BIG TEN WEEKLY RELEASE – OCT. 12
- As has become custom during the Big Ten Conference season, there will be multiple Top 25 matchups on the conference schedule this week, with three head-to-head contests between ranked opponents. Leading the way is Wednesday’s top-10 showdown, as No. 6 Ohio State travels to No. 10 Minnesota for an 8 p.m. (ET) match on Big Ten Network as part of its Wednesday night #B1GBlockParty.
- For the sixth time in eight polls this season, the Big Ten Conference leads the country with a season-high seven schools in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Top 25 poll. Five of those polls have featured five Big Ten teams among the top 10, including this week’s rankings, which saw Minnesota return to that group at No. 10. Northwestern also continues to receive votes in the AVCA poll, the fourth time in the last five weeks the Wildcats have earned mention in the coaches’ poll.
- Six Big Ten teams have earned multiple Top 25 wins this season, with four schools having captured at least four ranked victories to date. The two Big Ten programs that will square off Wednesday night on Big Ten Network — No. 6 Ohio State and No. 10 Minnesota — have each played a conference-high nine Top 25 opponents this season (MINN 5-4, OSU 4-5), making up more than 64 percent of their 14 matches to date (both schools are 9-5 this season entering Wednesday’s match).
- The current dean of Big Ten Conference volleyball coaches, Michigan’s Mark Rosen will reach a remarkable coaching milestone Friday, when his 24th-ranked Wolverines travel to rival Michigan State (7:30 p.m. ET on B1G+). It will be Rosen’s 1,000th career match as a collegiate head coach — he has a career record of 672-327 (.673) in 31 seasons, including a 463-290 (.615) record in his 24-year run at Michigan.
- With a record-setting 55 matches on linear television this season, the Big Ten Conference has the country’s strongest volleyball television package, a fact that will be abundantly clear during the next two weeks. On the next nine nights Big Ten volleyball programs will take the court from Oct. 12-26, at least one of those matches will be televised live by one of the conference’s television partners on evert single night. A total of 12 Big Ten matches will be broadcast (eight on Big Ten Network, four on ESPN networks), highlighted by a tripleheader on Oct. 19 and doubleheaders on Wednesday (Oct. 12) and Oct. 21.
- Maryland continues to lead the nation in blocking this season (3.35 per set) while Nebraska remains tops in opponent hitting percentage (.117). Wisconsin is No. 3 in the country in both categories at 3.01 blocks per set while allowing opponents a mere .145 hitting percentage. Michigan’s Jess Robinson maintains her national lead in hitting percentage (.483), while Maryland’s Rainelle Jones has done likewise in blocks (1.76/set), just nosing out current national runner-up Danielle Hart of Wisconsin (1.64).
- Another seven Big Ten programs are ranked in the top 25 of the latest NCAA RPI rankings released Monday, highlighted by six in the top 20 (the most of any conference in the country). Northwestern is also not far outside the top 25, currently checking in at No. 34.
- The NCAA Division I women’s volleyball committee revealed its first regular-season top 10 rankings on Oct. 2, with the Big Ten leading all conferences by placing four among the top 10 — No. 4 Nebraska, No. 6 Ohio State, No. 9 Purdue and No. 10 Minnesota. The committee will offer a second reveal later this month.
- The Big Ten Conference provides its programs with some of the best preparation for postseason play, with four conference schools currently having played schedules that rank among the 10 toughest schedules in the country (based on cumulative opposition winning percentage). Ohio State leads the country with a schedule that has seen its opponents post a combined .726 winning percentage to date, with Minnesota second (.690). Wisconsin has the No. 8 toughest schedule (.650) and Nebraska is currently 10th (.643).
- Nearly half (9) of the nation’s top 20 programs in average attendance come from the Big Ten Conference, led by four of the top six — No. 1 Wisconsin (8,597 fans per match), No. 2 Nebraska (8,181), No. 4 Minnesota (4,715) and No. 6 Ohio State (3,815). Michigan State and Illinois are next in a virtual tie at No. 13 (2,414), followed by No. 18 Purdue (2,347), No. 19 Michigan (2,275) and No. 20 Penn State (2,227).
- Wisconsin set the NCAA regular-season single-match attendance record on Sept. 16 when 16,833 fans packed the Kohl Center for the Badgers’ five-set thriller against Florida. That mark topped the previous record of 15,797, set nine days earlier for Nebraska’s 3-2 win over Creighton at the CHI Health Center in Omaha (home of the 2022 NCAA Final Four).
- The Big Ten has announced the most robust volleyball television package in its history with a record-setting 55 matches scheduled for linear television coverage (47 on Big Ten Network, six on ESPN2/ESPNU, two on FS1), with the possibility of further broadcasts to be announced at a later date. In addition, all non-televised Big Ten volleyball home matches are scheduled to be broadcast live on B1G+, the Big Ten Network’s subscription streaming service (bigtenplus.com).
- On Aug. 1, the Big Ten Network announced a groundbreaking, multi-year distribution partnership with Volleyball World that will enhance the promotion and coverage of Big Ten Conference volleyball across the globe. As part of that agreement, 70+ Big Ten volleyball matches will appear worldwide on VolleyballWorld.tv. There will also be live streaming of nearly 50 televised Big Ten Network volleyball matches outside of North America and certain Caribbean islands, as well as worldwide streaming of an additional 28 matches from B1G+ inventory, with those matches airing concurrently on B1G+.
- For the 16th consecutive season, Big Ten volleyball honored more than 70 Academic All-Big Ten standouts in 2021, as a record-setting 153 volleyball student-athletes were recognized, including a pair of Academic All-America selections in first-team honoree Sydney Hilley (Wisconsin) and second-team choice Diana Brown (Illinois).