Last week saw the top team in the Big Ten standings suffer its first conference loss and plenty of other matches go all the way to five or end in a massive upset.

Here are the top stories of the week that was in Big Ten women’s volleyball.

Indiana Gets Close, Again and Again

Indiana hit the road last week, pushing both Michigan State and then-No. 16 Michigan to five sets.

Against Michigan State, Indiana tied its season high with 19 blocks. Freshman Breana Edwards led with 14 kills and Kamryn Malloy set a new career high with five blocks, helping the Hoosiers get within one, 14-13, at the end of the fifth set. 

ICYMI: Michigan defeated Indiana last night, 3-2!

Check out the ? highlights! #GoBlue pic.twitter.com/Bv7QtxxZvC

— Michigan Volleyball (@umichvball) October 7, 2018

The next night, Indiana got even closer to an upset as it lost 16-14 in the fifth to Michigan. Once again, Edwards led the offense with 22 kills and sophomore libero Bayli Lebo recorded a new career-high with 26 digs.

Ohio State Barely Escapes Rutgers

Ohio State continued to battle injuries and question marks in its lineup as it faced Rutgers on Friday and barely snuck away with a victory in five sets. 

Setter Olivia Dailey started for Ohio State but was replaced by Becca Mauer midway through the second set and Mauer stayed in for the remainder of the match. The Buckeyes also played without freshman outside Mia Grunze, who has been one of the team’s top offensive contributors thus far but is dealing with an undisclosed injury.

Rankings Roundup

Seven Big Ten teams appeared in this week’s AVCA Poll.

See the complete poll here.

Biggest Upsets

Big Ten play featured a number of notable upsets this week, but the biggest was unranked Iowa’s five-set defeat of then-No. 6 Wisconsin. Junior outside Cali Hoye led Iowa with 30 kills, the most by an Iowa player since 1997, and added 14 digs. 

“I can't say enough about [Hoye] and how great she has been to our program,” Iowa head coach Bond Shymansky said. “She sat on the bench for two years . . . and now she is on the court leading us with 30 kills.”

Cali Hoye had 30 kills in Saturday's victory over #6 Wisconsin. The first time a Hawkeye has had 30 kills in a single match since 1997! #Hawkeyes #MissionTMT pic.twitter.com/crbG2jbw7U

— Iowa Volleyball (@IowaVolleyball) October 8, 2018

Minnesota caused some movement in the Big Ten standings and the national rankings with a four-set victory over Nebraska, handing the Huskers their first loss in conference play. Minnesota remains undefeated in Big Ten play and rose to No. 3 in the AVCA rankings this week. 

The Gophers had four hitters in double-digit kills, but it was freshman Adanna Rollins who led the way with 17, helping Minnesota out-hit Nebraska .280 to .194. 

Michigan also earned a major upset. Although the then-No. 16 Wolverines ranked only two spots below then-No. 14 Purdue, it was the absolute domination they showcased in a 25-15, 25-16, 25-14 defeat of the Boilermakers that made the win so impressive.

Michigan made only seven errors as a team to hit a season-high .435 and knock off its first ranked opponent of the season. Purdue on the other hand, hit .106, posting only two blocks to Michigan’s six and just 31 digs to Michigan’s 40. The Boilermakers leading offensive player, 6-4 opposite Sherridan Atkinson, managed just three kills in 16 swings.

Top Performer

Minnesota setter Samantha Seliger-Swenson led the Gophers to a sweep of Northwestern and the upset of Nebraska last week. Seliger-Swenson quarterbacked the Minnesota offense to a .390 percentage in the Northwestern match and .280 versus Nebraska. 

How bout that?! Samantha Seliger-Swenson goes up for the set dump and kill! pic.twitter.com/RsVoZzQMFq

— Minnesota Volleyball (@GopherVBall) October 7, 2018

In each match, Seliger-Swenson also contributed a few points herself, tallying two kills with zero errors, three aces, and one block in the Northwestern match, and six kills with zero errors and a block against Nebraska.

Biggest Upcoming Matches

Illinois @ Minnesota | Friday, October 12, 8 PM ET

Watch on FloVolleyball

Illinois has only lost two matches this year: to Nebraska and Wisconsin. A win in this meeting with Minnesota would be a chance to remain in contention for the conference title. Minnesota, on the other hand, is feeling good after toppling Nebraska.

Purdue @ Iowa | Saturday, October 13, 8 PM ET

Watch on FloVolleyball

Last week, Purdue suffered a terrible loss at the hands of Michigan. Iowa upset Wisconsin. Will Purdue turn things around or will Iowa keep the momentum rolling?

Nebraska @ Penn State | Saturday, October 13, 8 PM ET

Saturday two of the most storied women’s volleyball programs face off for the first time this year. Nebraska has just one loss in conference play, Penn State just two, and both teams feature a number of young players in their starting lineups.

Illinois @ Wisconsin | Saturday, October 13, 9 PM ET

Watch on FloVolleyball

Just 10 days after their first meeting of the season, Illinois and Wisconsin meet again. Wisconsin road strong defense to a four-set victory in the first head-to-head matchup, but Illinois will be looking for redemption.