The Big Ten has proven to be the most competitive volleyball conference in the country over the past few seasons. On Sunday, Big Ten teams wrapped up the pre-conference portion of their schedules and are poised to dive into league play. 

Before we turn our attention to conference competition, however, we’d like to take a moment to evaluate the preseason performance of each team in the Big Ten. Please note, our grades are based on results as compared to expectations and on strength of schedule and are not meant as comparison or ranking between schools.

Illinois

Grade: A+

Preseason AVCA Ranking (August 8): 12

Big Ten Preseason Coaches Poll Ranking: 5

AVCA Ranking (September 17): 8

Preseason Record:11-0

Illinois went undefeated in preseason, winning 11 in a row and taking down four ranked opponents, rocketing from preseason No. 12 to No. 8.

Opening weekend, starting outside hitter Beth Prince had to sit out with a shoulder injury, and the Fighting Illini barely escaped then-No. 25 Colorado State and Northern Colorado in five. But with Prince back in the lineup and everyone else back to their usual positions the next weekend, Illinois barely blinked in toppling then-No. 21 Colorado and No. 13 Washington.

The squad capped the pre-conference slate with a string of five sweeps -- including over notoriously tricky Northern Iowa -- and then a four-set victory over No. 10 Creighton.

Setter Jordyn Poulter already has four double-doubles on the season and senior middle Ali Bastianelli is averaging 1.56 blocks per set.  

Indiana

Grade: B-

Preseason AVCA Ranking (August 8): N/A

Big Ten Preseason Coaches Poll Ranking: 12

AVCA Ranking (September 17): N/A

Preseason Record: 9-2

In head coach Steve Aird’s first season at Indiana, the Hoosiers only lost twice in preseason: a perfectly respectable four-set loss to a tough Northern Iowa team, and a more dubious straight-set loss to Texas A&M, which was picked to finish eighth in the SEC Preseason Coaches Poll. 

Indiana best outing was a five-set victory over Cincinnati in the last weekend of preconference play. The Bearcats defeated then-No. 25 Colorado State earlier in the season and boast rockstar outside hitter Jordan Thompson, who is leading the country in kills per set, so it’s fair to say that’s a solid win for the Hoosiers.

"I think they are playing harder,” Aird said after a sweep of Eastern Kentucky that concluded his team’s preseason slate. “We aren't that good, so we have to rely on competing like crazy every day. We have gaps and issues that are going to get in the way of having real, legit, big time success, but you can make up for a lot if you play hard. So much of what I'm trying to tell them is if you care a ton and do the right thing every day you get opportunities to win and every once in a while, good things happen."

Iowa 

Grade: B

Preseason AVCA Ranking: N/A

Big Ten Preseason Coaches Poll Ranking: 9

AVCA Ranking (September 17): N/A

Preseason Record: 8-3

Opening weekend, Iowa dropped a five-setter to unranked Lipscomb and later lost to then-No. 13 Washington and No. 21 Colorado, but heading into the Big Ten season, the Hawkeyes are riding a six-match win streak. 

In the final weekend of non-conference play, the Hawkeyes even scored a four-set road win over Iowa State, which received votes in the previous AVCA Coaches Poll. Three Iowa players tallied double-digit kills (Taylor Louis, Cali Hoye, and Reghan Coyle) and Iowa out-dug Iowa State 78 to 62 behind 22 digs from libero Molly Kelly. That victory pushed Iowa from a C to a B in our book. 

“I was in grad school at Iowa the last time Iowa won here,” head coach Bond Schmansky said of the ISU win. “It feels pretty darn good. It was a really great team effort. Our team was ripe for the 3-0 sweep and let them crawl back into it, but it took a lot of fortitude to dig down and come out with a great four-set win.”

Maryland

Grade: B

Preseason AVCA Ranking (August 8): N/A

Big Ten Preseason Coaches Poll Ranking: 13

AVCA Ranking (September 17): N/A

Preseason Record: 9-3

In the four weeks of preseason, Maryland either won in a sweep or lost in five -- a four-set victory over Stonybrook in the second weekend of the season the only exception to that rule. The Terps three losses came at the hands of Air Force, South Carolina, and Princeton.

All in all, that’s a decent start for a team that has had to deal with the departure of previous head coach Steve Aird and subsequent transfer of five players, including 2017 kills leader Gia Milana.

