Well, we're down to one undefeated team in Division I volleyball after the two other perfect records went by the wayside last week. It's getting real, folks, with Selection Sunday less than two weeks away. Here are five things to take note of this week in the world of kills, blocks and digs.
1. Stanford stands alone
While fellow unbeatens Washington and Florida State both lost twice last week, the No. 1-ranked Cardinal kept rolling on. Stanford is 26-0 after its trip to Los Angeles, as the Cardinal swept USC and UCLA.
Stanford's Merete Lutz was nearly unstoppable in the victories over the Trojans and Bruins, with a combined 23 kills and only one hitting error. Teammate Inky Ajanaku had a combined 30 kills.
Going undefeated in a Pac-12 conference this treacherous would be truly outstanding. The Cardinal aren't there yet, though.
This week, Stanford hosts Utah and Colorado, the schools that just handed former No. 2 Washington its first two losses of the season. Then the Cardinal will close the regular season the following week with the Showdown in Seattle against Washington, followed by the finale at Cal.
For a while, it looked like we'd see a battle of unbeatens when Stanford played Washington, but that won't be the case.
2. Packed full of talent
How many Pac-12 teams will make the NCAA tournament? Might it be 10? That's the number of Pac-12 squads that are in the top 40 in the RPI this week. Nine of those are also in the American Volleyball Coaches Association poll, including Utah, which went from unranked to No. 23 after its wins over Washington and Washington State.
The Utes are 10th in the league at 6-10 and are 16-11 overall. They are on four-match winning streak, and the victory over the Huskies is huge. As mentioned, they will be in the Bay Area this week taking on Stanford and Cal. Then Utah closes with home matches against fellow ranked teams Oregon and Colorado.
The Utes may need to win at least two of their last four matches to keep the NCAA selection committee from leaving them out. That's doable.
At this point, the only Pac-12 teams we can be sure are out of the running for NCAA tournament bids are 9-16 Cal and 10-18 Washington State, which each have just one conference victory.
3. Big season for Buffaloes
Meanwhile, Colorado -- which also beat the Huskies and Cougars last week -- is 17-11 overall and now ranked No. 19. The Buffs are tied for fourth in the Pac-12 at 9-7; that's the most league victories Colorado has had since joining the conference in 2011.
Taylor Simpson, who was our espnW player of the week on Nov. 5, had another stellar week with a combined 53 kills and 40 digs against the Washington schools.
4. Seminoles stumble in the Triangle
You could sort of see this coming. Florida State knew there was danger in facing Duke and North Carolina on the road on back-to-back nights, and the Seminoles lost both matches 3-1.
Florida State dropped from No. 3 to No. 8 in the rankings, and the Seminoles also lost their first-place spot in the ACC. That's owned by the now-No. 7 Tar Heels, 13-1 in the league to Florida State's 12-2.
So who will claim the ACC? UNC and Florida State already have split their head-to-head meetings. The Seminoles will finish with four matches at home. The Tar Heels have two at home and two on the road. Both schools still have to face their in-state rivals once more: Duke for UNC, and Miami for Florida State.
5. Keep an eye on ... Texas
Back on Oct. 25, the Longhorns fell out of the unbeaten ranks when they were surprisingly swept by Oklahoma at home in Austin. But Texas got its revenge Saturday and claimed the Big 12 title while doing so.
Texas won 3-2 in Norman, Oklahoma, giving the Longhorns their fourth consecutive league championship. At 20-1 overall, Texas jumped up to No. 3 in the AVCA poll, behind Stanford and Big Ten leader Wisconsin.