Two things are clear in the Big Ten so far: Nebraska has been the league’s best team, and Northwestern has been the worst. 

Everything else in between those teams is up for debate. 

As we reach the halfway point of the league schedule later this week, the Big Ten has shown its depth, with the middle-pack teams beating up each other. Nebraska has dropped just one set in the first four weeks (to Purdue), while the Wildcats have won just four sets and been swept five times. 

Wisconsin and Oregon have flown above the fray so far with their only losses in league play to Nebraska and Wisconsin, respectively. That’s where things get a bit messier. UCLA has a good record, but they’ve already played four of the bottom six teams. Overall, 12 teams have legitimate NCAA tourney hopes. 

The race to make the 15-team conference tournament field is heating up, too. Northwestern, Iowa and Rutgers are on the outside right now. Wins could be hard to come by, but the Wildcats play the other two during the final month. Let’s check out each team and who has been their MVP to this point.

The Huskers have dropped just one set in their first eight matches, with Purdue as the first team to force a four-set match in Big Ten action. Nebraska leads 11 of the 13 statistical categories in league matches with aces (Minnesota is first, NU is fourth) and digs (Washington, eighth) as the two exceptions. 

Halfway MVP: It could be several players. Harper Murray’s been on fire during conference play. Andi Jackson is still the nation’s best middle blocker, but we’ll give this to Nebraska’s engine, Bergen Reilly. She’s fifth in the nation with 11.13 assists per set and one of the nation’s best defensive setters.

The Badgers opened Big Ten play against six ranked teams, fitting the season’s overall pattern: 13 of their 18 matches have been against ranked opponents. The young lineup has grown up quickly. Against Iowa, UW started three freshman pin hitters: Audrey Flanagan, Halle Thompson and Decelise Champion. Charlie Fuerbringer helps elevate them as the setter and helps them all reach their potential. 

Halfway MVP: Champion. Since joining the Badgers after the season started, the freshman opposite has been their best attacker. She was the only UW player who had any success against Nebraska and is averaging more than 4 kills per set in league play. 

In just his second year with the Ducks, Trent Kersten has Oregon challenging for the conference title. After starting the Big Ten schedule with a loss to Wisconsin, the Ducks have taken down Minnesota, Purdue and Indiana. A big test in Happy Valley on Friday against Penn State. They don’t specialize in any one area, but are well-rounded with great pin hitters, and Missouri transfer Marina Crownover has helped Oregon average 14.19 assists per set. 

Halfway MVP: Sjakkie Donkers. The Gonzaga transfer had a quiet nonconference schedule, but since the start of Big Ten play has recorded at least 14 kills every match, including a trio of 20-kill performances. Along with Alanah Clemente and Valentina Vaulet, she’s part of an electric pin-hitting group for the Ducks. 

The Boilermakers stumbled out of the gate after losing three of their first four league matches, including a 0-2 trip to the Pacific Northwest. However, Purdue recovered with a much-needed five-set win over Illinois. They still have plenty of weapons, but have been a bit error-prone at times. The Boilermakers have the pieces to make the second weekend of the tournament, but need to hit better than .255 and get more consistent production from their second outside hitter. 

Halfway MVP: Addy Tindall. The redshirt freshman outside hitter leads the team with 3.88 kills per set and a .282 hitting percentage. She’s recorded double-digit kills in every Big Ten match, including a 16-0-29 line against Iowa. 

Another new coach doing great work. Matt Werle has injected new life into the Bruins. UCLA made the tournament a year ago (and won a first-round match) but now is among the top tier of teams in the league halfway through the season after a home win over Penn State. 

They will be tested more in the second half of the schedule, with matches against Nebraska, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Purdue, and Oregon left. 

Halfway MVP: Marianna Singletary. The fifth-year middle blocker is putting up 2.55 kills per set while hitting .335. She’s also a defensive force, with 1.57 blocks per set. Her best Big Ten match was a 14-kill, 7-block performance against Michigan with a .478 hitting percentage. 

The Nittany Lions have largely taken care of business, but still don’t have a signature win. The sweep over Stanford in September hasn’t held up as the Cardinal have struggled since then. PSU’s best win in league play was a sweep over Washington. 

Halfway MVP: Kennedi Martin. The senior opposite remains the highlight of Penn State. She’s averaging 4.34 kills per set while hitting .314. Outside of Martin, PSU is hitting .231 as a team. She’s carrying the load, but sure could use some help. 

After a 1-3 start, the Gophers have rebounded with wins against three bottom teams and Michigan. The test of whether they are for real starts this week with matches against Purdue and Washington. After dominating the nonconference season, Mckenna Wucherer’s production has dropped. The fifth-year outside hitter averaged 5.21 kills per set on a .388 hitting percentage over the first eight matches. In league play, she is down to 3.52 kills per set while hitting .206.  

Halfway MVP: Wucherer is still the team’s top attacker, but Kelly Kinney has been the most consistent attacker. During conference play, the sophomore outside hitter is averaging 3.21 kills per set on a .270 hitting percentage. 

