AVCA Top 25 - Final Poll (12/18)
1. Texas (64) (28-4)
2. Nebraska (33-2)
3. Wisconsin (30-4)
4. Pittsburgh (29-5)
5. Stanford (29-4)
6. Louisville (27-5)
7. Oregon (29-6)
8. Arkansas (28-6)
9. Tennessee (26-5)
10. Kentucky (21-8)
11. Washington State (26-8)
12. Penn State (23-9)
13. Purdue (23-9)
14. Georgia Tech (24-7)
15. Creighton (29-5)
16. Arizona State (28-7)
17. Kansas (24-6)
18. BYU (25-7)
19. Florida (19-10)
20. Dayton (32-3)
21. Houston (19-10)
22. Western Kentucky (30-5)
23. Baylor (17-13)
24. USC (19-13)
25. Florida State (23-9)

Others Receiving Votes
Southern Methodist, Marquette, TCU, Minnesota, Western Michigan, Iowa State, Auburn, Hawaii, Kansas State

What a win for Fred Hoiberg's crew, which leaves Manhattan with a 16-point win over Kansas State. Here's more:

This is pretty slick for PSU. A few more pieces, and they'll be in the B1G championship...

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AP Top 25 (12/18)
1. Purdue (48) (10-1)
2. Kansas (6) (10-1)
3. Houston (8) (11-0)
4. Arizona (8-1)
5. Connecticut (10-1)
6. Marquette (9-2)
7. Oklahoma (10-0)
8. Tennessee (8-3)
9. Kentucky (8-2)
10. Baylor (9-1)
11. North Carolina (7-3)
12. Creighton (9-2)
13. Illinois (8-2)
14. Florida Atlantic (9-2)
15. Gonzaga (8-3)
16. Colorado State (10-1)
17. BYU (10-1)
18. Clemson (9-1)
19. Texas (8-2)
20. James Madison (10-0)
21. Duke (7-3)
22. Virginia (9-1)
23. Memphis (8-2)
24. Wisconsin (8-3)
25. Mississippi (10-0)

Others Receiving Votes
Miami (FL), Auburn, Colorado, Utah, Iowa State, Ohio State, TCU, Michigan State, Texas A&M, San Diego, Providence, Northwestern, Nevada, Dayton, Alabama, St. Joseph's, Grand Canyon, Washington, New Mexico, South Carolina, Mississippi State

Dropped Out
Miami (FL) (#24), Northwestern (#25)

==================================

USA Today Coaches Top 25 (12/18)
1. Purdue (20) (10-1)
2. Kansas (3) (10-1)
3. Houston (9) (11-0)
4. Arizona (8-1)
5. Connecticut (10-1)
6. Marquette (9-2)
7. Tennessee (8-3)
8. Oklahoma (10-0)
9. Kentucky (8-2)
10. Baylor (9-1)
11. Illinois (8-2)
12. Florida Atlantic (9-2)
13. North Carolina (7-3)
14. Creighton (9-2)
15. BYU (10-1)
16. Gonzaga (8-3)
17. Colorado State (10-1)
18. Clemson (9-1)
19. Duke (7-3)
20. Virginia (9-1)
21. James Madison (10-0)
22. Texas (8-2)
23. Memphis (8-2)
24. Wisconsin (8-3)
25. Mississippi (10-0)

Others Receiving Votes
Auburn, Miami (FL), Colorado, TCU, Michigan State, Ohio State, Grand Canyon, Iowa State, Utah, Texas A&M, South Carolina, New Mexico, Nebraska, Nevada, Princeton, Alabama, San Diego, Dayton, Indiana State

Dropped Out
Miami (FL) (#24)

==================================

NCAA NET (12/18)
1. Houston
2. Arizona
3. Purdue
4. BYU
5. Connecticut
6. Iowa State
7. Marquette
8. Tennessee
9. Creighton
10. Oklahoma
11. Florida Atlantic
12. Alabama
13. Kansas
14. Illinois
15. Clemson
16. Indiana State
17. Baylor
18. Wisconsin
19. Auburn
20. Colorado State
21. Texas A&M
22. Princeton
23. Virginia
24. Duke
25. San Diego State
------------------------------
32. Ohio State
43. Michigan State
51. Nebraska
59. Iowa
70. Michigan
77. Northwestern
79. Rutgers
97. Minnesota
113. Indiana
136. Penn State
142. Maryland

1) Raiola coming here is I believe a done deal. It just depends on the announcement. I saw a video last night from a guy in the Nebraska media and it was Raiola wearing #15 and filming a commitment video coming out of the tunnel in Memorial.

2) A buddy of mine talked to Alvano and the leaked text messages of Raiola texting the team are in fact true according to Alvano.

Dont shoot the messenger.

