It’s A Date
A look at some of the bigger matches of the season according to our preseason rankings, and get ready to hold onto your hats during the second weekend of the season.
September 4-5 is a gigantic two-day period where the Preseason Top 10 teams are facing off against each other across the nation. It includes No. 1 Penn State taking on No. 2 Stanford. Fourth-ranked Wisconsin plays No. 8 North Carolina, while No. 5 Texas sees No. 3 Florida and No. 6 Nebraska, which also squares off with No. 10 Oregon, which also plays Florida.
What a power-packed weekend that is going to be. At the same time, it’s still going to be too early in the season to jump to too many conclusions. Also, it’s likely all of them are going to remain in the Top 10 after the weekend, in some order. It’s just a matter of what will the new Top 10 look like and how difficult or not will it be to put together.
Still, it figures to be the most entertaining weekend of the regular season by a long shot.
- 2 Stanford v No. 7 Illinois at Penn State (Big Ten/Pac-12 Challenge) – Sept. 4
- 4 Wisconsin v No. 8 North Carolina at Louisville – Sept. 4
- 6 Nebraska at No. 5 Texas – Sept. 4
- 10 Oregon v No. 3 Florida at Texas – Sept. 4
- 2 Stanford at No. 1 Penn State (Big Ten/Pac-12 Challenge) – Sept. 5
- 3 Florida at No. 5 Texas – Sept. 5
- 10 Oregon v No. 6 Nebraska at Texas – Sept. 5
- 3 Florida at No. 16 Hawaii – Sept. 11
- 9 Florida State at No. 3 Florida – Sept. 20
- 4 Wisconsin at No. 1 Penn State (Big Ten) – Sept. 23
- 4 Wisconsin at No. 7 Illinois (Big Ten) – Sept. 30
- 6 Nebraska at No. 1 Penn State – Oct. 2
- 1 Penn State at No. 7 Illinois (Big Ten) – Oct. 9
- 10 Oregon at No. 2 Stanford (Pac-12) – Oct. 11
- 9 Florida State at No. 8 North Carolina – Oct. 16
- 6 Nebraska at No. 7 Illinois (Big Ten) – Oct. 17
- 12 Washington at No. 2 Stanford (Pac-12) – Oct. 21
- 4 Wisconsin at No. 6 Nebraska (Big Ten) – Oct. 24
Postseason:
- The 64-team field is announced Sunday, Nov. 29.
- First-Second rounds: Dec. 4-6
- Regionals at Texas, Northern Iowa, Kentucky, San Diego: Dec. 11-12
- Semis and Final at CenturyLink Center, Omaha: Dec. 17 and 19
By the Numbers
A look at the Top 10 returning stat leaders from last season:
| Player | School | Year | Pos. | Hit % |
| 1. Rhamat Alhassan | Florida | So. | MB | 0.458 |
| 2. Merete Lutz | Stanford | So. | MB | 0.441 |
| 3. Amanda Orchard | Pittsburgh | Sr. | OH | 0.431 |
| 4. Inky Ajanaku* | Stanford | Sr. | MB | 0.428 |
| 5. Chiaka Ogbogu | Texas | Jr. | MB | 0.42 |
| 6. Briana Sharratt | Texas-Arlington | Jr. | MB | 0.414 |
| 7. Taylor Pippen | Southern Ill. | Sr. | OH | 0.41 |
| 8. Tess Clark | Louisville | So. | MB | 0.407 |
| 9. Laura Beach | Wyoming | Jr. | MB | 0.406 |
| 9. Sarah Burrington | Florida St. | Jr. | MB | 0.406 |
