As the NCAA volleyball season enters its 11th week, the 2016 Conference Power Rankings have made a dramatic shift. The gap between the Pac-12 and Big Ten has been closing week-by-week, and as the conference out west continues to beat-up on each other (thanks in large part to Utah, whose schedule is full of big wins and big losses), that gap has gotten even tighter.
The average ranking difference between the Big Ten’s 14 teams and the Pac-12’s 12 teams has narrowed to just-under one place: the narrowest it’s been so far this season. Meanwhile, the Big 12, after climbing multiple weeks in a row, held steady this week – their RPI rankings settling after Kansas knocked off conference leader Texas for the first time in 13 years. That loss didn’t hurt the Longhorns’ RPI much (they’re still in position for a #1 seed in December), but did help vault Kansas up 10 spots.
Meanwhile, the ACC, who have bounced between 8th and 9th all season long, fell to a new low of 10th after Pitt knocked off conference-leader UNC over the weekend. North Carolina is still the conference’s top-ranked team at #13. Florida State (#23) and Pitt (#30) are the only other ACC teams ranked in the top 40 nationally in RPI.
Week 10 RPI Conference Power Rankings
| 0 | CONFERENCE | NUMBER OF TEAMS | Total Ranking Points | Average Ranking |
| 1. | Pac-12 | 12 | 571 | 47.58 |
| 2. | Big Ten | 14 | 680 | 48.57 |
| 3. | Big 12 | 9 | 489 | 54.33 |
| 4. | Southeastern | 13 | 1110 | 85.38 |
| 5. | West Coast | 10 | 962 | 96.20 |
| 6. | AAC | 11 | 1126 | 102.36 |
| 7. | Mountain West | 11 | 1188 | 108.00 |
| 8. | Colonial | 9 | 1000 | 111.11 |
| 9. | Big East | 10 | 1179 | 117.90 |
| 10. | Atlantic Coast | 15 | 1832 | 122.13 |
| 11. | Big West | 9 | 1219 | 135.44 |
| 12. | Missouri Valley | 10 | 1369 | 136.90 |
| 13. | Horizon | 9 | 1273 | 141.44 |
| 14. | Conference USA | 13 | 2291 | 176.23 |
| 15. | Mid-American | 12 | 2117 | 176.42 |
| 16. | ASUN | 8 | 1436 | 179.50 |
| 17. | Big Sky | 12 | 2180 | 181.67 |
| 18. | Western Athletic | 8 | 1462 | 182.75 |
| 19. | Ivy League | 8 | 1462 | 182.75 |
| 20. | Atlantic 10 | 10 | 1861 | 186.10 |
| 21. | Southern | 9 | 1758 | 195.33 |
| 22. | Sun Belt | 12 | 2357 | 196.42 |
| 23. | America East | 7 | 1505 | 215.00 |
| 24. | Big South | 9 | 1970 | 218.89 |
| 25. | Summit League | 9 | 1984 | 220.44 |
| 26. | Patriot | 9 | 2062 | 229.11 |
| 27. | OVC | 12 | 2753 | 229.42 |
| 28. | Southland | 13 | 3066 | 235.85 |
| 29. | Northeast | 8 | 2105 | 263.13 |
| 30. | Metro Atlantic | 10 | 2747 | 274.70 |
| 31. | Mid-Eastern | 13 | 3753 | 288.69 |
| 32. | Southwestern | 10 | 3076 | 307.60 |
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