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Nebraska Volleyball Finishes Fourth in Final AVCA Rankings

Originally posted on Nebraska Cornhuskers on SI
By Austin Jacobsen | Last updated Dec 24, 2024 10:19 AM ET

Nebraska volleyball's heartbreaking finish in the Final Four did not detract from a full season of impactful victories over other top teams.

The Huskers (33-3, 19-1 B1G) ended the 2024 season at No. 4 in the final AVCA rankings released on Monday. Nebraska was rated behind national champion and No. 1 Penn State (35-2, 19-1 B1G), runner-up No. 2 Louisville (30-6, 17-3 ACC), and No. 3 Pittsburgh (33-2, 19-1 ACC). The Panthers still garnered a first-place vote despite losing their national semifinal match to Louisville.

Nebraska's top-five finish is the 24th time in Nebraska's history, the second most in AVCA history behind Stanford. It is also a record 38th time that the Huskers have finished a season rated inside of the top 10. The Cornhuskers finished over 100 points ahead of the Cardinal in this year's rankings, as Stanford (28-5, 17-3 ACC) finished at No. 5.

Nebraska was routinely in the top-five throughout the regular season AVCA polls, peaking at No. 2 through most of the year. The Huskers rose to No. 2 in the Sept. 16 rankings and were the preseason runner-up team behind No. 1 Texas. Nebraska dropped to No. 5 following a Sept. 3 loss at then-unranked SMU, but rose back to No. 2 after non-conference wins against then-rated No. 9 Creighton, No. 14 Arizona State, No. 2 Stanford, and No. 4 Louisville.

The Cornhuskers finished the year with 12 wins over teams rated in the final top 25 rankings, including victories over Louisville, Stanford, Creighton, Wisconsin, Kentucky, Purdue, Oregon, Arizona State, Dayton, Minnesota, USC, and TCU. The Huskers defeated the Badgers three times, including the NCAA Regional Final in Lincoln, sweeping Wisconsin in every match.

Nebraska's losses came to No. 1 Penn State twice, and to No. 15 SMU. The Huskers also downed RV Miami (FL) for a flawless record at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.

The Big Ten Conference dominated the final rankings as the conference finished with five teams in the top ten and seven teams in the top 25. The Atlantic Coast Conference ended with five programs represented, as the SEC and Big 12 also included five teams each.

Nebraska's in-state foe, Creighton, finished with a school-best No. 6 ranking after the Bluejays swept another season in the Big East Conference and a program-record 32-3 final record. Creighton fell to eventual national champion Penn State in five sets in the NCAA Regional Final.

Nebraska ended its season falling a reverse-sweep to the Nittany Lions in the national semifinal, but earned several postseason honors including libero Lexi Rodriguez being named a national finalist for the AVCA Player of the Year. Four Nebraska players earned All-American honors as well, and the Huskers claimed back-to-back Big Ten titles sharing the crown with Penn State.

The Huskers will move on from several key contributing seniors, including Merritt Beason, Rodriguez, Lindsay Krause, Kennedi Orr, and Leyla Blackwell. Despite the losses for the 2025 season, Nebraska returns their leader in kills, blocks, and assists from the past season. As of Monday, no Nebraska volleyball players have entered the transfer portal.

Nebraska will open up the 2025 season as part of the AVCA First Serve Showcase in Lincoln.