ #25 Colorado State

Upset watch

• Colorado vs. #3 Penn State (N)
• Illinois vs. #4 Stanford
• Lipscomb @ #6 Wisconsin
• Texas A&M @ #6 Wisconsin
• Missouri State vs. #8 Washington (N)
• Hawaii vs. #10 BYU
• Baylor vs. #10 BYU
• Marquette vs. #13 Kentucky
• Missouri @ #18 Utah, vs. #15 San Diego
• Green Bay @ #18 Utah, vs. #15 San Diego
• Arkansas vs. #19 Southern Cal (N)
• Tennessee @ #20 Florida State
• Arizona @ #20 Florida State
• Iowa vs. #22 Iowa State
• Cal Poly vs. #23 Wichita State
• Notre Dame vs. #24 Ohio State (x2, home/home series)

Lionsfan’s Top 25
(Kentucky/Kansas match NOT taken into account for this poll)

1. Florida (+1)
2. Texas (+1)
3. Penn State (+1)
4. Stanford (-3)
5. Minnesota
6. Wisconsin (+1)
7. Creighton (-1)
8. UCLA
9. Kansas
10. Washington
11. Oregon
12. Nebraska
13. BYU
14. Kentucky (+1)
15. Southern Cal (-1)
16. San Diego (+1)
17. Michigan (+1)
18. Utah (+1)
19. Wichita State (+1)
20. Purdue (+2)
21. Northern Iowa
22. Colorado State (NR)
23. Iowa State (NR)
24. Florida State (-8)
25. Illinois (NR)

Dropped out: North Carolina, Lipscomb, Baylor
(Dropped out previous week: Michigan State, Hawaii, Missouri, Pittsburgh, Colorado State)