I re-ranked the remaining 16 teams in the NCAA women's volleyball tournament. I took the original seeding made by the committee and re-ranked the teams based on tournament play only — not the entire season.
I am keeping the top 4 seeds the top 4 teams: Nebraska, Kentucky, Texas and Pitt.
No. 1 Nebraska
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No. 2 Kentucky
Kentucky was the only team to drop a set in the first two rounds, but I decided not to move the Wildcats down a spot because UCLA was a strong contender.
No. 3 Texas
I was really impressed with Texas’ dominating sweep over Penn State. The Longhorns held PSU to nine points in the second set.
🤘 TEXAS FIGHT: Relive the Longhorn's win over Penn State
No. 4 Pitt
No. 5 SMU
After Pitt, I have SMU at No. 5. The Mustangs showcased incredible performances early. They set an NCAA tournament record with a .618 hitting percentage in the first round, hit .370 in a sweep over Florida and looked impressive even after their star hitter Jadyn Livings went out with an injury.
No. 6 Wisconsin
I moved Wisconsin all the way up to No. 6, the biggest mover in my re-rankings. I think the Badgers are the hottest team in the country right now and look so dangerous with the return of Charlie Fuerbringer. They absolutely steam rolled through the first two rounds, even over a dark horse North Carolina team where they hit over .360. Mimi Colyer hit over .400 and the offense looked lights out.
DENIED UP TOP! ❌
— Wisconsin Volleyball (@BadgerVB)
📺 | ESPN+
No. 7 Arizona State
After Wisconsin, I have Arizona State staying put in its original seed spot. The Sun Devils dropped a set to Utah State, so I didn't move them up, but outside of that one set they handled the Aggies pretty handedly. I like how they have been spreading the offense out a lot more outside of just Noemie Glover.
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No. 8 Texas A&M
I have Texas A&M jumping up a spot from its original seeding to No. 8. I liked how the Aggies looked against a strong TCU team, coming back from behind to close it out in four. I thought this team had the talent of a No. 2 seed all along, so I'm moving them up.
A rocket from Emily Hellmuth to end the set 🚀 x 🎥 ESPN+ /
— NCAA Women's Volleyball (@NCAAVolleyball)
No. 9 Stanford
Stanford drops a bit from its original seeding after dropping a set in the first round to Utah Valley and one to Arizona in the second. The Cardinal are playing without Logan Parks, and it has made a big difference offensively.
No. 10 Louisville
Louisville also drops to No. 10 after surviving a five-set battle with Marquette. The Cardinals escaped with the win after falling behind two sets to one.
📺 WATCH: Louisville survives Marquette in a thriller
No. 11 Indiana
Indiana takes a jump from their original seeded to No. 11. They handled a strong Colorado team in a straight sweep which was really impressive. The Hoosier offense looks really efficient right now while running their quick tempo.
No. 12 Minnesota
Minnesota also moves up a spot with two sweeps through the first two rounds with outside Julia Hanson balling out. The Gopher freshmen are also looking really strong and are coming into their own at the right time of the season.
Julia Hanson this weekend:
— Minnesota Volleyball (@GopherVBall)
36 kills on .500 hitting 🔥🔥🔥
No. 13 Purdue
I have Purdue at No. 13, around its original seeding after dropping just a set to Baylor in the second round.
No. 14 Creighton
Creighton takes a drop in the re-rank after getting pushed to five by Northern Colorado in the first round and playing a really close battle with UNI.
No. 15 Kansas
That leaves Kansas at No. 15. I was impressed by Kansas taking down Miami in four sets, so I moved the Jayhawks up a spot from their original seeding.
No. 16 Cal Poly
Finally, Cal Poly goes from unseeded to No. 16 after being the sole unseeded team to make the regionals. They are all around a great volleyball team and I am so excited to see them battle in Lexington.
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CAL POLY UPSETS (4) USC AND IS HEADED TO THE ROUND OF 16 FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 18 YEARS 😱 x 🎥 ESPN+ /
— NCAA Women's Volleyball (@NCAAVolleyball)
