Nebraska will open the season ranked second nationally according to the preseason AVCA Coaches poll released on Monday.
The Huskers received 15 first-place votes while reigning champion and preseason No. 1 Texas received the other 46.
Wisconsin, Pittsburgh and Stanford round out the top five.
Joining the Huskers and Badgers from the Big Ten are No. 7 Penn State, No. 8 Purdue, No. 10 Oregon, No. 18 Minnesota and No. 21 USC. Ohio State (31), Indiana (35), UCLA (40) and Washington (41) were among others receiving votes.
In addition to playing in the conference with more ranked teams than any other, Nebraska will also face a challenging nonconference schedule. The Huskers will play against No. 9 Kentucky at the season-opening AVCA First Serve Showcase in Louisville. They’ll also host No. 12 Creighton, No. 17 Arizona State and No. 5 Stanford before returning to Louisville to face the No. 6 Cardinals in the nonconference finale. The Huskers will also host two teams among others receiving votes in TCU (28th) and SMU (30th) during the Ameritas Players Challenge.
In total, 12 of Nebraska 31 matches will be against preseason top-25 teams with another six matches coming against other teams receiving votes.
The Huskers went 33-2 in 2023, earning the Big Ten title and advancing to the national championship before falling to the Longhorns to finish as runner-up. Coach John Cook returned the majority of his lineup from that squad while adding two proven transfers in addition to a pair of talented freshmen. Nebraska led all Big Ten teams with five players on the preseason All-Big Ten team and was picked to repeat as conference champion as voted on by the coaches.
Fans will get their first look at this year’s Huskers in the Devaney Center at the annual Red-White Scrimmage on Saturday before Nebraska hits the road for the AVCA First Serve Showcase next week.