“We're a young team that's still learning how to play well together,” said first-year head coach Adam Hughes, whose squad is led by sophomore outside Erika Pritchard, transfer setter Nicole Alford, and freshman libero Allegra Rivas. 

Michigan

Grade: B-

Preseason AVCA Ranking (August 8): RV

Big Ten Preseason Coaches Poll Ranking: 6

AVCA Ranking (September 17): 18

Preseason Record: 11-0

Michigan is one of only three Big Ten teams to emerge from the pre-conference slate undefeated, but the Wolverines’ strength of schedule left much to be desired. At the time they played them, none of Michigan’s opponents were ranked, and only Colorado State laid claim to a top-25 ranking at any point in the season to date. 

Let’s just say that FloVolleyball utilizes a weighted GPA system, and Michigan didn’t sign up for a single AP or honors class. 

The Wolverines didn’t lose a set until the final match of preseason, a four-set victory over Notre Dame. Michigan’s Big Ten opener versus Nebraska on Friday will be the first real test for the squad, and it could be a rude awakening.  

Michigan State

Grade: C

Preseason AVCA Ranking (August 8): 22

Big Ten Preseason Coaches Poll Ranking: 9

AVCA Ranking (September 17): RV

Preseason Record: 13-1

Michigan State’s 2018 record has only one blemish -- a four-set loss to Tennessee on opening night.

The Spartans graduated their entire starting lineup at the end of the 2017 season and all six MSU freshmen saw the floor against Tennessee, so it’s no surprise that the new squad’s first outing wasn’t as crisp and clean as head coach Cathy George might have liked; however, you wouldn’t expect the then-No. 22 ranked team in the country to lose to a team picked fourth from the bottom in the SEC Preseason Coaches Poll. 

Since then, MSU has gone undefeated, dropping only three total sets on its way to a 13-1 record but has not faced a single ranked team, so the team’s grade suffers from a weak strength of schedule.

Minnesota

Grade: B-

Preseason AVCA Ranking (August 8): 4

Big Ten Preseason Coaches Poll Ranking: 3

AVCA Ranking (September 17): 7

Preseason Record: 6-2

Minnesota earned the No. 1 ranking on September 3 after starting the season 5-0; however, the very next weekend, the Gophers lost to Oregon and Stanford, both in four, so their reign was a short one.

With only eight matches played in preseason, Minnesota competed sparingly and lost both of its matches versus ranked teams. That said, those two losses are the Gophers’ only losses. So while it wasn’t a great preseason for Minnesota, and the No. 1 was short lived, it wasn’t a terrible start for the Gophers either.

Minnesota’s Big Ten opener versus Penn State will be a good indicator of this team’s true potential.

Nebraska

Grade: A-

Preseason AVCA Ranking (August 8): 2

Big Ten Preseason Coaches Poll Ranking: 1

AVCA Ranking (September 17): 3

Preseason Record: 9-1

Nebraska heads into conference play on a nine-match win streak, losing only its opening match to current No. 11 Florida at the Vert Challenge. The Huskers capped their preseason slate with a sweep of Missouri State in which the Huskers won the third set 25-4, and celebrated the debut of sophomore Texas transfer Lexi Sun, who sat out the first eight matches of the season recovering from an undisclosed injury.

Those nine wins in a row included a sweep of then-No. 18 Oregon, a five-setter over then-No. 14 Creighton, and a sweep of Iowa State, which ranked No. 21 in the AVCA Preseason Poll and has received votes every week since.

The loss to Florida feels long gone and forgotten at this point.

Northwestern

Grade: C

Preseason AVCA Ranking (August 8): N/A

Big Ten Preseason Coaches Poll Ranking: 11

AVCA Ranking (September 17): N/A

Preseason Record: 10-2

Nothing about Northwestern’s preseason performance came as a surprise. The Wildcats didn’t play a single ranked team, won 10 matches, and lost two, both in straight sets -- to Princeton on August 31 and Arkansas on September 8. 

High notes for Northwestern have been the performances of freshman setter Kiara McNulty, who was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week after the first week of season and sophomore outside hitter Nia Robinson, who leads the team with 178 kills. 

Ohio State

Grade: C-

Preseason AVCA Ranking (August 8): N/A

Big Ten Preseason Coaches Poll Ranking: 8

AVCA Ranking (September 17): N/A

Preseason Record: 9-3

Ohio State headed into the final weekend of preseason play with only one loss, but then fell to Tennessee and Dayton. Tennessee has proven to be dangerous this season, already toppling top-25 opponents Michigan State and San Diego, and Dayton went to five with Washington and beat Tennessee, so neither of those are really terrible losses.

