That big ACC matchup you’ve been waiting for? Yeah, it happens this week. Along with 4 matchups between Top 20 programs, 3 from the competitive Big Ten Conference and 1 from the ultra-strong Pac-12.
Live streaming and stat links are available here, on the VolleyMob TV schedule.
Minnesota (No. 3 VolleyMob/No. 3 AVCA) at Nebraska (No. 5 VolleyMob/No. 5 AVCA)
Saturday, Oct. 20 at 8 p.m. ET
Maturi Pavilion | Minneapolis, Minn.
- Minnesota is the only undefeated volleyball team in the Big Ten Conference, standing at 8-0 heading with one week left before the second half of league play begins. The Golden Gophers, who are 14-2 overall, are riding a conference-long 9-match win streak.
- Nebraska faltered last week, falling in a 5-set thriller of a match on the road at Penn State. It is the second loss of the Big Ten slate, as the Huskers also fell at home in 4 sets to Minnesota.
- The Huskers will get a rematch with the Golden Gophers this week in Maturi Pavilion on Saturday. An upset will be a tall task for Nebraska, as Minnesota owns a perfect 9-0 mark on its home floor.
- In the first meeting of the season, the Golden Gophers downed the Huskers 3-1. Adanna Rollins led Minnesota offensively in the win with 17 kills, followed by Taylor Morgan (13), Alexis Hart (11) and Stephanie Samedy (10). The result ended Nebraska’s 14-match win streak.
Nebraska (No. 5 VolleyMob/No. 5 AVCA) at Wisconsin (No. 7 VolleyMob/No. 9 AVCA)
Friday, Oct. 19 at 9 p.m. ET
UW Field House | Madison, Wis.
- Nebraska’s rebound week begins with another Top 10 conference showdown on Friday at Wisconsin.
- The Badgers also look to hit the reset button, as they have dropped 2 of their last 3 Big Ten matches. The first loss came at Iowa in 5 sets, split by a sweep of Northwestern and a second loss in 4 sets to Illinois.
- Friday is the first and only meeting of the season between the Badgers and Huskers, who hold a 19-4-1 advantage in the all-time series. Wisconsin, however, has won 3 of the last 5 matches of the series, including the most recent in 4 sets on Oct. 11, 2017 in Madison, Wis.
Michigan (No. 14 VolleyMob/No. 13 AVCA) at Illinois (No. 6 VolleyMob/No. 7 AVCA)
Friday, Oct. 19 at 8 p.m. ET
Huff Hall | Champaign, Ill.
- Michigan is tied for second in the Big Ten Conference at 6-2 along with Nebraska and are 17-2 on the season. The Wolverines ride a 4-match win streak into this week’s action.
- Illinois is looking for a much-needed spark with a win against the Wolverines on Friday. After opening the season with a 14-match win streak, the Fighting Illini have lost 3 of their last 5 matches.
- The Fighting Illini leads the all-time series 49-26, however, the Wolverines have been victorious in 3 of the last 4 meetings. Michigan and Illinois are scheduled to play once during the regular season this year.
USC (No. 10 VolleyMob/No. 14 AVCA) at Washington (No. 17 VolleyMob/No. 19 AVCA)
Wednesday, Oct. 17 at 10 p.m. ET
Alaska Airlines Arena | Seattle, Wash.
- USC and Washington are neck-and-neck in Pac-12 standings, in second at 6-2 and third at 5-3, respectively, midway through league play.
- USC is riding a 2-match win streak and stands at 14-5 on the season, while Washington owns an overall record of 13-5 after a 3-set loss to league-leading Stanford.
- The programs will clash midweek for the first of 2 conference matchups this year, the second of which will be played at USC on Nov. 8.
Louisville (RV VolleyMob/No. 21 AVCA) at Pittsburgh (No. 8 VolleyMob/No. 6 AVCA)
Sunday, Oct. 21 at 1 p.m. ET
Fitzgerald Field House | Pittsburgh, Pa.
- This is the ACC matchup we’ve all been anticipating. The top two programs will finally throw down on Sunday afternoon in Pittsburgh, Pa.
- The Panthers are 1 of 2 undefeated programs left in Division I volleyball. They are 20-0 on the season, their best start to a season since 1987, and 8-0 in ACC action.
- Louisville is on a major upswing, bringing a 9-match win streak into this week of volleyball action. The Cardinals, who are receiving votes in VolleyMob Power Rankings, are 15-4 overall and 8-0 in conference play.
- A win for Pittsburgh would put them one step closer to a regular season conference crown. A win for Louisville would be a signature one, propel the defending ACC champions to the front of the pack in conference play and give the Cardinals what they need to move up in the national ranks. Who’s it going to be?
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