1. Nebraska Cornhuskers (4-0)
Previous Ranking: 2
Results From Last Week: Saint Mary's, Calif. (W, 3-0); Middle Tennessee (W,
3-0); Long Beach State (W, 3-0)
This Week's Matches: Louisville (Fri.); Cal Poly (Sat.); Minnesota (Sun.)
Summary: Sarah Pavan currently leads the Big 12 in kills per game with 5.25
and she is certainly an early favorite as the AVCA National Player of the Year. Fellow classmate Tracey Stalls is doing her part in the middle, averaging 3.42
kills per game while hitting over .500 in all four matches this season. Rachel Holloway is doing a fantastic job running the Cornhuskers, racketing up 14.36
assists per game while having her squad hit at an amazing .346 clip. The
toughest test for Nebraska this weekend will come in the form of Cal Poly, a
team that upset Texas last weekend in five games, though all three matches will
be played in the comfy confines of the NU Coliseum.
2. Penn State Nittany Lions (6-0)
Previous Ranking: 4
Results From Last Week: Eastern Kentucky (W, 3-0); West Virginia (W, 3-0);
Duke (W, 3-0)
This Week's Matches: Missouri (Thu.); Texas (Fri.)
Summary: Outside hitter Nicole Fawcett appears to be immune to the term
“Sophomore Slump,” as the 2005 AVCA National Freshman of the Year has picked up
right where she left off. The sophomore left side picked up the MVP honors at
the Penn State Invitational, hammering down 4.89 kills per game while hitting
.500 in three matches. For her efforts, she was named the Big 10 Player of the
Week, her fourth award of her young career. Freshman Megan Hodge is one of Penn
State's leading attackers this season, as the 2005 Gatorade High School National
Player of the Year is averaging 3.30 kills per game. This weekend, Penn State
will face difficult challenges from the Big 12 in the shape of Missouri and
Texas, but the Nittany Lions hope that their huge front-row defense will lead
them to victory, as they lead the country with 4.22 blocks per game.
3. Texas Longhorns (4-1)
Previous Ranking: 3
Results From Last Week: Pepperdine (W, 3-1); Cal Poly (L, 3-2); Long Island
(W, 3-0)
This Week's Matches: Santa Clara (Thu.); Penn State (Fri.)
Summary: After looking very impressive during the first weekend of action by
downing host Wisconsin and defending national champion Washington at the AVCA
Showcase, Texas came crashing down to Earth with a shocking loss to Cal Poly
last weekend despite a combined 39 kills from outside hitter Dariam Acevedo and
middle blocker Leticia Armstrong. The Longhorns were also dealt a severe blow to
their depth when it was announced that Brandy Magee, a 2005 AVCA Third Team
All-American, would be out for the rest of the year with a torn ACL. Texas
returns home for the first time this season with a premiere match-up against
Santa Clara, and the face off between the two teams will be interesting to see - ‘Horns coach Jerritt Elliott and Broncos general Jon Wallace were former
roommates from their assistant coaching days in Southern California and remain
close friends. Waiting for Texas the following day? None other than Big 10
favorites Penn State.
4. Santa Clara Broncos (5-0)
Previous Ranking: 8
Results From Last Week: Valparaiso (W, 3-0); Notre Dame (W, 3-0)
This Week's Matches: Texas (Thu.); Missouri (Fri.)
Summary: The motto for Santa Clara this season seems to be “Three Up, Three
Down,” as last year's Cinderella story has yet to drop a single game in their
five matches played this season. Last weekend, host Notre Dame was the latest
team to fall victim to Santa Clara, as 2005 AVCA Third Team All-American and
recently crowned West Coast Conference Player of the Week Crystal Matich guided
her squad to an outstanding hitting percentage of .406 over three matches,
handing out 14.17 assists per game. Fellow Third Team All-American Anna Cmaylo
has been unstoppable in the middle this season, with her slide attack garnering
her 4.07 kills per game at a .625 hitting percentage. Outside hitter and team
captain Kim McGiven leads the Bronco offense with 5.15 kills per game. Up next
will be two difficult opponents in Big 12 foes Texas and Missouri at the Time
Warner Cable Texas Invitational.
