Key storylines, analysis, predictions and more
Wisconsin volleyball team won its first NCAA championship last December.
The Badgers are ranked third in the preseason AVCA Coaches Poll. They are without All-Americans Sydney Hilley and Dana Rettke. The Cornhuskers are the top-ranked team. Texas is ranked second.
Louisville and Pitt reached the final four last year but didn't make it to the championship. The ACC is looking for its first national champion.
The Texas volleyball team is favored to make it to the final four for the 14th time. The team has won two championships in 1988 and 2012. Kayla Caffey, a transfer from Nebraska, is a key player for Texas.
The biggest storyline this season is the transfers. Some of the players are fifth and sixth-year players.
Sam Gore looks at the storylines that will be answered as the season progresses. Big Ten is loaded with elite talent again. Can the ACC maintain the momentum it gained last year and become a perennially top league?
Courtney Lyle is excited about the transfer portal in volleyball. Texas signed Madi Skinner from Kentucky, Kayla Caffey from Nebraska and Zoe Fleck from UCLA.
Texas gained six new players from the transfer portal. Nebraska returns five starters and has a new starting setter and middle blocker.
Some of the best players in the world have changed teams via the portal. Kaitlyn Hord at Nebraska and Madi Skinner at Texas are the headliners. Louisville and Wisconsin have lost a lot of players recently.
Katie George and Paul are looking forward to the college basketball season. Katie George believes the ACC will remain a national power even though Louisville, Pitt and Georgia Tech lost key players. Paul is curious to see if the Pac-12 can have a resurgence of elite level play.
Louisville is celebrating a historic season. Tori Dilfer graduated. Wisconsin is graduating a lot.
Stanford plays Nebraska on Sept. 13. The Cardinal won three NCAA titles between 2016 and 2019. Last year the team finished with a 19-11 record. Stanford starts the season ranked No. 14.
Whittemore, Gore, Lyle and McPeak are looking forward to the opening weekend matches. They are excited about Texas vs. Ohio State and Nebraska vs., Wisconsin. Louisville vs Nebraska is a match to watch. Louisville lost only one match last season. Nebraska won the national championship. The Cornhuskers are the preseason favorite.
Sunderland would like to see a match between Nebraska, Wisconsin and/or Minnesota. The Big Ten has the highest attendance numbers and atmosphere.
Louisville and Kentucky play each other on Sept. 14. Wisconsin and Nebraska play on Nov. 25. The game could have Big Ten title implications.
Voepel is looking forward to the 2022 volleyball season. He hopes Maggie Mendelson will be a two-sport standout for Nebraska.
Whittemore, Gore and McPeak discuss the most important transfers of the offseason. Kaitlyn Hord is the biggest transfer. She was a three-time All-American and four-times all-Big Ten middle blocker at Penn State. Ewert will make a push at the starting setter position at Texas.
Mckenna Wucherer is a freshman outside hitter for the Golden Gophers. Raquel Lazaro transferred to Louisville from USC and has big shoes to fill. Matti McKissock is veteran setter for UCLA. George expects Elia Rubin to have an immediate impact at Stanford. George also likes Averi Carlson, a settter at Baylor.
Logan Eggleston of Texas is a strong candidate for the national player of the year award.
Logan Eggleston has an extra year at Texas. Julia Bergmann of Georgia Tech is coming off a first-team All-American season. Lyle is the front runner for player of the year. McPeak expects Egg leston to dominate. Gore is looking forward to the season of Julia.
Ella May Powell will be the top player for Washington. Madi Kubik will also be in the conversation if the Huskers have the season they hope for. Eggleston is the frontrunner for the award. She is a two-time first team all-American and averaged 4.72 points per set last year.
Nebraska, Texas, Washington, Louisville and the Huskers will make it to Omaha.
Gore picks Nebraska and Texas to win the title. Lyle picks Ohio State, Texas, Wisconsin and Stanford. McPeak picks Stanford, Nebraska, and Louisville. Whittemore and McPak pick Washington and Ohio. They also pick Nebraska to be the champion.
Nebraska and Texas are the favorites. George, Sunderland, Hoffman and Ohio State are also considered darkhorses. Stanford, Washington, Louisville, Minnesota and Wisconsin could make it to the final four.
