Florida Takes Over the Top Spot; VolleyMob Week 3 Top 25

After week one saw plenty of shuffling, week two saw several teams score big wins only to get upset to a different team. Meanwhile, for the second straight week the number one team in the country lost as Penn State took down the defending National Champions, Stanford, to keep the shuffling at the top going in week two.

Beyond that, one common theme throughout the top 25 is resume, which is re-evaluated every week. This early in the season, who you’ve beaten and the quality of losses stands for more than simply moving up or down the rankings based on results.

VOLLEYMOB TOP 25 (WEEK TWO):

1. FLORIDA GATORS

• 4-0 (0-0, SEC)
• Last Week: #3; Def. NC State (3-0), #15 North Carolina (3-0)
• After defeating two top-five teams in week one, Florida had a pair of ACC opponents in week two. They won every set in both, earning a win over #15 North Carolina. Although the Tar Heels have become spoiled goods early in the season for a resume win, it still was the Gators third top-15 victory already.

2. PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS

• 5-0 (0-0, Big Ten)
• Last Week: #5; Def. #1 Stanford (3-1), at Texas A&M (3-2)
• Penn State makes the jump over Minnesota after they defeated the top team in the country at the time and then were able to escape on the road against a likely NCAA Tournament team in Texas A&M. Based on resume, Penn State’s is currently much better than Minnesota’s, which leads to the jump although the two will get to duke it out later in the year.

3. MINNESOTA GOLDEN GOPHERS

• 5-0 (0-0, Big Ten)
• Last Week: #2; Def. West Virginia (3-0), UTSA (3-0), Tennessee (3-0)
• With North Carolina’s struggles, Minnesota doesn’t have a true marquee win at the moment. What they have done though is dominate their competition, which continued this past week by winning all nine sets of play.

4. TEXAS LONGHORNS

• 4-1 (0-0, Big 12)
• Last Week: #4; Def. Villanova (3-0), Georgia Tech (3-0), at #23 San Diego (3-1)
• Texas has reeled off four straight since a road loss to Florida, the current top team in the country. Over this past weekend they notably took down ranked San Diego team on the road and a Georgia Tech team who upset Michigan State last week.

5. STANFORD CARDINAL

• 4-1 (0-0, Pac-12)
• Last Week: #1; Lost vs. #5 Penn State (1-3); Def. Texas A&M (3-0)
• The defending National Champions regained the top spot for week two, but quickly lost it despite 27 kills from Kathryn Plummer. All-American Merete Lutz still didn’t play in week two and has been out with an undisclosed injury.

6. WISCONSIN BADGERS

• 5-0 (0-0, Big Ten)
• Last Week: #8; Def. Syracuse (3-0), Arkansas (3-0), Kansas State (3-0)
• Through five matches, Wisconsin still has yet to drop a set. The win over Arkansas stands out from this past weekend as the Razorbacks look more like the competitive Arkansas of old as opposed to last season’s team that struggled.

7. CREIGHTON BLUEJAYS

• 5-1 (0-0, Big East)
• Last Week: #6; Def. #14 Kentucky (3-0), RV Northern Iowa (3-0); Lost vs. #17 USC (0-3)
• Creighton swept two very good teams in Kentucky and Northern Iowa, but for whatever reason didn’t have it against USC as they struggled on the defensive end. It’s hard to fault a team too much for losing to a ranked team considering the other three teams in the event had a similar path as Creighton – earning a big win but faltering in later matches.

8. WASHINGTON HUSKIES

• 5-1 (0-0, Pac-12)
• Last Week: #7; Def. Santa Clara (3-0), Seattle (3-0), RV Cal Poly (3-0)
• Washington didn’t have a killer schedule in week two, but they played a solid Cal Poly team as they took care of business by winning every set they appeared in over the weekend. Even though Creighton loses in front of them, Washington stays below them as the teams hold the same record while the BlueJays won at the Huskies’ place.

9. KANSAS JAYHAWKS

• 6-0 (0-0, Big 12)
• Last Week: #9; Def. at Utah Valley (3-0), Long Beach State (3-1), Montana (3-0)
• The Jayhawks were tested by Long Beach State in their second match of a tournament at Orem, Utah. Beyond that, they won all their sets and will have a big opportunity to move up in the rankings this next week with a loaded schedule featuring Kentucky, Belmont, Purdue and Creighton.

10. OREGON DUCKS

• 4-1 (0-0, Pac-12)
• Last Week: #10; Def. UTRGV (3-0), Loyola Marymount (3-2), Northern Illinois (3-0)
• Oregon already earned a top-five win in week one with their only loss coming to Texas. They survived Loyola Marymount in week two that was sandwiched between two sweeps, including over 2016 NCAA Tournament team Northern Illinois.

11. UCLA BRUINS

• 5-0 (0-0, Pac-12)
• Last Week: #11; Def. at New Mexico State (3-0), UNLV (3-0)
• The Bruins did most of their early season work in week one at a tournament in Hawaii but continued their undefeated season with a pair of wins in sweep form in week two.

12. NEBRASKA CORNHUSKERS

• 3-2 (0-0, Big Ten)
• Last Week: #12; Def. UMBC (3-0), Oral Roberts (3-0), Saint Mary’s (3-0)
• The best news for Nebraska wasn’t a 3-0 week that featured nine set wins in nine sets played. The best news was that All-American setter Kelly Hunter mixed back into action for the Huskers, as they’re now undefeated with her in the lineup.