The August 31 loss to Ole Miss, which was ranked 11th in the SEC preseason coaches poll, however, stings a little more, docking the Buckeyes a few points off their FloVolleyball GPA.

On the bright side, individual Buckeyes received Big Ten honors during preseason, with middle Lauren Witte being named co-Big Ten Player of the Week on August 27 and libero Gruensfelder being named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week on September 10.

The Buckeyes are getting settled with a number of new faces in the starting lineup, including Kentucky transfers setter Olivia Dailey and middle blocker Jordan Fry and freshmen Mia Grunze (OH), Vanja Bukilic (OPP), Adria Powell (OH), and Camryn Moeller (DS). 

Penn State

Grade: A

Preseason AVCA Ranking (August 8): 6

Big Ten Preseason Coaches Poll Ranking: 4

AVCA Ranking (September 17): 4

Preseason Record: 9-1

Penn State couldn’t get past Stanford, but then again, only BYU has achieved that feat. Besides the Stanford match on September 7, Penn State has had a nearly flawless preseason, sweeping every opponent, including No. 12 Oregon.

Following the graduation of six starters/major contributors, Penn State has had to rely heavily on contributions from newcomers, and so far they’ve proven to be up to the challenge, with returning upperclassman Nia Reed (OH), Bryanna Weiskircher (S), and Kendall White (L) providing valuable veteran leadership.

Freshman opposite Jonni Parker earned MVP honors at the American Volleyball Classic, tallying 17 kills versus American. North Carolina transfer outside hitter Taylor Leath leads the team with 80 total kills, and both starting middles -- Kaitlyn Hord and Serena Gray -- are also freshmen.

Purdue

Grade: B+

Preseason AVCA Ranking (August 8): 23

Big Ten Preseason Coaches Poll Ranking: 7

AVCA Ranking (September 17): 16

Preseason Record: 11-0

Purdue’s 11-0 start marks its best preseason performance since 2011, but we couldn’t give them full credit for a schedule that didn’t include a single ranked team and featured only three games on the road. 

The Boilermakers best wins were a four-setter over a scrappy Notre Dame team and a five-set victory versus Louisville, which has been receiving votes in a number of AVCA polls this season. Purdue also ended Alabama’s win streak, handing the Rolling Tide its first loss of the season on September 14.

Opposite Sheridan Atkinson has been fantastic for Purdue, totaling 176 kills, 55 digs, 25 blocks, and 12 aces. Middle Blake Mohler’s 101 kills ranks second on the team and she is first on the team with a .420 hitting percentage and 53 blocks.

Rutgers

Grade: C+

Preseason AVCA Ranking (August 8): N/A 

Big Ten Preseason Coaches Poll Ranking: 10

AVCA Ranking (September 17): N/A 

Preseason Record: 6-7

Rutgers’ six preseason wins is more than the Scarlet Knights collected in any of past three seasons. Although we wouldn’t necessarily pick out any of the singular victories as particularly impressive, the total number marks a major accomplishment for the team which did not win a single conference match last season. 

Middles Stasa Miljevic and Jasmine Stackhouse have helped Rutgers rank fourth in the country in blocks per set. Miljevic even broke the school record for blocks in a four-set match with 10 in the September 8 victory over Navy. 

Setter Inna Balyko earned the Big Ten Freshman of the Week honor on September 2 and five days later broke the school record for assists in a three-set match with 47 in Rutgers’ sweep of Howard.

Wisconsin

Grade: B+

Preseason AVCA Ranking (August 8): 9

Big Ten Preseason Coaches Poll Ranking: 2

AVCA Ranking (September 17): 6

Preseason Record: 7-1

Wisconsin rocketed from No. 8 to No. 2 in the AVCA rankings after taking down then-No. 2 Texas in four sets on September 1. A loss to then-No. 15 Baylor sent the Badgers back to No. 6, but they appeared recovered as they crushed No. 21 Marquette 25-23, 25-14, 25-15 in the last weekend of preseason play.

Super 6-8 middle Dana Rettke ranks second in the NCAA with 1.82 blocks per set. Also contributing to Wisconsin’s success is the return of outside Molly Haggerty, who sat out the 2017 season recovering from back surgery and the play of solid sophomores outside hitter Grace Loberg and setter Sydney Hilley.