There are only two remaining undefeated teams in college volleyball, and they are the top two teams in the country: Texas and Nebraska.
THE UNBEATENS: Track the undefeated teams in women's volleyball
Since 1981, there have been only four programs — five teams — to finish a season undefeated and win a national title: Penn State (2008, 2009), Southern California (2003), Nebraska (2000) and Long Beach State (1998).
I think it's safe to say both Nebraska and Texas could be capable of achieving this. So, let’s go through their remaining schedules to see the biggest tests in their quest to go undefeated.
Nebraska
The Huskers are 16-0 after Week 7 — and have already beaten a then-No. 3 Pitt, No. 6 Stanford, No. 7 Kentucky (who is now ranked a lot higher), No. 22 Utah, No. 18 Creighton, No. 16 Penn State and No. 12 Purdue. That’s seven ranked wins and three top-10 wins.
Still remaining on the Nebraska schedule is Wisconsin on Oct. 31, Minnesota on Nov. 8 and USC and UCLA on the road, both of which have been in and out of the rankings. The Huskers will then take on Indiana, which could be a sneaky good matchup, before facing Penn Sate again on Nov. 28.
BIG RIP FROM BEKS 😤 finds the court on the slide!
— Nebraska Volleyball (@HuskerVB)
Given Nebraska hasn't had a bad match, I think these are all extremely winnable for them. This could very well be an undefeated team headed into the postseason.
Texas
Texas is 14-0 after Week 7 and has already beaten a then-No. 12 Creighton, No. 8 Wisconsin, No. 6 Stanford, No. 4 Louisville, No. 9 Arizona State, No. 9 TCU, No. 21 Baylor, No. 21 Missouri and No. 17 Tennessee.
That is nine ranked wins and five top-10 wins. It's the first time since 2009 that Texas has gone unbeaten in nine straight ranked matches in the regular season.
The SEC regular schedule is not an easy path — there are TWO major matchups that I have circled that could threaten the Longhorns' undefeated record. The Longhorns travel to face Logan Lednicky and Texas A&M on Oct. 31 — this is a rivalry matchup and could be highly contested battle — and then the No. 1 threat in my opinion is Kentucky on Nov. 2. The outside duo of Eva Hudson and Brooklyn DeLeye could go toe to toe with the likes of Cari Spears and Torrey Stafford. As it stands right now, that's a top-3 battle between two possible national semifinalist teams that could both win a title.
gotta keep your head on a swivel around here 👀🤘
— Texas Volleyball (@TexasVolleyball)
And don't forget there are still teams like Oklahoma, Ole Miss and LSU in the SEC that can give any team a run for it. Don't forget, the Sooners upset Texas last year in five.
WHO'S ON TOP? Women's volleyball programs with the most national championships
So two undefeated teams remain. We will see if two remain at the end of the regular season.
