Major shakeup after 1-2 in VolleyballMag.com Super 16 Media Poll
Indoor
Lee Feinswog
October 30, 2023
K-State’s Izzi Szulczewsk, left, and Liz Gregorski celebrate with fans after upsetting BYU last week/Will Huster Photography
Our voters had so many things to consider this week while compiling their VolleyballMag.com Super 16 Media Poll ballots.
Teams in last week’s poll that took losses included Stanford, Washington State (twice), BYU (twice), Penn State and Florida. Texas and Georgia Tech both had reverse-sweep victories.
Nebraska and Wisconsin remained 1-2. After that? Here you go:
First place votes: Nebraska received all 12 Also receiving votes: Creighton, Penn State, Purdue, Florida, Florida State Dropped out: Penn State, Florida
Emily Ehman@emilyehman) — Big Ten Network, ESPN analyst; former Northwestern DS Ed Strong (@VBMagazine) — VolleyballMag.com super Tweeter Michella Chester (@michellachester) — THE volleyball voice of NCAA.com Daniel Gillman (@DanielGillman/@SixRotations) — host of Six Rotations for the AVCA, Cal Poly play-by-play Lincoln Arneal (@Lincoln_VB) — Nebraska beat writer for Huskers Illustrated Sam Gore (@sambgore) — veteran broadcaster/studio host who does ESPN volleyball play-by-play, host of the Fifth Set during the NCAA Tournament Mick Haley (@Michaelhaley6) — ESPN analyst, former national-championship coach at Texas and USC and 2000 Olympic coach Dennis Punzel (@DennisPunzel) — Wisconsin beat writer for the Wisconsin State Journal, author of Point! Wisconsin Fran Flory (@LSUCoachFran) — ESPN+ analyst, national champion at Texas, winningest coach in LSU history, AVCA Hall of Famer Anne Marie Anderson (@AnneMAnderson, @annemarieandersontv) — Emmy Award winner, volleyball play-by-play veteran who works NCAA matches for the Pac-12 Network, Big Ten Network and ESPN; played at Hofstra, where she still ranks in the top 10 in blocks Shelby Coppedge (@shelbycoppedge) — ESPN analyst, former Texas A&M-Corpus Christi DS Lee Feinswog (@VBMagazine) — editor of VolleyballMag.com
Voter comments
Strong:Even in a week where there were a lot of weird results, BYU going 0-6 in sets against a Kansas State team that wasn’t even in at-large consideration before the week still stuck out to me (with those results, the Wildcats certainly are in the mix now!). Georgia Tech has been so wobbly in wins against lesser opponents that they’re starting to get jumped by some teams. Also considered: Creighton, Florida, Penn State, Purdue.
Punzel: I’m definite about 1-2, Nebraska and Wisconsin. After that, I’m lost. I thought Stanford had established itself as a definite No. 3 but I thought wrong. More than any other week it seems like there were a lot more teams I wanted to drop than to move up, but you can’t move everybody down. Could make a case for a lot of teams in the last couple spots as well as reasons to keep them out. I settled on Creighton and Purdue, but am prepared to change my mind next week.
Coppedge:The freshmen continue to be a focal storyline for 2023. Nebraska freshman OH Harper Murray is right behind one of the best to play, Merritt Beason. Texas freshman S Ella Swindle is fully taking charge of the reigning national champs and she’s a strong blocker. Purdue freshman OH Chloe Chicoine continuously beats out some of the best blockers in the nation. There is so much great leadership in the upperclassmen this year, but the freshmen are getting more and more comfortable taking leadership roles, as well.
Ehman: Stanford stayed at 3 for me because I think their wins are still just better than Louisville’s NC State. Washington State dropped a bit after two unranked losses, as did BYU.
Haley: The top three (Nebraska-Wisconsin-Louisville) are taking care of business. The wear and tear of the season took its toll on several teams: Stanford, WSU, BYU, Purdue and Penn State. Georgia Tech, Arkansas, Pittsburgh, Tennessee, Kentucky and Creighton are all steady. Survival and consistency are the name of the game here forward.
Arneal: Stanford suffered one of the more shocking losses of the year, falling to Arizona State. The surprise wasn’t that the Sun Devils won, but rather how they did it with a dominant sweep as the Cardinals reached 20 points in just one set. As a result, ASU gets back in my rankings. Cougars had a rough week as Washington State and BYU dropped in the rankings after both going 0-2. It’s a bit odd to have two Big Ten teams at the top and then none others. Penn State fell to Michigan State and fell out of my Super 16.
Gilman: It’s the Wild West! Stanford, Washington State and BYU all have forgettable weekends as none of our 15-20 options seem to want to hold on to a seed, so I rewarded Arizona State and put back in Creighton, which is the Marquette rematch with Norah Sis healthy. The committee told us we’re all around the same page, which was great to see. We have a great Friday coming up with Georgia Tech-Louisville, Stanford-Washington State and Nebraska-Penn State!
Anderson: Arkansas is steadily climbing for me. Their only SEC loss was to Kentucky in 5 with Zoi Evans out with a mid-match injury. Razorbacks are going to do NCAA tournament damage. I thought about moving Oregon to 5 and Texas to 6 but the Longhorn’s loss to LBSU was without ONeal. With her, they are a top 5 team in my opinion.
Feinswog: It feels like there are three tiers. The first is Nebraska-Wisconsin, and they’re a cut above. The second is Texas-Louisville (my 3-4). And then the rest you could put in a blender. This past week was nuts. K-State beating BYU twice? Washington State losing twice — at home? Pittsburgh has a chance to change things when it plays host to Louisville on November 18. Other than that, it’s the big four and the peloton. And maybe the biggest surprise is that Stanford has dropped back into the pack, albeit at No. 5, after getting swept by Arizona State.
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