Contenders for the national championship came into clearer focus this week when the Division I volleyball committee unveiled its top 16 seed projections for the NCAA Tournament.
To the surprise of no one paying attention, Nebraska and Texas lead the way with the top two spots. The Cornhuskers are still undefeated with an 18-0 record heading into a two-game home-stand this weekend against Northwestern and Michigan State. The Longhorns are also unbeaten at 16-0, and have road games at Ole Miss and LSU coming up.
Joining Nebraska and Texas on the projected one-line are Pitt and Kentucky. The Panthers are 15-3 in the top-heavy ACC and mostly recently took down then-ranked No. 4 Louisville. The Wildcats are 14-2, have won 11 in a row, and notched their last win over Florida.
Lurking on the two-line are SMU, Louisville, Arizona State and Purdue. The Mustangs have won six in a row, including victories over the Cardinals and a ranked Miami team.
There’s a lot of volleyball to be played between now and the NCAA Tournament selection show, set for Nov. 30.
Here’s our updated Power Rankings:
Just missed: Wisconsin, TCU, Texas A&M, Indiana, Kansas
And here’s the games you need to watch:
