It was an eventful week of volleyball, with defending NCAA champion Penn State dropping its first game of the season and a new team taking over the No. 1 ranking in this week's American Volleyball Coaches Association poll. Dig in to learn more.
1. The perils of playing in the Big Ten
What looked like another routine Penn State victory after two sets turned into a Nebraska rally, as the No. 4 Cornhuskers stunned the Nittany Lions 3-2 (12-25, 24-26, 25-14, 25-20, 15-11) at Rec Hall. The win was the first for Nebraska at Penn State since 1993 and snapped the Nittany Lions' 33-match winning streak that dates to Oct. 11, 2014, when they were beaten by Illinois.
Nebraska (12-2) held the nation's second-best hitting team to .164 and prevailed in a match of long rallies that was won by defense. Justine Wong-Orantes finished with a career-best 30 digs (more on the Cornhuskers' libero on Wednesday), and Mikaela Foecke posted a career-high 22 kills.
But the rigor of the Big Ten grind meant a second match less than 24 hours later, when the Huskers traveled to then-No. 13 Ohio State and lost in five sets. The Buckeyes moved to No. 9 in this week's poll.
"It was a nice 20 hours before we got to play Ohio State," said Nebraska coach John Cook. "I started coaching at Wisconsin in '92, and I told my team before the match, 'Of all the years I've come to Penn State, this is our best shot to win.' They believed it. Any time you go down two and come back to win, it's a really big accomplishment."
The Buckeyes (14-2) improved to 5-0 over ranked teams behind a career-high 22 kills by true freshman Audra Appold, swinging at a .450 pace. Ohio State has won 14 of its past 15 -- the lone loss coming in five sets to Minnesota. Appold earned Big Ten player and freshman of the week honors.
The Golden Gophers, meanwhile, upset Illinois in a match that also went the distance. The Gophers dominated the fifth 15-6; senior Daly Santana had 26 kills on 62 attempts. No. 11 Minnesota extended Penn State to five last week.
Stat to note: Nittany Lions outside hitter Megan Courtney earned her 1,000th career kill in Saturday's win against Iowa; the senior is four shy of 1,000 career digs.
2. New team at the top
Penn State's loss paved the way for a new No. 1 team, and USC grabbed the top spot for the first time since October 2013. USC nabbed all but three first-place votes. No. 2 Texas (13-1) earned one and the No. 3 Nittany Lions kept two.
The Trojans (16-0) remained perfect by taking out another unbeaten in Washington 3-1 on Sunday, surviving a 33-31 fourth set. No surprise that reigning espnW player of the week Samantha Bricio paved the way with 27 kills and 16 digs.
No. 6 Washington had won five consecutive over USC. The Trojans will be looking to match their last 17-0 start from 2006 when they hit the road with matches against Colorado and Utah this weekend.
3. Surging Kentucky
The streaking No. 20 Wildcats improved to 11-5, 4-0 in the SEC with their seventh straight win -- a run that includes a 3-1 victory in Gainesville over then-No. 5 Florida.
That's quite the turnaround, considering Kentucky was 4-5 on Sept. 11 with losses to Wichita State, USC, Creighton, Illinois and Ohio.
Injuries cost Kentucky early in the season. Middle blocker Emily Franklin sprained an ankle on Sept. 1 against Ohio and outside hitter Anni Thomasson strained an abdominal muscle during preseason. Both starters have returned.
The versatile Thomasson is a threat all over the floor, coach Craig Skinner said, and the 6-foot-4 Franklin is an imposing blocker who plays a critical role in setting up Kentucky's defense.
"The biggest thing is having our full team in the gym training," Skinner said. "For a couple of weeks, we were playing a lot of matches and with those players out, it was difficult to work on what we needed to do to execute."
4. Speaking of the SEC ...
It was a great week for Arkansas and Missouri at the expense of Florida, the preseason favorite to win the conference. The Gators (9-4) perfect during the 2014 SEC regular season, have now dropped their past three in the SEC, including a heartbreaker in five on Sunday at Arkansas.
Florida last lost three straight in 1990, one year before current coach Mary Wise took over the program. The Gators played the final three sets against the Razorbacks minus setter Mackenzie Dagostino, who suffered a concussion before the break. Sophomore setter Abby Detering finished with a career-high 30 assists. Florida dropped from No. 9 to No. 17 in the poll.
It was Arkansas' first win over the Gators since 2007. It was the fifth 20-kill performance by junior Pilar Victoria, and the Razorbacks (13-2) moved into the poll, debuting at No. 22.
Missouri (15-1) also overcame Florida in a five-set thriller last week for its first top-10 win in two years. Mizzou rallied from two sets down, led by Carly Kan's 17 kills. The Tigers are receiving votes in the poll.
5. Down to three
Along with USC, No. 5 Arizona State and No. 10 Kansas remain the lone unbeaten teams in volleyball.
Kansas' 15-0 record is the best start in school history. Behind sophomore setter and NCAA assist leader Ainise Havili, the Jayhawks travel to Texas Tech for a Wednesday match.
Arizona State (15-0) needed four sets to get by a Stanford team that has dropped two of its past three -- the first time the Sun Devils have beaten the Cardinal since 2000, after 28 straight losses.
In Sunday's sweep of Cal, Sun Devils senior Macey Gardner set a school mark for career kills (1,873). Gardner broke the 20-year-old mark of 1,871 that belonged to Christine Garner (1992-95). The senior outside hitter is the Pac-12 Player of the Week.