Huskers, Bluejays open season in top 25
LINCOLN, Neb. -- Two teams from the state of Nebraska will open the volleyball season ranked in the national coaches' poll.
Nebraska starts the year tied for fifth with Pittsburgh, while Creighton will open the campaign as the No. 18 team in the nation.
Defending NCAA champion Texas was ranked No. 1 with 44 first-place votes. Wisconsin came in at No. 2 with seven first-place votes. Stanford was No. 3 with 13 first-place votes, and Louisville, which is coached by Cortland native and former Husker Dani Busboom Kelly, was ranked No. 4.
The Big Ten Conference has six teams ranked in the top 16. In addition to Nebraska and Wisconsin, the conference has No. 7 Minnesota, No. 8 Penn State, No. 14 Ohio State and No. 16 Purdue in the top 25.
The Huskers have 11 scheduled matches against teams ranked in the preseason Top 25.
This is the 12th straight season that Creighton has spent at least one week in the top 25, extending a program record.
The Bluejays return five starters and 11 letterwinners from a team that finished last year 27-5, won an unprecedented ninth straight regular-season Big East title, and finished the season ranked 21st in the country.
| Creighton Volleyball History in the Preseason AVCA Poll | |||
| Year | Preseason Rank | Final W-L | Final AVCA Rank |
| 2013 | 25th | 23-9 | Not Ranked |
| 2014 | 23rd | 25-9 | Not Ranked |
| 2016 | 18th | 27-9 | 9th |
| 2017 | 9th | 26-7 | 16th |
| 2018 | 13th | 29-5 | 13th |
| 2019 | 18th | 25-6 | 16th |
| 2020* | 16th | 12-4 | Not Ranked |
| 2022 | 18th | 27-5 | 21st |
| 2023 | 18th | TBD | TBD |
Aug. 15, 2023 AVCA/TARAFLEX Division I WVB Poll
| Rank | School (First-Place Votes Adjusted) | Total Points Adjusted | Record | Previous Week |
| 1 | Texas [44] | 1564 | 0-0 | NA |
| 2 | Wisconsin [7] | 1489 | 0-0 | NA |
| 3 | Stanford [13] | 1449 | 0-0 | NA |
| 4 | Louisville | 1388 | 0-0 | NA |
| 5-T | Nebraska | 1294 | 0-0 | NA |
| 5-T | Pittsburgh | 1294 | 0-0 | NA |
| 7 | Minnesota | 1105 | 0-0 | NA |
| 8 | Penn State | 1091 | 0-0 | NA |
| 9 | Oregon | 1067 | 0-0 | NA |
| 10 | Kentucky | 899 | 0-0 | NA |
| 11 | Florida | 841 | 0-0 | NA |
| 12 | Marquette | 768 | 0-0 | NA |
| 13 | San Diego | 760 | 0-0 | NA |
| 14 | Ohio State | 745 | 0-0 | NA |
| 15 | Baylor | 694 | 0-0 | NA |
| 16 | Purdue | 644 | 0-0 | NA |
| 17 | BYU | 617 | 0-0 | NA |
| 18 | Creighton | 546 | 0-0 | NA |
| 19 | Houston | 421 | 0-0 | NA |
| 20 | Georgia Tech | 394 | 0-0 | NA |
| 21 | Washington State | 359 | 0-0 | NA |
| 22 | Southern California | 204 | 0-0 | NA |
| 23 | Rice | 192 | 0-0 | NA |
| 24 | Western Kentucky | 181 | 0-0 | NA |
| 25 | Arkansas | 122 | 0-0 | NA |
Others receiving votes and listed on two or more ballots:?Kansas 99; Tennessee 84; Washington 63; Auburn 62; UCF 53; Hawai‘i 49; Miami (FL) 45; Georgia 35; LSU 28; TCU 20; Illinois 18; Utah 18; Iowa State 14; Loyola Marymount 14; Pepperdine 14; Florida State 12; James Madison 5
10 teams mentioned on only one ballot for a total of 45 combined points