5. UCLA Bruins (6-0)
Previous Ranking: 7
Results From Last Week: Colorado (W, 3-0); Florida (W, 3-0); Hawaii (3-0)
This Week's Matches: Texas State (Fri.); Georgia (Sat.); Denver (Sat.)
Summary: UCLA hasn't been to a Final Four since the 1994 season, but this
could be the year that the three-time national champions return to national
glory after dominating two very good teams in Florida and Hawaii on the way to
capturing the Hawaiian Airlines Classic this past weekend. Middle blocker Nana
Meriwether was a beast up at the net in Honolulu, as she put up 10 blocks
against Colorado and hit an amazing .875 against Florida, cracking 22 kills in
the process. She was named not only the Pac-10 Player of the Week, but also the AVCA Player of the
Week for her outstanding performances. The Bruins will hit
the road once again, marking the third consecutive time the Blue and Gold will
play outside Pauley Pavilion and it won't get any easier. There are two more
weeks left of traveling before they are able to open up in Westwood. But first
things first – head coach Andy Banachowski will look to keep his team undefeated
at the Pioneer Classic, hosted by Denver.
6. Washington Huskies (4-1)
Previous Ranking: 5
Results From Last Week: Davidson (W, 3-0); Morehead State (W, 3-0); Liberty
(W, 3-0)
This Week's Matches: Portland State (Thu.); University of Maryland, Baltimore
County (Fri.); North Dakota State (Fri.); Gonzaga (Sat.)
Summary: Returning to the Bank of America Arena for the first time this
season, Washington will look to continue its domination at home. The defending
national champions went 11-0 last season in Seattle and hope to accomplish the
same unbeaten streak again in 2006, first by hosting four teams in the Husky
Classic. AVCA All-American Christal Morrison is the top returning attacker and
last weekend proved her worth after averaging 4.67 kills and 2.69 digs per game
to capture MVP accolades at the Mizuno Wildcat Classic. Senior setter and
two-time AVCA First Team All-American Courtney Thompson, considered the top
playmaker in the country, dished out 13.67 assists last weekend and enabled the
Huskies to hit at an amazing .364 hitting percentage. Junior outside hitter Stevie Mussie, a local product who transferred to Washington from Pacific two
season ago, leads the team in kills per game with 4.47, and the combination of
Morrison and Mussie on the left side will be devastating to opponents, as
Portland State will soon find out on Thursday.
7. Florida Gators (4-1)
Previous Ranking: 6
Results From Last Week: Hawaii (W, 3-0); Colorado (W, 3-0); UCLA (L, 3-0)
This Week's Matches: Central Florida (Fri.)
Summary: Florida has dominated the state in terms of collegiate volleyball,
winning 35 straight matches against in-state opponents, and Friday's face off
against Central Florida should result in No. 36 for Mary Wise & Co. Last
weekend's straight set loss to UCLA will have to be forgotten if Florida is to
forge on and capture its 16th straight Southeastern Conference crown in 2006. Freshman Elyse Cusack has made quite an impression in her already young career,
claiming this week's SEC Defensive Player of the Week. She is currently
averaging a program-best 5.75 digs per game and at this rate, would easily
surpass former Gator Rachel Engel's mark of 5.12 digs per game. While Cusack is
a defensive force in the back row, sophomore middle blocker Kelsey Bowers leads
the SEC in hitting percentage at .545, while junior outside hitter Marcie
Hampton is the top attacker, with 4.06 kills per game.
8. Stanford Cardinal (3-1)
Previous Ranking: 1
Results From Last Week: BYU (L, 3-1); Virginia Commonwealth (W,
3-0); Texas A&M Corpus Christi (W, 3-0)
This Week's Matches: Northwestern (Th.); Fairfield (Fri.); Hawaii (Sat.)
