2017 Week 6: AVCA Poll Notes and Preview
Sept 26, 2017 20:33:08 GMT -5
treblejig, Millennium, and 1 more like this
Post by lionsfan on Sept 26, 2017 20:33:08 GMT -5
I'm still hungover from this weekend (on depression, not alcohol). Let's give this a shot...
Boo! So yeah…Friday night happened. With its emphatic win at Penn State, Nebraska rose six spots to #8, while Penn State dropped just one spot to tie Minnesota for third thanks to a chaotic weekend. The Huskers upped their all-time advantage over the Lions to 20-10 (yuck!), and hold six straight wins—tying the 1982-to-1993 streak of six Husker wins, the most for either program in the series. Of the four wins that Nebraska enjoys in Rec Hall (with three of those four wins coming in their last three tries), it is the only one that didn’t come in five sets. In fact, the loss was the first time Penn State had been swept in Rec Hall since…are you ready for this?...Oct. 18, 2003, when unranked Minnesota (which would finish the year ranked #4) beat the #13 Lions 30-26, 30-18, 30-21. *insert grumbling here*
Gators Turn: After hanging on to beat Arkansas on the road in five, Florida became the fourth team in this short season to be ranked #1. It’s the third period in program history—and 14th overall time—that the Gators have been at the top, placing them 9th all time—just 4 weeks behind #8 Pacific (18 weeks). At 9-0, they are off to their best start since 2007.
From the Florida SID: “It is also the earliest Florida has ever risen to No. 1. The Gators boast a 27-2 all-time record as the No. 1-ranked team. Back in 2010, the Gators climbed to the top spot on Oct. 11. They held that ranking for eight polls and won 15 consecutive matches before falling to Purdue in the NCAA Regional Semifinal, held in Austin, Texas. In 1996, Florida nabbed the No. 1 ranking on Nov. 5 and held it for the next four polls. The team went on to win their next 12 matches and reached the NCAA Semifinals, where Hawaii ended the streak. Florida is one of two teams in the nation with four wins over top-20 opponents (Northern Iowa is the other). Two of those wins came over No. 1 Texas and No. 5 Nebraska in their first two matches of the season, making the Gators one of four teams since 1996 to open a campaign with consecutive victories over top-five opponents.”
Spartan Statement: With its impressive wins on the road—3-2 at Wisconsin and a stunning 3-0 at Minnesota—Michigan State defeated top-five opponents in back-to-back games for the first time in program history, and did it on the toughest conference road trip (by far). It is 2-0 in Big Ten play for the first time since 2013, when the Spartans defeated No. 1 Penn State (3-2) and No. 13 Ohio State (3-0) to start conference play.
The loss for Minnesota was the first on its home floor since 2014, a streak of 40 straight victories—just two behind the 42 wins that Penn State and Ball State have to tie for 20th place all time on the home-court win streak list. The Gophers could have passed a lot of teams on that list this year and inched closer to the Top 10 but for the Spartans shocking win (Penn State fans feel your pain, Gophers).
MSU leaped from receiving votes all the way to #16 after a one-week absence from the poll. Who was most impressed with the Spartans? Greg Gibbons (Pacific) had them at #2, Tony Howell (Belmont) and Penny Lucas-White (Alabama State) had them at #3 and Rob Beam (Oakland) had them at #5. The least impressed? Bob Bertucci (Lehigh), Karen Chisum (Texas State), Jason Kepner (College of Charleston) and Timothy Nollan (Grand Canyon) still didn’t rank the Spartans. (Russ Rose, meanwhile, had them at #10).
Big Weekend in Lincoln: Back in October of 2015, something very rare happened: The Huskers lost in back-to-back 3-1 matches as Minnesota and Wisconsin left Lincoln with wins. (The Huskers seemed to rebound just fine that year…). While the Huskers enjoy big all-time advantages over both programs (33-7 over the Gophers, 18-3-1 over the Badgers), they have been more competitive recently. The Huskers and Gophers played two five-set matches last year, each winning on their home floor. If Nebraska can rise to the occasion with its home crowd, it will really be in the driver’s seat for the conference crown. Friday night’s match against Minnesota will be on BTN, while Saturday’s against Wisconsin will stream on BTN2GO.
