Louisville is No. 1 for the first time in the AVCA Poll, but Pittsburgh remained No. 1 in the NCAA RPI.
Pitt, No. 3 again in the AVCA Poll, plays a rare mid-week non-conference match Tuesday when it goes to American.
Matt Ginipro, the App State coach since 2007, resigned.
There were just three matches Monday, all in the SWAC, where league-leading Jackson State swept Alabama State.
TUESDAY — Start with Pittsburgh, second in the ACC, going to American of the Patriot League. The match would have pitted Chinaza Ndee, the Pitt senior outside, against her younger sister, Onuchi, but Onuchi is injured. They were part of our recent story that included the sets of NCAA sisters that can be found throughout NCAA Division I volleyball.
Another ACC team, Florida State, is also going out of conference Tuesday when the Seminoles play host to North Florida of the ASUN.
Colorado State plays at Wyoming as the Rams try to build on their one-game lead over idle Utah State atop the Mountain West. When Colorado State plays Wyoming they call in the Border War.
Also on Tuesday’s slate, Little Rock is at Arkansas State, Florida Atlantic is at Bethune-Cookman, ETSU is at Chattanooga, Cansius is at Niagara, Prairie View is at McNeese, Idaho is at Eastern Washington, and UC San Diego is at UC Irvine.
AVCA POLL — This week’s top 25 probably represents the most shakeup of the season, although no one dropped out. Things started with Baylor beating Texas, which opened the door for Louisville to move up spot to No. 1. Texas dropped to No. 3, Pitt is still third, Wisconsin remained No. 4, but BYU moved up a spot to No. 5.
Baylor jumped four spots to No. 6, Kentucky dropped two spots after losing to South Carolina, Minnesota is up three spots to No. 8, Purdue dropped one spot to No. 9, and Ohio State went from seventh to No. 10.
There was just minor shuffling the rest of the way. Click here to see the complete AVCA Division I Coaches Top 25 Women’s Poll.
NCAA RPI — In order, the top four are Pittsburgh, Louisville, Texas, and Baylor. That’s significant because the top four seeds in the NCAA Tournament get to be home for the third and fourth rounds if they advance.
The top 16 get to be first- and second-round hosts, so the next 12: Wisconsin, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, UCLA, Ohio State, Purdue, Minnesota, Tennessee, Creighton, Marquette, Nebraska, and Miami.
Miami of the ACC is not ranked in the AVCA Poll, and BYU, which is leading the West Coast Conference, is No. 26 in the RPI. The second-place team in the WCC, San Diego, moved up a spot to No. 19 in the AVCA but is No 46 in the RPI.
Click here for the complete NCAA RPI list, which is sortable by conference.
SWAC — Jackson State improved to 14-12, 14-1 in the SWAC, when it swept Alabama State (15-15, 11-3). The Tigers, who have won five in a row, got 10 kills apiece from Jylen Whitten and Alexis Williams. Whitten hit .381 and had an assist, two aces, three blocks, and 10 digs. ASU’s Kalysia Bates had 10 kills with one error in 19 attacks to hit .474 and she had six digs …
Grambling beat Southern in four behind 15 kills by Gillian Jones … Alabama A&M beat Mississippi Valley in five. Ashley Jordan had 20 kills, Sydney Morant 15, and India Rhodes 12. Valley’s Chardea Berthelot had 16 kills and Jelia Fullerton had 15.
GINIPRO LEAVES — Matt Ginipro was 207-238 at App State, a member of the Sun Belt Conference located in Boone, North Carolina. This season the Mountaineers are 7-19, 3-11 in the SBC. They’ve lost six in a row.
“After 15 years with Appalachian State Volleyball, I have made the decision to step away from the program to pursue other volleyball and non-volleyball opportunities,” Ginipro said in the school’s news release.
“Boone and App State will always hold a special place in my heart, and it has been amazing to be a part of the App Nation. I also want to thank all the players and assistant coaches I’ve had the privilege to work with. They are some of the most special people in my life and it was an honor to be around them.”‘
Assistant coach Caitlin Bullock will be at the helm for the team’s final two matches this week, at home against Coastal Carolina, and then the Sun Belt Tournament that starts Thursday in Foley, Alabama.
SALIMA, JENNY, EMILY — If you missed it, watch our weekly video with Salima Rockwell, Jenny Hazelwood, and Emily Ehman where we ramble on about all sorts of things NCAA volleyball. This week our guest was Ohio State coach Jen Flynn Oldenburg.
