Following a five set loss to Stanford on Sunday (and a sweep over ranked Kentucky) Louisville volleyball fell from #2 to #5 in the latest AVCA rankings.
#1 Wisconsin stayed put atop the rankings following a 3-1 victory over Marquette and a 3-2 victory over #3 Florida.
#2 Nebraska moved up from #4. Their week included a pair of 3-1 wins against Stanford and Kentucky.
#3 Florida did not move. They defeated Florida State 3-2 before falling to Wisconsin 3-2.
#4 Stanford moves up a spot from #5 after a 3-1 loss to Nebraska and a 3-2 win over Louisville.
Reaction? Debatable. I fully agree with Wisconsin remaining #1. I don't see a reason why the Badgers shouldn't be there. Nebraska being at #2 seems fine too. The Huskers defeated two ranked opponents and have looked good all year.
Florida staying at #3 is where I'm not so sure. They struggled against a Florida State team that is below 500. Blah, blah, blah rivalries. A certain ranked red team defeated a certain ranked blue team in straight sets so I'm not buying that. They then fell in five sets to Wisconsin. No punishment for their loss or struggles in their sole win in the week.
Stanford is a tricky one because they did defeat Louisville in five sets but also suffered a loss in four sets to Nebraska... their second loss of the season now. Stanford got swept by Florida earlier this year. They seemed to get rewarded for a win more than penalized for their loss.
I would put my top five as Wisconsin, Nebraska, Louisville (dropping one spot for their loss), Stanford (moving up one spot), and Florida (dropping two spots for their loss and close win).
Louisville swept #7 Washington State earlier this season. The Cards still have two matches against #8 this season. They'll also face #13 Georgia Tech twice later this season. Louisville swept #22 Kentucky and took down #23 Dayton in five sets recently. UofL also still has a match against RV (#29) Duke in a couple months.
With their current resume and plenty of tough foes remaining on the schedule, I'm not too concerned over the #5 ranking. Plus, the AVCA doesn't decide the draws and seeding for the NCAA Tournament, the Tournament Committee does. The Cards still seem to have a good chance of being one of the top four seeds and to host up through the NCAA Quarterfinals.
Louisville opens ACC play when they host Syracuse on Friday at 7:00pm. The Cards are back at LNFCU Arena for this one. ACCNX appears to the video feed for this one.
Happy Tuesday and Go Cards!
Jared
This could be a great volleyball squad but it seems like they can't get height that can jump. Stanford had it. UofL has just three players over 6'4" and just one of them start. Go get some tall girls who aren't too heavy and then start talking about national title dreams. It was sad, really, to see DeBeer and Jones try and hit it through those tall trees in front of them and get blocked time after time. .
ReplyDeleteNick O