The margins were thin this week in the VolleyballMag Super 16 Media Poll, especially at No. 1, where Pittsburgh got seven of the 12 first-place votes. The Panthers remained in the top spot over Nebraska, which got the other five first-place votes, by four points.
SMU, which last week got swept by Pitt and then dealt the Panthers their first defeat, jumped five spots to No. 9.
As you look at the poll, you’ll see how close the rankings are, especially at No. 9, where SMU is one point ahead of Wisconsin, and No. 11, where Purdue is one point ahead of Oregon. Voter comments follow, as well:
Rank, Team, Points, First-Place Votes, Previous ranking
1. Pittsburgh (187 points, 7 first-place votes, 1)
2. Nebraska (183, 5 first-place votes, 2)
3. Penn State (166, 3)
4. Louisville (158, 4)
5. Stanford (137, 6)
6. Creighton (133, 5)
7. Texas (122, 7)
8. Kansas (98, 8)
9. SMU (88, 14)
10. Wisconsin (87,10 )
11. Purdue (71, 9)
12. Oregon (70, 11)
13. Arizona State (46, 12)
14. Minnesota (35, 14)
15. USC (18, 16)
16. Kentucky (16, 12)
Also receiving votes: Utah, TCU, Florida State, Dayton, Auburn
Dropped out: None
The voters
Lincoln Arneal (@Lincoln_VB) — Nebraska beat writer for Huskers Illustrated and co-host of the Volleyball State podcast
Abby Benton (@numberonevolleyball) — played at DII Catawba and DIII William Peace and has 54K Instagram followers and more than 116K on TikTok
Michella Chester (@michellachester) — THE volleyball voice of NCAA.com
Shelby Coppedge (@shelbycoppedge) — ESPN analyst, former Texas A&M-Corpus Christi DS
Emily Ehman @emilyehman) — Big Ten Network, ESPN, Volleyball World TV analyst; former Northwestern DS
Lee Feinswog (@VBMagazine) — editor of VolleyballMag
Daniel Gillman (@DanielGillman/@SixRotations) — host of Six Rotations for the AVCA, national play-by-play for multiple sports
Sam Gore (@sambgore) — veteran broadcaster/studio host who does ESPN volleyball play-by-play, host of the Fifth Set during the NCAA Tournament
Mick Haley (@Michaelhaley6) — ESPN analyst, former national-championship coach at Texas and USC and 2000 USA Olympic coach
Amy Pauly (@acpauly10) — Head coach of the Orlando Valkyries of the Pro Volleyball Federation and the team’s vice-president of volleyball operations; former assistant coach at USC, head coach at UAB; libero at Alabama
Dennis Punzel (@DennisPunzel) — Wisconsin beat writer for the Wisconsin State Journal, author of Point! Wisconsin
Ed Strong (@VBMagazine) — VolleyballMag super Tweeter
Voter comments
Gillman: What an incredible week of volleyball! SMU propelled into my top five and Penn State’s gritty Sunday win vs. Indiana showed me a ton as well. Meanwhile we had a memorable Purdue-Nebraska match and big-time showing from Utah and Oregon this weekend. I cannot wait for December!!
Punzel: Flip-flop Nebraska and Pitt this week. Easy enough to do although it could be argued that Pitt has done something Nebraska hasn’t — beaten SMU. Otherwise my top 10 are the same. Moved SMU up a spot to 11 and my new team is Utah at 15, with Texas A&M dropping out.
Pauly: Not too much movement in my rankings this week. Even with Pitt’s loss to SMU I still feel they are the best team in the country. I did move SMU up quite a few spots for their outstanding performance. Entering the rankings this week is Utah, which had a great weekend, beating their Texas opponents. It should be noted that TCU was plagued with illnesses in their game against Utah, but bounced back with a big win in a tough environment at BYU.
Arneal: The most challenging part of this week’s poll was Pitt vs Nebraska for No. 1. The debate began after the Panthers dropped their first match of the season. I moved the Huskers to the top line this week, but it’s by the slimmest of margins. Pitt will have a chance to climb back to No. 1, but Nebraska gets the nod with its superior number of top-25 wins. SMU joins the top 10 after knocking off Pitt. Purdue and Kentucky each dipped a few spots after losses. Utah cracks my rankings after sweeps over TCU and Baylor.
Ehman: Massive jump for SMU for me from 15 to 8 because they deserve it after taking down No. 1 and No. 2.
Ed: Pitt absolutely still has a very good case to stay at No. 1, but I gave Nebraska the edge by the slimmest of margins. 3-9 stays stable for me. No. 8 Texas is closing the gap compared to the teams above them with strong performances, but the fact there’s still three losses on the resume keeps them behind Kansas/Stanford. I’ve been higher than most on Utah for a few weeks and I would have had them in a top 25 ballot for a couple weeks at this point, but even I was positively surprised by how impressive they were vs. TCU and Baylor, even if TCU was shorthanded, so they jump all the way in at 15. Also considered: Dayton, TCU, USC, Arkansas
Benton: I’ve been in Portugal all week and have only been able to check box scores. That said, I’m confidently keeping my top 5 the same as last week. Yes, I know Pitt lost to SMU in five sets, but they also beat SMU shortly before, which Nebraska never did. Oregon and Purdue close out my top 10, with SMU sliding in right behind them. I’m keeping USC at number 16, but we might want to keep an eye on Utah for next week.
Michella: Really struggled with who to move OUT of the top 10 with SMU moving in. SMU still has a couple of bad losses but at this point, I think they NEED to be rewarded for taking down the two top teams in the country.
Feinswog: I kept Pitt No. 1 and still feel like it’s 1 and 1a for them and Nebraska. I appreciate what SMU has done but I’m not going ga-ga and moving them higher than 12th. I kept Creighton at No. 3. The Bluejays may not be challenged in the Big East, but they are 15-2 with only five-set losses to Nebraska and Louisville with wins over USC, Purdue and Kansas. Dayton got my 16th spot although it sure was tempting to put unbeaten South Dakota State there. Seriously, thought hard about Utah at No. 16.
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