Plenty of shuffling between Nos. 5-16 in VolleyballMag.com Super 16 Media Poll

After a topsy-turvey week in NCAA Division I women’s volleyball, it’s no surprise that there was a shakeup in spots 5-16 in the VolleyballMag.com Super 16 Media Poll. 

Wisconsin-Nebraska-Stanford-Washington State remained Nos. 1-4. Louisville jumped three spots to No. 5 and Arkansas jumped seven spots into a tie at No. 7.

Oregon fell four spots to No. 9 and Arizona State, after a week in which it was upset by Oregon State but then swept at Oregon, moved up two spots to No. 14.

Voter comments follow.

Rank, Team, Points (Last week)
1. Wisconsin, 174 (1)
2. Nebraska, 167 (2)
3. Stanford, 154 (3)
4. Washington State, 142 (4)
5. Louisville, 131 (8)
6. Texas, 123 (6)
T-7. Arkansas, 91 (13)
T-7. Pittsburgh, 91 (7)
9. Oregon, 88 (5)
10. BYU, 87 (10)
11. Penn State, 68 (13)
12. Tennessee, 66 (9)
13. Georgia Tech, 34 (12)
14. Arizona State, 25 (16)
T- 15. Dayton, 15 (NR)
T–15. Florida, 15 (11)

First-place votes: Wisconsin (9), Nebraska (2)
Also receiving votes: Kansas, Auburn, Florida State, Kentucky, Creighton, Purdue
Dropped out: Kansas
We had one voter unable to participate this week.

Previous VBM Super 16 Polls

Week 3: October 9
Week 2: October 2
Week 1: September 25

The voters

Emily Ehman @emilyehman) — Big Ten Network, ESPN analyst; former Northwestern DS
Ed Strong (@VBMagazine) — VolleyballMag.com super Tweeter
Michella Chester (@michellachester) — THE volleyball voice of NCAA.com
Daniel Gillman (@DanielGillman/@SixRotations) — host of Six Rotations for the AVCA, Cal Poly play-by-play
Lincoln Arneal (@Lincoln_VB) — Nebraska beat writer for Huskers Illustrated
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 Olympic coach
Dennis Punzel (@DennisPunzel) — Wisconsin beat writer for the Wisconsin State Journal, author of Point! Wisconsin
Fran Flory (@LSUCoachFran) — ESPN+ analyst, national champion at Texas, winningest coach in LSU history, AVCA Hall of Famer
Anne Marie Anderson (@AnneMAnderson, @annemarieandersontv) — Emmy Award winner, volleyball play-by-play veteran who works NCAA matches for the Pac-12 Network, Big Ten Network and ESPN; played at Hofstra, where she still ranks in the top 10 in blocks
Shelby Coppedge (@shelbycoppedge) — ESPN analyst, former Texas A&M-Corpus Christi DS
Lee Feinswog (@VBMagazine) — editor of VolleyballMag.com

Voter comments

Gillman In a week where unranked upsets were handed out like candy on Halloween, I see a clear cut top 8 then about 10-15 teams who could all host but aren’t quite deserving just yet. Luckily there’s still a month plus left in the season … Oh, and we finally get Wisconsin-Nebraska this weekend!

Haley: The many upsets this week show the struggles of being a student athlete. It will be exciting to see how the remaining schedules play out. Still pretty clear that any of the top six teams could win the Natty, but strong finishes by any team in the top 16 could pull off some amazing upsets. That’s why we play the games!

Punzel: Eventually — like in December — this will all shake out, but for now it’s trying to sort through a lot of conflicting results. I stayed with the same top three — Wisconsin, Nebraska and Stanford — and the top two can temporarily settle that on Saturday. Bumped Louisville up based on win over Pitt. Dropped Oregon a couple spots to 8. My newcomer this week is Dayton at 14. Pretty weak schedule but it keeps winning and there’s something to be said for that.

