Wisconsin volleyball: UW ranked No. 2 in preseason AVCA Poll

On Monday afternoon, the AVCA dropped the preseason coaches Top 25, and Wisconsin did ok in the eyes of the people who rank things.

It feels surreal to say that Wisconsin is in the championship or bust mentality, but with almost everyone returning, including a potential five-time All-American Dana Rettke, it’s tough to say that being the first runner-up should be a point of pride. Even if the preseason poll is the most meaningless of them all.

But, with those numbers and pound signs from the most meaningless of polls, we can begin to get hyped on who the Badgers will play in the upcoming season! The non-conference slate starts with Yossiana Pressely and the No. 10 Baylor Bears coming to the Field House for games against Minnesota and Wisconsin to start the season on August 27. After that, two games against a receiving-votes Dayton, Kelly Sheffield’s prior gig, then a massive tilt against defending national champion and third ranked Kentucky before a Sunday tilt in Milwaukee against another receiving votes squad, Marquette.

Once again, the Big Ten Conference looks to be the dominant force in college volleyball, as all six ranked teams are in the top-12 of the poll. No. 9 Minnesota is the home conference opener. The four-game stretch to close October that starts with home tilts against No. 11 Ohio State and No. 12 Penn State before traveling to No. 5 Nebraska and No. 8 Purdue will be make or break time for Wisconsin’s conference title chances.

But once again, the highest ranked opponent on the schedule is the one the Badgers open with: themselves.