The Big Matches: Week 3
#3 Minnesota @ #8 Nebraska
#6 Washington @ #13 UCLA
#6 Washington @ #20 Southern Cal
#7 Wisconsin @ #8 Nebraska
#9 BYU @ #17 San Diego
#18 Iowa State @ #11 Kansas
#12 Oregon @ #15 Utah
Upset watch:
Lionsfan’s Top 25
1. Florida (+2)
2. Nebraska (+11)
3. Penn State (-1)
4. Stanford (+1)
5. Minnesota (-4)
6. Texas
7. Wisconsin (-3)
8. Washington
9. Creighton
10. Michigan State (NR)
11. Oregon (-4)
12. Kansas (-2)
13. Kentucky (-2)
14. BYU
15. UCLA
16. Utah
17. Iowa State
18. Purdue (-6)
19. San Diego (-1)
20. Southern Cal (+1)
21. Colorado (-2)
22. Colorado State (-2)
23. Florida State
24. Northern Iowa
25. Wichita State
Dropped Out: Michigan
Dropped out previously: Illinois, Baylor (Week 4); Wichita State, Northern Iowa (Week 3); North Carolina, Lipscomb, Baylor (Week 2); Michigan State, Hawaii, Missouri, Pittsburgh, Colorado State (Week 1)
Yeah…that’s right…I have Nebraska over us. And I’m not the only one: Rob Beam (Oakland), Todd Dagenais (Central Florida), Greg Gibbons (Pacific), Marci Jenkins (Radford), Penny Lucas-White (Alabama State) and Timothy Nollan (Grand Canyon) did the same.
Boo! So yeah…Friday night happened. With its emphatic win at Penn State, Nebraska rose six spots to #8, while Penn State dropped just one spot to tie Minnesota for third thanks to a chaotic weekend. The Huskers upped their all-time advantage over the Lions to 20-10 (yuck!), and hold six straight wins—tying the 1982-to-1993 streak of six Husker wins, the most for either program in the series. Of the four wins that Nebraska enjoys in Rec Hall (with three of those four wins coming in their last three tries), it is the only one that didn’t come in five sets. In fact, the loss was the first time Penn State had been swept in Rec Hall since…are you ready for this?...Oct. 18, 2003, when unranked Minnesota (which would finish the year ranked #4) beat the #13 Lions 30-26, 30-18, 30-21. *insert grumbling here*
Gators Turn: After hanging on to beat Arkansas on the road in five, Florida became the fourth team in this short season to be ranked #1. It’s the third period in program history—and 14th overall time—that the Gators have been at the top, placing them 9th all time—just 4 weeks behind #8 Pacific (18 weeks). At 9-0, they are off to their best start since 2007.
From the Florida SID: “It is also the earliest Florida has ever risen to No. 1. The Gators boast a 27-2 all-time record as the No. 1-ranked team. Back in 2010, the Gators climbed to the top spot on Oct. 11. They held that ranking for eight polls and won 15 consecutive matches before falling to Purdue in the NCAA Regional Semifinal, held in Austin, Texas. In 1996, Florida nabbed the No. 1 ranking on Nov. 5 and held it for the next four polls. The team went on to win their next 12 matches and reached the NCAA Semifinals, where Hawaii ended the streak. Florida is one of two teams in the nation with four wins over top-20 opponents (Northern Iowa is the other). Two of those wins came over No. 1 Texas and No. 5 Nebraska in their first two matches of the season, making the Gators one of four teams since 1996 to open a campaign with consecutive victories over top-five opponents.”
Spartan Statement: With its impressive wins on the road—3-2 at Wisconsin and a stunning 3-0 at Minnesota—Michigan State defeated top-five opponents in back-to-back games for the first time in program history, and did it on the toughest conference road trip (by far). It is 2-0 in Big Ten play for the first time since 2013, when the Spartans defeated No. 1 Penn State (3-2) and No. 13 Ohio State (3-0) to start conference play.