Arneal: The top four remain the same and have started to separate with consistency. Louisville scores the most impressive win of the week with a sweep of Pitt. Texas has resumed its place at top of the Big 12 after a shaky start of the season. BYU and Arkansas keep winning and move up. After that it’s a mess. Tennessee lost at home Kentucky to slip a few spots. Georgia Tech was handled by Miami and Auburn lost to the Lady Vols. Penn State and Auburn move up despite losses. Creighton gets back in the rankings just as Norah Sis returns. Arizona State was the hard team to place. The Sun Devils swept Oregon, but fell in five to Oregon State. In the end, they got the final spot over Dayton.

Gore: I’ve tried to stay disciplined this week and focus on the present. I’ve reminded myself that if the season were to end NOW, this would be my top 16. That’s challenging because we are getting into that time of year where many of these top teams are going head to head. For example, before the next poll, we will have our first result between Wisconsin vs Nebraska. Washington State will have played at USC and at UCLA, and there are many more tough matchups. Then, on this Sunday we had Miami sweep GA Tech, Arizona State swept Oregon, and Kentucky swept Tennessee! Get ready for an AWESOME 2nd half of the regular season! For the moment, the top for stay the same for me: Wisconsin, Nebraska, Stanford, Washington State. 5-16 shuffled quite a bit …DUH!!

Strong: Besides the Big Two unbeatens, 3-6 feels like they’re separating from the pack: Stanford, Louisville, Wazzu and Texas. Cardinals narrowly take No. 4 from the Cougars based on a similar enough resume that head-to-head factors in. Arkansas dropping a set at home to Alabama was weird, but at least they won, which can’t be said of a lot of the teams in the low double-digits. Georgia Tech has been shaky for a while against lesser opponents (five-set wins vs Wake, UVA, and FSU) and finally got burned with the Miami sweep. Kansas sneaks back in at 16 to take the Gators’ spot. Confounded by how Florida looked better in the week or two immediately after the Stucky injury than they do now that they’ve had more time to adjust, when it should be the other way around. Also considered: Creighton, Florida, Texas A&M, UCF

Flory: We continue to see stability in the top four. Nebraska’s win over Penn State moves them to the top as Wisconsin was not challenged. After the top four, it is an absolute “free for all.” There seem to more significant losses than substantial wins occurring everywhere. The chase for conference championships is heating up with some very significant match-ups slated in the next few weeks. Look for another mix-up after the top four again next week.

Coppedge: Arkansas is the only team undefeated in the SEC and the best start to the season the Razorbacks have had in two decades. The two starting outsides are 5-7 and 5-10. This is arguably the least physical team in the conference. However, they know their shots and can read around the block. Their defense is lights out. When you think the ball is down on their side, think again. They have the same kind of fire Auburn did last year, when Auburn was playing with almost all freshman and no seniors. Keep your eye out for Arkansas!

Chester: Here’s my poll.
1. Wisconsin
2. Nebraska
3. Stanford
4. Washington state
5. Louisville (WINS: Washington State, PSU, Kentucky, swept Pitt. Loss to Stanford and NC State (unranked) (2 top 10 wins)
6. Texas (WINS: BYUx2, Minnesota, OSU, Kansas x2. Losses to Stanford, Washington State, Long Beach (unranked) (two top 10 wins but unranked loss)
7. Oregon (WINS: Pitt, OSU. Loss to Washington State, Minnesota, Arizona State (1 top 10 win)
8. BYU (WINS: Pitt, Houston, Baylor, Loss to Texas x2, Washington State)
9. Pitt (WINS: Wins over Georgia Tech, Kentuckyx2, Marquette, loss to Oregon and BYU (no top 10 wins)
10. Arkansas (WINS: WKU, Auburn. Loss to Wisconsin x2)
11. Tennessee (WINS: Kentucky, Loss to Wisconsin in 5, Kentucky (no top 10 wins)
12. Penn State (WINS: WKU, OSU, Minnesota, Loss to Florida, GT, Louisville, Nebraska)
13. Arizona State (WINS: Oregon, Loss to Stanford, Oregon State
14. GT (WINS: OSUx2, PSU, Loss to Georgia, Pitt, Miami)
15. Florida (WINS: Stanford, PSU, Minnesota. Loss to Wisconsin, Texas A&M (unranked), Auburn, Mississippi State(1 top 10 win) Trending down
16. Kansas (WINS: Marq, Houston x2, Loss to Texas x2, Texas Tech, Purdue

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