Big Ten Weekly Volleyball Central – Nov. 26-Dec.2

Big Ten Weekly Release – Nov. 26
• Seven Big Ten teams were among this week’s AVCA/TARAFLEX Top 25, announced on Monday: #1 Nebraska, #10 Wisconsin, #11 Purdue, #14 USC, #15 Indiana, #18 Minnesota and #25 Penn State. Michigan is receiving votes in this week’s poll.
• In this week’s NCAA Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) rankings, five Big Ten schools are in the top 15, six in the top 25 and nine in the top 50 of the NCAA RPI report through games of Nov. 24. RPI rankings through games of Nov. 23: Nebraska 1; Wisconsin 11; Purdue 12; Indiana 13; Minnesota 15; USC 17; Penn State 32; Michigan 37 and UCLA 48. Illinois (51), Washington (52) and Oregon (59) are all among the top 60.
• Six of the 14 2025 AVCA Division I Player of the Year semifinalists hail from the Big Ten. The list includes Nebraska’s Andi Jackson, Harper Murray and Bergen Reilly, Penn State’s Kennedy Martin, Purdue’s Kenna Wollard and Wisconsin’s Mimi Colyer. The finalists will be revealed on Dec. 15, and the Player of the Year will be announced in Kansas City at the AVCA Awards Banquet on Friday, Dec. 19.
• The 2025 NCAA Tournament Selection Show will be televised live on ESPN Sunday (Nov. 30) at 6 p.m. (ET). Nine conference schools were selected to participate in last year’s NCAA Tournament, and seven earned top-16 national seeds. At least one Big Ten program has reached the NCAA national semifinals (Final Four) in all but one year since 2007, with at least one member institution advancing to the NCAA national championship match 13 times in those 17 years. Current Big Ten schools have won a total of 13 national championships (11 while members of the conference). Penn State is the reigning National Champion with the Big Ten winning six of the past 12 National Championships (Penn State 3; Nebraska 2; Wisconsin 1)
• No. 1 Nebraska clinched the outright Big Ten title with a pair of wins against Iowa and No. 17 Indiana last week. Nebraska has won six Big Ten titles, and it is the first time since 2004-08 that the Huskers have won three straight conference titles. Nebraska’s six league championships are the most by any team since joining the conference in 2011 and head coach Dani Busboom Kelly is the first head coach in Big Ten history to win the conference title in their first season. The Huskers’ 28-0 start to a season is the third-best in program history. Nebraska will be the Big Ten’s automatic qualifier in the upcoming NCAA Tournament.
• The Hoosiers will have a chance at program history this week on the road. With just one victory, they will match a single-season school record for wins (23) during the NCAA era. With two wins, Indiana would break the single-season program record for victories (24)
• Penn State head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley notched her 100th career win at Penn State on Friday.
• Purdue will play a pair of ranked opponents in its final week of the regular season. The Boilermakers visit No. 18 Minnesota on Wednesday and conclude Big Ten play vs. No. 15 Indiana inside Mackey Arena on Saturday.
• Wisconsin extended its win streak to seven with sweeps over No. 11 Purdue and Iowa last week. Wisconsin has now won 16-straight sets against its opponents. Against Iowa, Wisconsin hit a season-best .510, accumulating 61 kills in just three sets – tying a program record for most kills in a three-set match.
• Ten players from the Big Ten Conference were chosen in the 2025 Major League Volleyball (MLV) Draft. The 10 selections led all conferences, and Indiana, Nebraska and Wisconsin each had two selections. Wisconsin outside hitter Mimi Colyer was the first overall pick to the Dallas Pulse, marking the second consecutive year that the first overall pick has come from a Big Ten institution.