Women's AP Top 25 (12/18)
1. South Carolina (35) (10-0)
2. UCLA (9-0)
3. North Carolina State (11-0)
4. Iowa (11-1)
5. Texas (11-0)
6. USC (8-0)
7. LSU (11-1)
8. Colorado (9-1)
9. Stanford (9-1)
10. Baylor (9-0)
11. Utah (9-2)
12. Kansas State (10-1)
13. Ohio State (9-1)
14. Notre Dame (8-1)
15. Virginia Tech (8-2)
16. Indiana (8-1)
17. Connecticut (7-3)
18. Marquette (11-0)
19. Louisville (10-2)
20. Gonzaga (11-2)
21t. Creighton (8-2)
21t. Florida State (8-3)
23. Washington (11-0)
24. North Carolina (7-4)
25. TCU (11-0)

Others Receiving Votes
Miami (FL), West Virginia, Washington State, UNLV, Texas Tech, Texas A&M, Mississippi State, Oregon State, Wisconsin-Green Bay, Davidson, Minnesota, Syracuse, Nebraska, Mississippi, Michigan State

====================================

(Women's Coaches Poll released on Tuesday)

====================================

Women's NCAA NET (12/18)
1. South Carolina
2. Utah
3. Stanford
4. Texas
5. Notre Dame
6. Iowa
7. UCLA
8. Kansas State
9. USC
10. Baylor
11. North Carolina State
12. Connecticut
13. Gonzaga
14. Ohio State
15. LSU
16. Michigan State
17. UNLV
18. Creighton
19. Nebraska
20. Washington State
21. Virginia Tech
22. Colorado
23. Texas A&M
24. West Virginia
25. Penn State
------------------------------
32. Indiana
33. Michigan
38. Maryland
44. Minnesota
59. Illinois
84. Purdue
98. Wisconsin
161. Rutgers
254. Northwestern

Putting on a show. Fun to watch great football!

Information floating around right now. Reduced to deciphering Twitter. I hard to know what to believe on any recruits.

Decommits from Illinois.

Nebraska basketball is the real deal, they had an off day vs Creighton. They are 100% legit. Just had a legit road win @8-2 K-State and handled Michigan State who just smoked the #6 team in the country.

They deserve their own thread

A few items regarding the Raiola Decision waiting period:

1). Based on the team Quarterback situation, Coach Rhule would not have let McCord slip away without a Commitment from Dylan and Dominic Raiola.

2). Without a Commitment from Raiola, and losing McCord, Rhule would have been actively and publicly pursuing another Quarterback.

3). Rhule has to much at risk to not have nailed this down. His program, reputation and ultimately his job are on the line. He wouldn’t let this slide.

4). Dominic Raiola is not going to do this Dance twice within one year with his Alma Mater. He knows the damage it would cause.

Including to his Reputation within Nebraska circles. He would immediately move to a long standing Nebraska Public Enemy #1. His Friends List shrinks instantly.

With all that:

Dylan commits to Nebraska on Wednesday.

I have been fairly negative towards the Raiola’s here this last week for the lack of announcement.

And that negativity was because without thinking about it, I’d made this all about me. It’s obviously not.

Dylan is an 18 year old young man with a very high profile. And he deserves to be like the other Kids and make his announcement on Signing day with a certain level of intentional drama. We’ve been demanding he forgo that. I’m guilty. And it’s not fair.

I wish him well and hope he enjoys the remainder of the process. Enough to sign Nebraska Papers on Wednesday.

Huskers Finish as NCAA Runner-Up
Huskers.com
TAMPA, Fla. - The Nebraska volleyball team's quest for a sixth national championship came up short Sunday afternoon, as strong serving powered Texas to a 3-0 sweep in the NCAA Final at Amalie Arena in Tampa.

Texas had 12 aces in the match, the most by a Husker opponent in the rally-scoring era, which dates back to 2001. Nebraska struggled to pass against the Longhorns, which resulted in the Huskers recording season lows in kills (20) and hitting percentage (.013). Texas hit .264 in the match and had a 38-20 advantage in kills.

The Huskers (33-2) finished as the NCAA runner-up for the sixth time in program history, while Texas (28-4) won its second straight national championship and fourth overall.

Harper Murray led the Huskers with seven kills on 23 swings. Bekka Allick added three kills on seven attempts and led Nebraska with a .286 attack percentage and four blocks. Andi Jackson added four kills and three blocks. Lexi Rodriguez and Bergen Reilly had six digs apiece, while Reilly added 17 assists.

Madisen Skinner led Texas with 16 kills on 33 swings, while Asjia O'Neal had five service aces.

Set 1: The Longhorns jumped out to a 4-0 lead, but an ace by Murray and kill by Batenhorst helped the Huskers climb back to tie the score at 6-6. Jackson produced a pair of kills, and a tip by Murray gave the Huskers their first lead at 10-9. Allick set Murray for another kill to make it 11-9, but Texas answered with a 3-0 run to go back up 12-11. The Longhorns separated from a 14-14 tie with a 3-0 run to take a 17-14 lead. Texas pushed the lead to four, 20-16, but Reilly placed a kill to the back corner and Texas committed an attacking error to make it 20-18. The Longhorns led 22-19 before a block by Allick and Murray. A red card was then assessed to the Texas bench to give Nebraska a free point, and Murray served an ace to tie the score at 22-22. But the Longhorns scored the final three points with a block, a kill and an ace to win 25-22.