The loss for Minnesota was the first on its home floor since 2014, a streak of 40 straight victories—just two behind the 42 wins that Penn State and Ball State have to tie for 20th place all time on the home-court win streak list. The Gophers could have passed a lot of teams on that list this year and inched closer to the Top 10 but for the Spartans shocking win (Penn State fans feel your pain, Gophers).
MSU leaped from receiving votes all the way to #16 after a one-week absence from the poll. Who was most impressed with the Spartans? Greg Gibbons (Pacific) had them at #2, Tony Howell (Belmont) and Penny Lucas-White (Alabama State) had them at #3 and Rob Beam (Oakland) had them at #5. The least impressed? Bob Bertucci (Lehigh), Karen Chisum (Texas State), Jason Kepner (College of Charleston) and Timothy Nollan (Grand Canyon) still didn’t rank the Spartans. (Russ Rose, meanwhile, had them at #10).
Big Weekend in Lincoln: Back in October of 2015, something very rare happened: The Huskers lost in back-to-back 3-1 matches as Minnesota and Wisconsin left Lincoln with wins. (The Huskers seemed to rebound just fine that year…). While the Huskers enjoy big all-time advantages over both programs (33-7 over the Gophers, 18-3-1 over the Badgers), they have been more competitive recently. The Huskers and Gophers played two five-set matches last year, each winning on their home floor. If Nebraska can rise to the occasion with its home crowd, it will really be in the driver’s seat for the conference crown. Friday night’s match against Minnesota will be on BTN, while Saturday’s against Wisconsin will stream on BTN2GO.
The Big Matches: Week 3
#3 Minnesota @ #8 Nebraska
#6 Washington @ #13 UCLA
#6 Washington @ #20 Southern Cal
#7 Wisconsin @ #8 Nebraska
#9 BYU @ #17 San Diego
#18 Iowa State @ #11 Kansas
#12 Oregon @ #15 Utah
Upset watch:
- Iowa vs. #3 Minnesota
- Illinois @ #3 Penn State
- Baylor @ #5 Texas
- Kansas State @ #5 Texas
- Iowa vs. #7 Wisconsin
- TCU @ #11 Kansas
- Colorado vs. #12 Oregon
- Washington State @ #13 UCLA
- Oregon State @ #15 Utah
- Ohio State @ #16 Michigan State
- LMU @ #17 San Diego
- Washington State @ #20 Southern Cal
- Louisville vs. #21 Florida State
- Notre Dame vs. #21 Florida State
- Ohio State @ #23 Michigan
- Wyoming vs. #24 Colorado State
Lionsfan’s Top 25
1. Florida (+2)
2. Nebraska (+11)
3. Penn State (-1)
4. Stanford (+1)
5. Minnesota (-4)
6. Texas
7. Wisconsin (-3)
8. Washington
9. Creighton
10. Michigan State (NR)
11. Oregon (-4)
12. Kansas (-2)
13. Kentucky (-2)
14. BYU
15. UCLA
16. Utah
17. Iowa State
18. Purdue (-6)
19. San Diego (-1)
20. Southern Cal (+1)
21. Colorado (-2)
22. Colorado State (-2)
23. Florida State
24. Northern Iowa
25. Wichita State
Dropped Out: Michigan
Dropped out previously: Illinois, Baylor (Week 4); Wichita State, Northern Iowa (Week 3); North Carolina, Lipscomb, Baylor (Week 2); Michigan State, Hawaii, Missouri, Pittsburgh, Colorado State (Week 1)
Yeah…that’s right…I have Nebraska over us. And I’m not the only one: Rob Beam (Oakland), Todd Dagenais (Central Florida), Greg Gibbons (Pacific), Marci Jenkins (Radford), Penny Lucas-White (Alabama State) and Timothy Nollan (Grand Canyon) did the same.