13. BYU COUGARS

• 6-0 (0-0, WCC)
• Last Week: #13; Def. Boise State (3-0), Missouri (3-1), Sacramento State (3-0)
• BYU flexed their muscle over fellow high-end mid-major Boise State before taking down solid Missouri and Sacramento State squads for a perfect start. They’ll get a chance for some resume builders this next week with Hawaii and Baylor on the docket.

14. KENTUCKY WILDCATS

• 5-1 (0-0, SEC)
• Last Week: #14; Lost at #6 Creighton (0-3); Def. RV Northern Iowa (3-2), #17 USC (3-1)
• Kentucky should have no shame in losing on the road to Creighton, especially with the other big wins they’ve collected so far. In addition to wins over Northern Iowa and USC this week, they took down Utah in five sets in week one.

15. UTAH UTES

• 5-1 (0-0, Pac-12)
• Last Week: #19; Def. South Dakota (3-0), Western Carolina (3-0), RV Hawaii (3-1)
• Utah’s lone loss was a five-setter against Kentucky last week as they’ve looked strong in every match this season. After winning six straight sets, they were tested by Hawaii on the road but came away with a solid resume boosting victory.

16. USC TROJANS

• 4-2 (0-0, Pac-12)
• Last Week: #17; Lost vs. RV Northern Iowa (1-3), #14 Kentucky (1-3); Def. #6 Creighton (3-0)
• USC followed a perfect first weekend and a ranked win over Michigan with an even better win in a sweep vs. Creighton as Khalia Lanier netted 23 kills in three sets. However, they were upset by Northern Iowa and couldn’t take down Kentucky. Their four-set win over Michigan keeps them in front of the Wolverines though, at least for this week with understandable losses, especially with plenty in front of them losing.

17. MICHIGAN WOLVERINES

• 5-1 (0-0, Big Ten)
• Last Week: #18; Def. Butler (3-0), New Hampshire (3-0), UW-Green Bay (3-1)
• Michigan has won four consecutive matches since their loss to the Trojans but didn’t have a marquee match in week two to jump up in the rankings.

18. MICHIGAN STATE SPARTANS

• 5-1 (0-0, Big Ten)
• Last Week: #21; Def. San Diego State (3-0), Marshall (3-0), Texas A&M Corpus Christi (3-0)
• The Spartans tripped up last week vs. Georgia Tech, but have won every other set they’ve played in, including this last week when they rolled to a 5-1 overall mark.

19. PURDUE BOILERMAKERS

• 6-0 (0-0, Big Ten)
• Last Week: #22; Def. Jacksonville (3-0), Eastern Michigan (3-0), at Wyoming (3-2)
• Purdue rolled through its first two matches of the week and headed into the Wyoming match undefeated in sets. The Cowgirls kept things close with Purdue but the Boilermakers got the win and remained unbeaten.

20. COLORADO STATE RAMS

• 5-1 (0-0, MWC)
• Last Week: Unranked; Def. RV TCU (3-2), UNC Asheville (3-0), at #16 Florida State (3-0)
• Colorado State was rusty to start the season as they fell at home to Duke in five sets. Since then they’ve reeled off five straight wins including a dominant sweep of Florida State in Tallahassee that featured a 25-15 final set.

21. FLORIDA STATE SEMINOLES

• 5-1 (0-0, ACC)
• Last Week: #16; Def. UNC Asheville (3-0), RV TCU (3-1); Lost vs. Colorado State (0-3)
• The Seminoles dropped their first match of the season to Colorado State in just three sets, but they bounced back with a four-set victory against a back-to-back NCAA Tournament team in TCU.

22. SAN DIEGO TOREROS

• 4-2 (0-0, WCC)
• Last Week: #23; Def. Georgia Tech (3-0), Villanova (3-0); Lost vs. #4 Texas (1-3)
• The Toreros started off their week with a sweep of Georgia Tech, a team who upset Michigan State a week prior. They did fall to Texas after winning the opening set, with their other loss coming to UCLA.

23. MISSOURI STATE BEARS

• 4-2 (0-0, MVC)
• Last Week: RV; Def. at #20 Ohio State (3-1), Oakland (3-0); Lost vs. Lipscomb (2-3)
• Missouri State hindered their rise into the top 25 with a loss to Lipscomb, but it came during a 9 am match against a solid Lipscomb team in five sets just a morning after the team upset host and 20th ranked Ohio State. Their other loss came to Kansas, so Missouri State earns a spot just above the team they beat on the road.

24. OHIO STATE BUCKEYES

• 4-2 (0-0, Big Ten)
• Last Week: #20; Lost vs. RV Missouri State (1-3); Def. Oakland (3-1), Lipscomb (3-0)
• Ohio State was tripped up by the Missouri Valley Conference projected favorite in Missouri State to start their tournament, but then finished strong including a win over Lipscomb, who ended up upsetting Missouri State.

25. ILLINOIS FIGHTING ILLINI

• 6-0 (0-0, Big Ten)
• Last Week: RV; Def. Kent State (3-0), #24 Western Kentucky (3-0), Louisville (3-0)
• To this point Illinois has won 18 sets and lost just one. That includes a perfect weekend of sets featuring a top 25 victory and another win over a tested ACC team in Louisville.

On the Cusp:

Northern Iowa (4-2)

Iowa State (5-0)

*Baylor (4-2) (24)

Washington State (5-1)

Wichita State (6-0)

TCU (4-2)

Auburn (5-1)

Marquette (3-3)

Hawaii (2-4)

Cal Poly (5-1)

(Note: * Signifies that a team dropped out of the top 25/Previous rank in parenthesis)

Others who Dropped Out:

*North Carolina (15)

*Western Kentucky (24)