Set 2: Nebraska went ahead 10-7 after a 6-1 run. Jackson had a kill and two blocks in that stretch to spark the Big Red. But Texas took control of the set with an 11-0 run - including four straight aces by O'Neal - to grab an 18-10 lead. The Longhorns went on to win the set, 25-14.

Set 3: Texas bolted to a 7-3 lead, but a kill by Jackson and a block by Jackson and Reilly cut it to 7-5. But the Longhorns increased their lead to 15-10 at the media timeout. After the break, the Longhorns pulled away with three kills and a block to make it 19-10. Texas finished out the match, 25-11.

POST MATCH NOTES
- Nebraska finished as the NCAA Runner-Up for the sixth time in program history. The Huskers have a 5-6 record in the national championship match.

- The Huskers lost to Texas in an NCAA Final for the first time. Nebraska had won the previous two national championship matches between the two programs in 1995 and 2015.

- NU ended its season with a 33-2 record. The Huskers' .943 winning percentage ranks fourth in school history and is the highest since the 2006 season.

- Nebraska fell to 130-37 all-time in the NCAA Tournament. The Huskers rank second in NCAA history in postseason wins and winning percentage (.778)

- John Cook fell to 89-20 in the NCAA Tournament as Nebraska's head coach. He dropped to 97-25 in his NCAA Tournament career. Cook ranks second all-time in career NCAA Tournament victories and NCAA Tournament wins at one school.

- Texas had 12 service aces in the match, the most by any Husker opponent in the rally-scoring era (since 2001) and the first time a Nebraska opponent has had more than 10 aces in the rally-scoring era

- UT had seven aces in set two, which is one shy of the most aces Nebraska had allowed in an entire match

- Nebraska hit .013 in the match, the lowest mark of the season for the Huskers. The previous low was a .130 attack percentage in a win against No. 1 Wisconsin on Oct. 21.

- The Huskers' 20 kills were a season low, nine fewer than Nebraska had against Omaha in the outdoor match at Memorial Stadium on Aug. 30.

- Merritt Beason finished with 455 kills this season. That total ranked ninth at Nebraska in the rally-scoring era. Beason is just the sixth Husker to have 450 kills in a season during the rally-scoring era.

- Beason finished with 455 kills, 248 digs, and 106 blocks. She is just the fourth Husker in the rally-scoring era to have 400 kills, 200 digs and 100 blocks in a season and the first to do so since Kadie Rolfzen in 2015.

- Andi Jackson finished with a .399 attack percentage in her freshman season. That is the highest mark by a freshman in school history, eclipsing the previous record of .388 by Karen Dahlgren in 1983.

- Jackson's .399 attack percentage is the 10th-best all-time single-season mark at Nebraska and the seventh-best during the rally-scoring era.

ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
MB - Bekka Allick, Nebraska
OH - Merritt Beason, Nebraska
L - Emma Halter, Texas
MB - Asjia O'Neal, Texas
OH - Madisen Skinner, Texas
S - Ella Swindle, Texas
MB - Anna Smrek, Wisconsin

MOST OUTSTANDING PLAYER
OH - Madisen Skinner, Texas

Will get swept by the Longhorns.

Five thoughts – including, yes, one massive positive that probably won't make anyone feel better right now – as Huskers' titletown hopes falter in national championship match loss to Texas:

Why in Women's Volleyball do the players huddle and celebrate/regroup after EVERY point, win or lose? Even the points where they did everything right and the ball just fell for them or the other team by luck. In other sports, the players celebrate when they score, but it's much more infrequent than Volleyball, where someone scores on every play. Seems like it would take a lot of emotional energy to be that up for 2 hours.

Playing for Texas tonight.

Just watched recording of lady huskers. Batenhorst pretty much cost Nebraska the natty. That's the way I see it.

Putting it all together (including the reality of how things inevitably go for nebraska football), it's hard to feel great about the DR situation.

We have arguably the highest rated recruit in program history, who is still committed elsewhere, on campus and the entire coaching staff leaves town to spend their Saturday night trying to shore up the next highest rated guy. And the kid spends the whole weekend texting the Georgia staff.

I've seen this movie too many times with this program. Oh well. It's easier when you expect it.

if you're a fanatic of college football, you'll probably find this in-depth interview with Trent Dilfer as interesting as I did

he touches on in-season recruiting, week to week game planning, what it's like in a kid's living room, playing Georgia in their house, "mid-major" college football and a ton more from inside the office of a college football head coach

really really candid

starts at 23:00 if you want to skip the NBA talk at the top

enjoy

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After watching Texass demolish Wisconsin I’m not surprised.

Time to appreciate our talented young team and look forward to the future.

to not follow recruiting at all. I just check back in after signing day to see who we are rolling with. Schools and coaches playing games, kids being indecisive, parental and/or handler interference, etc. And that was in simpler times. It’s only become 1000x more complicated since then with the portal, NIL, etc. Everything changes by the minute.

It was a good decision. I don’t worry or stress about this kid or that kid and I’ve freed up countless hours to pursue other useless activities.