Finally.
For the first time since Wisconsin beat Nebraska in a battle for the ages last December to win the NCAA title, the two Big Ten powers play Wednesday night.
And this match in Madison has plenty on the line, not the least of which is top-four NCAA Tournament seeding implications.
We’ve also got a Hugh McCutcheon update, the AVCA Poll and POW, and Monday’s and Tuesday’s results.
WEDNESDAY SCHEDULE: Please don’t call it a rematch, because both rosters are vastly different from when Wisconsin won it all 22-25, 31-29, 25-23, 23-25, 15-12 in a legitimate thrillier (a term too often used as a cliche for every five-set match played) that showcased college volleyball in the best way possible.
Now, Nebraska (18-1, 1-0 B1G) has moved into the top spot in this week’s AVCA Poll, while Wisconsin (15-3, 9-1) is No. 5. Their match is on the Big Ten Network at 9 p.m. Eastern with Anne Marie Anderson on the call and VolleyballMag.com contributer Emily Ehman handling analysis. Anderson will join Ehman, Southern Miss coach Jenny Hazelwood and VBM editor Lee Feinswog on Monday for the weekly NCAA Zoom.
Nebraska has won 11 in a row since its only loss, in four sets September 13 to Stanford. Wisconsin has won eight in a row. Wisconsin won both their regular-season meetings last season, a sweep on October 27 at Nebraska and then in four November 26 in Madison.
Also in the Big Ten on Wednesday, sixth-ranked Ohio State (13-5, 9-1), tied with Wisconsin in second place, is home for Michigan (13-7, 4-6), No. 9 Minnesota (12-6, 7-3) is home for Michigan State (10-11, 1-9) and No. 11 Penn State (17-4, 6-4) is at Illinois (9-11, 4-6),which precedes the Nebraska-Wisconsin match on the B1G Network.
There’s a fight for first in the SEC, when No. 14 Florida (15-4, 7-2) goes to Auburn (18-2, 7-2), which isn’t even receiving votes in the AVCA Poll. Also in the SEC, Ole Miss (9-10, 5-4) goes to Mississippi State (11-8, 4-5).
In the Big 12, Texas (15-1, 7-1), which dropped to No. 12 in the poll, is home for Texas Tech (14-7, 3-5). No. 13 Baylor (17-4, 6-2) is at Oklahoma (11-9, 1-7), Iowa State (14-7, 6-2) is at West Virginia (7-14, 0-8) and Kansas (15-5, 5-3) goes to TCU (10-9, 5-3).
The lone ACC match has No. 4 Louisville (18-2, 9-10 and coming off its first loss, home for Notre Dame (9-1, 4-6).
The only Big East match as…
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