Big Ten volleyball finds surprising team on top of standings early in conference play

It's no surprise to see a Big Ten Conference team at the top of the AVCA coaches poll. The real surprise is the identity of the university. Not Penn State, the winners of the last four national championships. Not Nebraska, with two national titles and five Final Four appearances this millennium.

No, for the first time in school history, Illinois tops the poll, earning a commanding 55 of 60 first-place votes. The Fighting Illini have surged to a 13-0 record, and, following road wins against Minnesota and Wisconsin, are one of three undefeated teams in the country (along with Purdue and Northern Arizona).

While Illinois coach Kevin Hambly appreciates the coaches' opinion, he feels earning that ranking is secondary to his mission of preparing the team for the NCAA tournament.

"It's a nice honor for our program and we appreciate the recognition," said Hambly, according to fightingillini.com. "However, our focus is on being there at the end of the season. The Big Ten is loaded with great teams and we want to continue the process of getting better each week. The rankings are great for the fans and the media, but honestly, it's not something we put a lot of stock in at this point in the season."

The Big Ten is stocked with talent, as seven teams were ranked in the top 25, including four of the top 10. In addition, recent powers such as Penn State, Stanford, Texas and USC have at least three losses apiece, leading many coaches hopeful of their team's prospects.

"Just look at college volleyball this past weekend," Nebraska coach John Cook said. "The No. 1 and two teams in the country (California and Stanford) were (defeated) in LA. It encourages a lot of people."

Among the encouraged was Nebraska, which has won seven straight matches since a road loss to Colorado State, including the last three against ranked opponents (Iowa State, Penn State and Ohio State). NU has been led by its stellar defense, which ranks second in the Big Ten with a .115 attack percentage against while the offense ranks fifth in the conference (14th nationally), lead by co-Big Ten player of the week, Gina Mancuso.

"Last week was a good start for us," Cook said. "We defeated three ranked teams in a row.

"That's a nice job by our team. We're doing some good things. We still got a lot of areas to get better at that I think we can really make some improvement."

Purdue is another team that has made a lot of improvement. A year after a late run put PU in the Elite Eight and 11th in the final poll, the Boilermakers have won their first 13 matches, including sweeps of Michigan and Michigan State in West Lafayette, Ind. Despite several successes thus far, the AVCA has Purdue at No. 12, good for only fifth among Big Ten teams.

While the AVCA may not have noticed how strong a team PU is fielding, Boilermaker fans certainly have.

"The students have always been there and our community is starting to realize they play volleyball here at Purdue," PU coach Dave Shondell said. "Every week, we get more and more community people come to see us. As long as we continue to play well, I think the fans will continue to come out and support us."

Purdue will get a chance to showcase its team against Illinois on Saturday, as the two undefeated teams vie to be the last remaining major conference undefeated team. The other 2-0 team, Nebraska, takes a trip to the Michigan schools (both 1-1 in conference play), while four-time defending champion Penn State hosts Minnesota in the other matchup of Big Ten top 10s.  

seanwhalen@dailynebrakan.com