| Player | School | Year | Total Assists | |
| 1. Sierra Wilson | Alabama | Sr. | 1529 | |
| 2. Madi Bugg | Stanford | Sr. | 1488 | |
| 3. Jane Emmenecker | Dayton | So. | 1461 | |
| 4. Bianca Arellano | Arizona St. | Sr. | 1417 | |
| 5. Avery Acker | SMU | Sr. | 1413 | |
| 6. Veronica Zimmerman | Memphis | Sr. | 1398 | |
| 7. Hannah Klemm | Hofstra | Jr. | 1389 | |
| 8. Marah Bradbury | Eastern Ill. | Sr. | 1378 | |
| 9. Nicole Johnson | Ill.-Chicago | So. | 1365 | |
| 10. Kinsey McCarter | Missouri St. | Sr. | 1363 | |
| Player | School | Year | Pos. | Total Blocks |
| 1. Whitney Young | BYU | Jr. | MB | 229 |
| 2. Amy Boswell | BYU | Jr. | MB | 203 |
| 3. Lianna Sybeldon | Washington | Sr. | MB | 189 |
| 4. Sarah Burrington | Florida St. | Jr. | MB | 178 |
| 5. Meredith Peacock | UNCW | Sr. | MH | 178 |
| 6. Bree Hammel | UNLV | Jr. | OH | 174 |
| 7. Edina Selimovic | Little Rock | Jr. | MB | 174 |
| 8. Paige Tapp | Minnesota | Jr. | MB | 171 |
| 9. Faith Dooley | North Dakota | So. | MH | 170 |
| 10. Katie Stadick | Illinois | Jr. | MB | 170 |
| Player | School | Year | Pos. | Total Digs |
| 1. Markie Schaedig | Arkansas St. | Jr. | DS | 762 |
| 2. Payton Harris | Mississippi St. | Sr. | L | 735 |
| 3. Tessa Fournier | Seton Hall | Jr. | L | 700 |
| 4. Caitlyn Cooney | Texas-Arlington | Sr. | L | 671 |
| 5. Taryn Miller | UMKC | Sr. | L | 663 |
| 6. Debora Magalhaes | Bryant | Sr. | L/DS | 660 |
| 7. Allie Yamashiro | Manhattan | Jr. | L | 656 |
| 8. Mary Crema | Campbell | Sr. | L/DS | 637 |
| 9. Morgan Heise | SMU | Jr. | L | 626 |
| 10. Darby Reeder | Oregon St. | Sr. | DS | 615 |
| Player | School | Year | Pos | Total Kills |
| 1. Kadi Kullerkann | Houston | Sr. | RS | 644 |
| 2. Carnae Dillard | North Texas | Sr. | OH | 615 |
| 3. Macey Gardner | Arizona St. | Sr. | OH | 594 |
| 4. Autumn Bailey | Michigan State | Jr. | OH | 576 |
| 5. Sammie Strausbaugh | Jacksonville | Sr. | OH | 567 |
| 6. Savannah Blinn | Gonzaga | Sr. | OH | 566 |
| 7. Alaina Turner | Dayton | Sr. | OH | 558 |
| 8. Krystal Rivers | Alabama | Jr. | MB | 557 |
| 9. Mary-Kate Marshall | Oregon St. | So. | OH | 540 |
| 10. Jocelynn Birks | Illinois | Sr. | OH | 527 |
| Player | School | Year | Pos. | Aces |
| 1. Samantha Bricio | Southern California | Sr. | OH | 84 |
| 2. Malina Sanchez | McNeese St. | Sr. | DS | 70 |
| 3. Alaina Turner | Dayton | Sr. | OH | 65 |
| 4. Edina Selimovic | Little Rock | Jr. | MB | 55 |
| 5. Kierra Holst | Oklahoma | Sr. | MB | 54 |
| 6. Hazel Ortiz Rosado | Bethune-Cookman | Sr. | S | 54 |
| 7. Amanda Schlegel | Marist | Jr. | S | 53 |
| 8. Evie Grace Singleton | Central Ark. | Jr. | OH | 53 |
| 9. Taylor Lebo | Indiana | Jr. | DS | 51 |
| 10. Allie Davenport | Chattanooga | Jr. | OH | 48 |
