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Michella Chester | NCAA.com | October 20, 2025

Purdue re-enters, SMU jumps in new women's volleyball Power 10 rankings

Purdue re-enters, Wisconsin falls out of this week's Power 10 college volleyball rankings

Here are my Week 8 Power 10 rankings, and things got tricky this week. 

1. Nebraska (Prev. 1)

Nebraska stays at No. 1 after dominating on the road against Michigan and Michigan State. The Huskers are 18-0 and have not dropped a single set in nine matches, which is pretty dang impressive. 

WHO'S LEFT? Track the two undefeated teams remaining in women's volleyball

2. Texas (Prev. 2)

Texas is at No. 2 again this week after sweeping Arkansas and pulling out a four-set win over Oklahoma with Torrey Stafford yet again leading the way. Stafford and freshman standout Abby Vander Wal combined for 32 kills and two blocks in the win. 

3. Pitt (Prev. 4) 

I put Pitt back up at No. 3. How about a five-set win over Louisville where Olivia Babcock notched 41 kills hitting above .400? I am still having a hard time wrapping my head around that performance. With a similar resume to Kentucky and another top 10 win, I am swapping them to reward that head-to-head result over the Wildcats earlier in the year. 

Olivia Babcock plays for Pittsburgh

4. Kentucky (Prev. 3)

I have the Wildcats at No. 4, and they too had a five-set win over their rival Florida. The Kentucky outside duo in Brooklyn DeLeye and Eva Hudson combined kills for 41 on the night. 

5. SMU (Prev. 10)

Now here is the tricky part: SMU took down Louisville in five sets, but they are a four-loss team. I struggled with where to move them this week. The only thing that really made sense in my mind was having them jump ahead of the Cardinals. Yes, they have four losses but they have played Pitt twice already, back-to-back. Malaya Jones went off for 22 kills, hitting .345 in the Mustangs win over the Cards. 

6. Louisville (Prev. 5)

Louisville notched two losses, both in five-set heartbreakers to SMU and Pitt. I am still really high on the Cards and honestly didn’t drop them much for those losses. They had a huge advantage in the fifth set against SMU before losing and pushed Pitt to its limits despite a career night for Olivia Babcock. I am only dropping Louisville one spot as all of their losses have been in five to top 10 teams. 

7. Stanford (Prev. 6)

Stanford is at No. 7 for me. The Cardinal are still lacking ranked wins compared to a lot of other teams on this list, but they picked up a ranked win over Miami to help them out. And based on the eye test, I am high on Stanford. I think this team is very dangerous and capable. Elia Rubin led the team with 17 kills on .441 hitting in the victory, and Julia Blyashov had a great night too. 

BREAKDOWN AND TAKEAWAYS: NCAA's DI volleyball committee's first top 16 rankings

8. Arizona State (Prev. 7)

ASU is at No. 8, and it feels a little low. You could justify the Sun Devils all the way up at No. 5 if you wanted to and it would make sense. They just picked up a five-set win over BYU, as Noemie Glover led with 19 kills hitting above .300, and another over Utah, where the Sun Devils' defense shined. 

9. Purdue (Prev. NR)

Purdue re-enters my Power 10 after a big win over a ranked Indiana team and a sweep over Rutgers this past weekend. Furthermore, their four-set SMU win is starting to look better and better.

Purdue Volleyball defeated Indiana

10. TCU (Prev. 9)

The Horned Frogs remain in my top 10, rounding out the list. TCU picked up two wins last week over Cincinnati and Kansas State. Evan Hendrix continues to shine with 27 kills and 23 kills over the Wildcats for her ninth-straight double-double of the year. 

First team out

Wisconsin: The Badgers fall out of list with another loss to USC. 

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