Conference season began with close calls for the now top two teams in the country, Penn State and USC. But, hey, winning in five sets is winning just the same. Here's what you need to know this week in the world of sets, kills, blocks and digs.
1. Hail to the Huskies
After last season, Washington lost former national player of the year Krista Vansant to graduation and coach Jim McLaughlin to Notre Dame. But guess what? So far in 2015, the Huskies have just kept on winning.
After opening their Pac-12 schedule with victories over Washington State and Colorado last week, they are now 13-0 and ranked No. 5 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association poll.
Vansant left as the program's all-time kills leader after the Huskies went 31-3 last season, falling to Nebraska in the regional semifinals. When the Irish let go longtime coach Debbie Brown, McLaughlin made the move to Notre Dame and the ACC. His wife, Margaret, is a Notre Dame graduate and former soccer assistant coach there. McLaughlin left the Washington program after 14 seasons, which included one NCAA championship and three other trips to the final four. He won the Pac-12 title three times.
Keegan Cook, who'd been an assistant for two seasons under McLaughlin, took over as Washington's head coach. And leading the way for the Huskies on the court are two senior middle blockers, Melanie Wade and Lianna Sybeldon, who have a combined 160 kills and 110 blocks. The team's kills leader is sophomore Courtney Schwan with 134.
So it's been a terrific start at the helm for Cook. But is the Huskies' perfect record in imminent jeopardy? It could be, as they next take on four consecutive ranked teams: No. 11 UCLA and No. 2 USC this week in Los Angeles, and No. 14 Arizona and No. 6 Arizona State the following week in Seattle.
2. Other unbeatens
Along with Washington, there are four other teams in the AVCA poll who've yet to lose a match this season: No. 1 Penn State (13-0), No. 2 USC (14-0), No. 6 Arizona State (13-0) and No. 12 Kansas (14-0).
However, the Nittany Lions and Trojans both had to go the distance in matches last weekend. Penn State prevailed 15-12 in the fifth set against Minnesota on Saturday, while USC overcame Stanford 15-13 in the fifth set Sunday. (More on USC at espnW on Wednesday.)
Incidentally, when the Sun Devils play host to No. 8 Stanford this Friday, it will be the first time since 1986 that those teams will meet with Arizona State being the higher-ranked squad.
3. Big 12 update
Texas didn't lose last week, but USC's perfection overtook the Longhorns, who had been No. 2 in the poll last week. Texas dropped to No. 3 behind the Trojans. Texas' lone loss this season was Sept. 5 to Florida.
Not that rankings matter much to the 12-1 Longhorns, who are again the best team in the Big 12. Right now, it appears their top challenger will be Kansas, as the Jayhawks are the league's only other ranked team. But the Jayhawks are 4-37 all-time against Texas, with their last victory in the series coming in 2003. Kansas plays at Texas on Oct. 23, and hosts the Longhorns on Nov. 11.
This Saturday, Texas hosts Iowa State, the only Big 12 program to beat the Longhorns during their 2012 NCAA championship season. But like the Jayhawks, the Cyclones can count their victories against Texas on one hand, as they are 4-36.
4. SEC surprise
Florida, which was perfect in SEC play last season, was upset 3-1 at home by Kentucky on Sunday. It was the Gators' first loss in league play since 2013, when they fell twice to Missouri.
Sunday's loss dropped Florida four spots in the poll to No. 9, while Kentucky jumped three places to No. 21.
5. Keep an eye on ... Minnesota
As mentioned, the Golden Gophers didn't beat the top-ranked Nittany Lions, but they came close enough to impress poll voters. That narrow loss at Penn State and a 3-2 victory at Ohio State bumped up Minnesota five notches to No. 16 in the AVCA poll.
The Gophers' only other losses were at the start of the season at Stanford, when they fell 3-2 to Texas A&M and 3-0 to the host Cardinal. Minnesota hosts Northwestern and No. 7 Illinois this week.