Badgers narrowly miss out on Top 5 of preseason poll

Dec 18, 2025; Kansas City, MO, USA; Wisconsin Badgers head coach Kelly Sheffield reacts during the first set against the Kentucky Wildcats in a 2025 NCAA Women’s Volleyball Championship semifinal match at T-Mobile Center. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Conn

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What is the story about?

With the college volleyball season starting up in less than two weeks, we saw the AVCA preseason poll released on Monday, and the Wisconsin Badgers were ranked No. 6 on the first list of the year.

The news came after Wisconsin was ranked as the No. 2 team in the preseason Big Ten poll behind only Nebraska, which received all of the first-place votes. In a similar fashion, the Cornhuskers were the No. 1 overall team in the AVCA preseason poll, with Texas coming behind them at No. 2.

Rounding out the

top five were Kentucky (No. 3), Pittsburgh (No. 4), and Stanford (No. 5), with those teams behind Nebraska all receiving a very similar number of votes.

Of the first-place votes, Nebraska got 57, while No. 3 Kentucky got four. Additionally, No. 2 Texas and No. 8 Texas A&M both received a first-place vote as well.

Here’s the full Top 10.