Who votes on the AVCA poll
NCAA Division I women’s volleyball has no AP poll. The AVCA Coaches Poll, voted on by 63 head coaches through the American Volleyball Coaches Association, is the sport’s ranking of record. It comes out every Monday during the season, usually around noon central time, and the preseason edition dropped on Aug. 10 this year.
That single voter pool is worth understanding, because a poll voted on entirely by coaches moves slowly. Coaches tend to hold their preseason opinions longer than media panels do, which is why you see records like Wisconsin’s sitting where they sit.
The story of the first in season poll
Eleven teams moved from where the preseason poll had them. Nebraska held No. 1 with 57 of the 63 first place votes, which it has now done to open a season nine times. Pittsburgh took the other six first place votes and climbed from fourth to second, the only team in the top five still unbeaten at 4-0.
The sharpest fall belonged to Texas, No. 2 in the preseason and down to No. 9 after opening 2-2. That is a seven spot drop and the largest in the poll.
Records that do not match the rankings
This is the part of an early season coaches poll that generates the most argument, and this year it is unusually stark:
- Wisconsin is ranked No. 5 at 1-3
- Purdue is No. 14 at 0-1
- Kansas is No. 16 at 0-2
- Indiana is No. 21 at 0-1
Meanwhile Baylor, Tennessee and Colorado are all 3-0 and sit at 20, 22 and 23. Early schedules in this sport are brutal by design, and a 1-3 record built entirely against ranked opponents is not the same as a 3-0 record built against nobody. The coaches are voting on rosters as much as on results this early, and that gap usually closes by October.
Biggest movers
Arizona State made the largest jump of the week, five spots from No. 12 to No. 7 at 2-1, the highest the Sun Devils have been ranked in this poll in years. Southern Cal matched that five spot climb, going from 20 to 15. Creighton, Minnesota and SMU each moved up three.
Going the other way behind Texas: Indiana dropped five from 16 to 21, Purdue fell five from 9 to 14, and Texas A&M slid four from 8 to 12.
A note on the No. 11 curse
Only two national champions have ever started a season outside the preseason top 10, and both were ranked exactly No. 11: UCLA in 2011 and Stanford in 2016. This year’s preseason No. 11 was SMU, now up to No. 8 at 3-0.
When the next poll comes out
Monday, Sept. 7, around noon central. This page will be updated with the new top 25 when it posts.