2017 Week 7: AVCA Poll Notes and Preview

Getting this one in right under the wire...lots of exciting Wednesday night matches to catch tonight!

Vote Shuffle: After the weekend action, Penn State—which swept Illinois and Northwestern—stayed at #3, but this time by itself. They picked up one #1 vote: Cal Poly’s Sam Crosson moved from Florida to PSU for his top pick, joining Dayton’s Tim Horsmon (hmm, somebody put Cal Poly in the poll STAT!). Stanford lost two top-votes to Florida, as Ray Gooden (Northern Illinois) and Toby Rens (Maryland Eastern Shore) changed their minds. Russ Rose has his team at #2 now (up two spots, jumping Minnesota and Wisconsin), and moved Nebraska up two spots to #5. Russ Rose has his team at #3 now (up one spots), and moved Nebraska up five spots to #2.

Red Rising: With a sweep of Minnesota and a come-from-behind five-set win over Wisconsin, Nebraska did something it never had before in its illustrious history: beat three top-10 opponents in the regular season in a span of nine days, an impressive feat that began with its sweep of Penn State in Rec Hall (boo!). That had them rise another four sports in the poll to #4, meaning they have jumped up 10 spots in just two weeks. They now face the only other undefeated conference team: Michigan State, who knows how to win on the road. The Spartans had the same wins over Nebraska’s weekend opponents, but they did it in Madison and Minneapolis. The Huskers are 17-2-2 all-time against Michigan State and 9-2 since joining the Big Ten.

Boarder War: The rivalry between Minnesota and Wisconsin continues tonight, with the Badgers looking for some redemption at home. Wisconsin had lost four straight to the Gophers and trails the all-time series 30-48, but holds a 20-17 edge at home. The last meeting was a five-set Minnesota win in Minneapolis. (Things don’t get any easier for the Badgers, who then travel to Michigan State for the weekend). With their loss to Nebraska, the Gophers fell out of the top five for the first time since Week 1 of 2016 (which was the only time since Week 8 of 2015 that they were out of the top five).

Gators Stay Solid: With sweeps of Tennessee and LSU, Florida became the only undefeated team left in division 1 and staye d#1 for a second consecutive week. Its 11-0 start is the fourth-best in program history, behind only 16-0 starts in 1987 and 2007 and a 28-0 start in 1995.

Rewriting the Script: Remember when Southern Cal got swept at Maryland and some zany posters on some silly forum were pondering the overdue retirement of their esteemed coach? The Trojans have won five straight since, highlighted by their home sweep of Washington last weekend. That moved them up five spots to #15, which Lionsfan still doesn’t think is high enough (see his poll below). At 4-0, USC is in a tie with Stanford for top spot atop the PAC standings. The Huskies dropped three spots to #9.

Other Notable Results

• With home wins over Oregon State and (previously) #12 Oregon, Colorado jumped back in the poll at #25—which Lionsfan thinks is definitely too low (it should have never left). The Buffs hit the road to face the Washington schools this weekend.
  
  

RPI Watch
The Lions are #1 with the first unveiling of the official RPI, but don’t get too excited: A stretch of weaker teams later in the schedule won’t help. Still, it’s good to know that winning will probably keep them close, so let’s focus on one match at a time. Here’s the Top 22 (the RPI Penn State had at the end last year that was good enough to get a #16 seed):

1. Penn State
2. Florida
3. Texas
4. Minnesota
5. Kentucky
6. Nebraska
7. Wisconsin
8. Creighton
9. Oregon
10. Stanford
11. Kansas
12. Southern California
13. Washington
14. Utah
15. Michigan State
16. UCLA
17. Purdue
18. BYU
19. Iowa State
20. Colorado
21. Auburn
22. Louisville
24. Illinois
27. Michigan
29. Ohio State
30. Maryland
54. Northwestern
64. Iowa
68. Indiana
240. Rutgers (!)

Based on these numbers and my crystal ball, here’s my early predictions on seedings for the tournament:

1. Florida
16. Iowa State
8. Wisconsin
9. Kansas

2. Texas
15. Oregon
7. Stanford
10. Southern Cal

3. Nebraska
14. UCLA
6. Minnesota
11. Creighton

4. Penn State
13. Michigan State
5. Kentucky
12. Washington

The Big Matches: Week 6

#2 Stanford @ #16 Oregon
#14 Michigan State @ #4 Nebraska
#6 Minnesota @ #7 Wisconsin
#6 Minnesota @ #22 Michigan
#7 Wisconsin @ #14 Michigan State
#17 Utah @ #9 Washington
#25 Colorado @ #9 Washington

Upset watch:

• Texas A&M @ #1 Florida
• Oregon State vs. #2 Stanford
• Ohio State vs. #3 Penn State
• Maryland vs. #3 Penn State
• Auburn @ #10 Kentucky
• West Virginia vs. #11 Kansas
• Marquette vs. #12 Creighton
• Arizona State vs. #13 UCLA
• Arizona vs. #15 Southern Cal
• Arizona State vs. #15 Southern Cal
• Washington State vs. #17 Utah
• Washington State vs. #25 Colorado
• Illinois vs. #18 Purdue
• Northwestern vs. #18 Purdue
• Baylor vs. #20 Iowa State
• Iowa vs. #22 Michigan
• Boise State vs. #23 Colorado State

Lionsfan’s Top 25

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

Dropped Out: Florida State
Dropped out previously: Michigan (Week 5); 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)