Nebraska, Texas, and Louisville hold top three spots in AVCA women’s volleyball week 1 poll

Nebraska, Texas, and Louisville hold the top three spots in week 1 poll.

The American Volleyball Coaches Association released its Division I week 1 poll on Monday, and a few of the teams are climbers. 

Coming in at No. 1 is Nebraska. The Cornhuskers are coming in hot, locking in the top spot two weeks (including preseason poll) in a row after landing at No. 4 at the end of last season.  

Three juniors, Harper Murray, Andi Jackson, and Bergen Reilly, were placed on the 2025 AVCA Player of the Year Watch List.

Murray led the team with 23 kills in their match last week against perennial powerhouse Kentucky.

Coming in at No. 2 is Texas. Previously ranked at No. 5, the Longhorns have climbed up the rankings and are on a hot streak, winning 3-0 against Wisconsin in their last match. 

Emma Halter, a fourth-year libero, was named Southeastern Conference (SEC) Player of the Week and SEC Defensive Player of the Week, which was announced on Monday.

She is coming off a dominant 2024 season playing all 27 matches and 99 sets in the 2024 season, where she led the team in digs (344) and service aces (30). 

Bumping up to No. 3 is the University of Louisville. This week, the Cardinals moved in, taking Pittsburgh’s place with their 3-0 win against Saint John’s on Monday night. 

Two standouts this 2025 season are Chloe Chicoine, a junior, and Cara Cresse, a redshirt senior. Both players are two of the highest points gained during this season, along with sophomore Payton Petersen, earning the most (34). 

Louisville is starting their season off with a 3-0 winning streak.

Kentucky is starting off the 2025 season 1-1, ranked No. 4. They won their first match against Lipscomb 3-0 but lost 3-2 to Nebraska in their second match.

This upcoming season, keep an eye on Brooklyn DeLeye, a junior outside hitter who was named SEC Player of the Year last season. Eva Hudson, a senior outside hitter, is also gaining points early in the season.

Hudson was a transfer from Purdue University, where she was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year in 2022. 

The Wildcats have started the season slowly, but as the hare once said, “slow and steady wins the race”. 

Finally, rounding out the top five is Penn State University. The Nittany Lions ended last season with a bang, winning the 2024 NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Championship.

The Nittany Lions have highly decorated players from Kennedy Martin to Emmi Sellman to Izzy Starck.

Martin has already earned the Big Ten Player of the Week award after two amazing matches. Alongside her, Sellman started her career at Ohio State, being named Big Ten Freshman of the Week.

Starck was named the 2024 AVCA National Freshman of the Year, 2024 AVCA East Coast Region Freshman of the Year, and the 2024 Big Ten Freshman of the Year.  

25. Dayton

24. TCU

23. Georgia Tech

22. Southern California

21. Utah 

20. Baylor

19. UCLA

18. BYU

17. Purdue

16. Missouri

15. Kansas

14. Minnesota

13. Creighton

12. Florida

11. SMU

10. Texas A&M

9. Pittsburgh

8. Wisconsin

7. Arizona States

6. Stanford

5. Penn State

4. Kentucky

3. Louisville

2. Texas

1. Nebraska

Thank you for reading Female Athlete News. Lily Dorf is a student-intern at Penn State University.