NCAA volleyball season underway

The GIST: Volleyball season has officially arrived, and with it comes more drama than Love Island. With opening weekend in the books, let’s dig into the Division I (DI) scene and see who’s chived and who’s buzzin’.

How it works: Over 5,500 women (!!!) across 340 teams are vying for a chance to play for the natty. The regular season runs until the end of November with the country’s top 64 squads — made up equally of conference champions and committee selectees — advancing to December’s national tourney.

• Topping the preseason poll is Nebraska, and opening weekend saw the Huskers sweep Pepperdine to start the season with a 3-0 record. Texas and Wisconsin clocked in at No. 2 and No. 3, respectively, but at least one of those is likely to change…

Opening weekend winners: It was a big weekend for Big 12 teams against the Big Ten.Although Wisconsin was last year’s national champ, opening weekend was a tough one for the Badgers, who lost to No. 16 Baylor in a tight 3–2 game, despite outside hitter (OH) Sarah Franklin’s 22 kills.

• Texas had a feast of its own this weekend, too. The Longhorns took two big dubs from No. 7 Ohio State, shocking the Buckeyes, who only won a single game in two matches, into an 0–2 season start in their own house. Hook ’em!

What to watch: No. 14 Stanford Cardinal and No. 15 Florida Gators (both undefeated) will battle it out in Gator-land tomorrow at 7 p.m. ET. Last year’s bout went 3–1 to the Cardinal, but we have a sneaking suspicion Florida won’t let that happen again.

• And while LA Tech couldn’t pull out a win against Clemson on Saturday, OH Andrea Spasojevic put on a show, kicking her way to the season’s most epic kill. Is it too soon to call it the play of the season?