Summary: Kristin Richards did not get quite the homecoming she was hoping for
this past weekend, as Brigham Young shocked Stanford in Provo behind a vocal
crowd of 4,000 fans. Neither she nor Cynthia Barboza played particularly well in
the 3-1 loss to the Cougars, as the duo collected only 24 kills against a paltry
.043 hitting percentage. The lone bright spot this past weekend was the stellar
play of middle blocker Foluke Akinradewo, who attacked and defended well up at
the net. The talent is still there for a national championship, but there are
questions regarding the Cardinal's communication, passing and defense.
Hawaii
will be a great test for them on Saturday, playing in another hostile
environment against a solid team that rarely loses on its home court.
9. California Golden Bears (6-0)
Previous Ranking: 10
Results From Last Week: Xavier (W, 3-0); Oral Roberts (W, 3-0); Florida International (W, 3-0)
This Week's Matches: Colorado State (Fri.); American (Sat.); Pepperdine
(Sat.)
Summary: Remember the name Hana Cutura, as the California freshman from
Croatia has already made quite an impact for her team in such a short amount of
time. In her first two weeks as a collegiate player, one of Europe's finest
youngsters already picked an MVP award in one tournament and shared the top
honor with teammate Angie Pressey in another. The 6-3 outside hitter is an
imposing force at the net and averages 4.67 kills per game. Paired with Pressey
on the outside, the Golden Bears are in good hands with these terminators. Up
next for Rich Feller's crew is the two-day Golden Bear Invitational, with the
highlight of the weekend being a date with West Coast Conference power Pepperdine.
10. USC Trojans (6-0)
Previous Ranking: 12
Results From Last Week: Fresno State (W, 3-0); Utah (W, 3-1); Tennessee (W,
3-1)
This Week's Matches: Florida State (Fri.); South Carolina (Fri.); Saint
John's (Sat.)
Summary: Against highly-regarded Utah, junior outside hitter Diane Copenhagen
lifted her team to a four-game victory thanks to 23 kills, one shy of her
personal best. The following night, fellow junior Asia Kaczor, a transfer from
the College of Southern Idaho and reigning NJCAA Player of the Year, registered
24 kills in carrying Southern California past Tennessee. Often-injured Jessica Gysin also contributed greatly during the weekend, giving the Trojans firepower
at the antennas, while stabilizing the passing lanes during serve receive. While
this weekend isn't terribly challenging, it will allow Mick Haley to try out
different player combinations and give his starters some rest before the
grueling Pac-10 season begins in late-September.
The Best of the Rest
11. BYU Cougars (6-0)
Previous Ranking: NR
Results From Last Week: Stanford (W, 3-1); Texas A&M Corpus Christi (W, 3-0);
Virginia Commonwealth (W, 3-0)
This Week's Matches: Kansas (Thu.); Arkansas (Fri.)
12. Hawaii Rainbow Wahine (3-2)
Previous Ranking: 11
Results From Last Week: Florida (L, 3-0); Colorado (W, 3-0); UCLA (L, 3-0)
This Week's Matches: Fairfield (Thu.); Northwestern (Fri.); Stanford (Sat.)
13. Wisconsin Badgers (4-1)
Previous Ranking: 9
Results From Last Week: Oklahoma (W, 3-0); South Dakota State (W, 3-0);
Oregon State (W, 3-0)
This Week's Matches: Northern Colorado (Fri.); Windsor (Sat.); UW-Milwaukee
(Sat.)
14. Purdue Boilermakers (7-0)
Previous Ranking: NR
Results From Last Week: Virginia Tech (W, 3-1); Arizona State (W, 3-2);
Auburn (W, 3-0)
This Week's Matches: Dayton (W, 3-2); Western Michigan (Sat.)
15. Tennessee Lady Vols (5-1)
Previous Ranking: 15
Results From Last Week: Loyola Marymount (W, 3-1); North Carolina (W, 3-0);
USC (L, 3-1)
This Week's Matches: Pittsburgh (Fri.); Marshall (Sat.); Lehigh (Sat.)
Dropped Out: Louisville (13), Minnesota (14)
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