After four weeks of pre-conference competition, it’s finally Big Ten volleyball season, and the first week of league play features some big-time matchups. 

Here’s what you need to know about what’s coming up this week.

The Undefeateds

Three teams made it through their preseason slates without a loss: Purdue, Michigan, and Illinois. Of the three, however, only Illinois played top-25 ranked teams—four of them to be exact. 

Illinois and Purdue play each other to open both teams’ conference schedule on Friday, so one of the two will suffer its first loss. Michigan faces a tough test taking on Nebraska, also on Friday.

Rankings Roundup

Six Big Ten teams appeared in this week’s AVCA Poll, and one more received votes. 

See the complete poll here.

Upset City

There weren’t any true upsets over the past week, with a lower-ranked or unranked team taking down a higher-ranked squad, but the closest thing would have to be Iowa’s four-set victory over Iowa State. 

Both teams have received votes in the AVCA poll in recent weeks, but the Hawkeyes had not defeated its in-state rival since 2015 and hadn’t done so in Iowa State’s home gym since 1997. Cali Hoye and Taylor Louis each contributed a match-high 15 kills, with Louis hitting at an impressive .333 clip. 

Top Performer

In Nebraska’s route of Missouri State (25-19, 25-12, 25-4), 6-5 freshman middle Callie Schwarzenbach had nine blocks and five kills with zero errors. The night before, in a four-set victory over New Mexico, Schwarzenbach set a new career-high with 13 blocks, which ranks third-highest by a Husker in the rally scoring era and the most in an NCAA DI four-set match so far this season.

Biggest Upcoming Matches

They say every night is a battle in the Big Ten, and that’s certainly true for opening week. Here are the top matches to keep an eye on: 

Penn State @ Minnesota | Wednesday, September 19, 8 PM CT

Talk about jumping into the conference season feet first. This match pits against each other the two highest-ranked Big Ten teams, with Nebraska earning the No. 3 spot in this week’s poll and Penn State close behind at No. 4. 

Illinois @ Purdue | Friday, September 21, 6 PM CT

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Someone’s undefeated season ends Friday. Will it be No. 8-ranked Illinois, with four top-25 wins under its belt? Or an upset for the No. 16-ranked home team? 

Michigan @ Nebraska | Friday, September 21, 8 PM CT

Nebraska has been on a tear since losing its first outing of the season to Florida. In their last match of preseason, the Huskers played almost errorless, only letting Missouri State score a total of 35 points across all three sets. Michigan is undefeated, but has yet to play a single ranked team.

Michigan State @ Iowa | Friday, September 21, 8 PM CT

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Michigan State has a lot of unknowns after graduating their entire 2017 starting lineup. See the new group of Spartans -- including star freshmen Naya Gros, Molly Johnson, and Becka Poljan -- in action versus the Hawkeyes, who are feeling good after that victory over in-state rival Iowa State.