The Hoosiers got a big win in early September when Avry Tatum was granted a temporary restraining order and allowed to play her fifth season. The 2025 first-team Big Ten selection took some time to ramp up and made her first appearance in a match during the first Big Ten weekend against Maryland. She’s putting up 2.69 kills per set at a .243 clip. Her return allowed Ella Boersema to return to her natural position at middle blocker. More good news is Izzy Clark returned from injury and put up 12 kills at a .455 clip on Sunday in her third match back.  

Halfway MVP: Teodora Kričković. The sophomore setter is the key to the Hoosiers’ fast attack. She averages 10.47 assists per set, and four attackers average more than 2 kills per set; she’s been named Big Ten Setter of the Week once this season. 

The Illini have already won four games against ranked teams since conference play started. The issue is they’ve played seven ranked teams and also lost in five to unranked Michigan. The good news is the schedule relents a little as Illinois faces Maryland, Rutgers, Northwestern and Ohio State over the next two weeks. If the Illini want to make the NCAA Tournament again, they’ll need to keep taking care of business. Outside hitter Madi Miles returned after missing a month because of an injury and has 15 kills in each of their last three matches. 

Halfway MVP: Paityn Chapman. The Tennessee transfer has been the focal point of the Illini offense this season. She’s recorded double-digit kills in all but four matches, including a 23-kill performance against Michigan. Chapman is also second on the team with 2.59 digs per set. 

The Huskies have carried their early-season success into league play, most notably with a home win over Purdue. Of their eight matches, six have ended in a sweep, including all three losses. They’ve only dropped sets to Michigan State and Rutgers. They’ve done it with the basics of serving and defense. UW is second in the league in aces per set (1.92) and leads the conference with 15.35 digs per set. The big test comes this weekend, as Washington has road matches at Wisconsin and Minnesota. It’s not make-or-break, but getting a win would go a long way to solidifying their postseason hopes. 

Halfway MVP: Kaitlyn Nguyen. The freshman (ahem, first year) libero leads the Huskies’ defense with 3.92 digs per set. She is also passing a 60.5 good pass percentage and a 2.36 out of 3. 

After a second straight undefeated nonconference schedule, the Spartans have shown they’re up for the challenge of Big Ten play. MSU earned a big win over Penn State, but dropped a match to Illinois. Their overall strength of schedule isn’t great, so they will need a couple more wins over top-to-mid-tier conference teams to boost their tournament resume. 

Halfway MVP: We’ll give it up for the Nebraska Spartans. Setter Malayah Long (Lincoln East) earned Big Ten Setter of the Week honors after they defeated the two California conference teams earlier this month. Alanna Bankston (Millard West) also leads the attack with 3.67 kills per set.  

The Wolverines got a major boost to the first half of the Big Ten schedule with a win over Illinois on Sunday. Michigan’s other wins came against Iowa and USC. They will likely need a win over a ranked team to finish above .500, with Wisconsin, Nebraska, Indiana and Purdue left on their schedule. Their RPI is currently 43, so they can’t take on any bad losses the rest of the way. The regular season finale against Michigan State will be massive. 

Halfway MVP: Ella Demetrician. The junior outside hitter has raised her kill-per-set average to 4.11 this season. Her production has dropped a bit during league play, as she’s hitting just a shade under .200 in league matches, but she’s been the most consistent producer, with at least 12 kills in every match but one this year. 

The Buckeyes are already ahead of last year’s miserable season. They took advantage of USC’s chaos to pick up a win in Los Angeles, adding to their wins over Iowa and Northwestern. The Buckeyes did get swept at home by Rutgers. A successful season for Ohio State would be making the Big Ten Tournament. Freshman Bailey Nakanelua has taken over as starting setter from Mia Tuman, but the four-year starter has still appeared in several recent matches. 

Halfway MVP: Naomy Govou. The junior outside hitter has 24, 25 and 22 kills in OSU’s three Big Ten wins. The bad news is she has at least six hitting errors in each league match and is hitting .194 this season.

Since USC announced Brad Keller was taking a personal leave on Oct. 5, it is 1-3. They were also 0-2 the weekend prior when he wasn’t on the sidelines. Somehow in the middle of all the chaos, the Trojans knocked off No. 15 Indiana in Bloomington. USC has a lot of talent, but is still hurting after the transfer of setter Reese Messer in the spring window. If they can stabilize over the final month, they should be a dangerous first-round opponent in the Big Ten Tournament. 

Halfway MVP: Mia Trvdy. The junior middle blocker set a school record with 16 blocks in a sweep over UC Santa Barbara and earned USC’s only Big Ten weekly award the following Monday. The offense hasn’t been pretty for the Trojans, but the Papillion native is averaging 2.11 kills on a .285 hitting percentage. 

Perhaps the season’s highlight was the Terrapins hosting 15,127 fans for the Nebraska match at the XFINITY Center. It’s the third-most-attended game this season, trailing only the matches at Wrigley Field and the 15,405 fans that watched Nebraska-Creighton at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Maryland owns wins over Iowa and Northwestern. Its next best chance will come during the final week of the regular season when it takes on Rutgers and Ohio State. 

Halfway MVP: Sara Toth. The Terps were still hitting above .300 on the season until they faced Nebraska. They still have a .270 hitting percentage as she is third in the conference with 10.67 assists per set, only behind Nebraska’s Bergen Reilly and Wisconsin’s Charlie Fuerbringer. 

The Hawkeyes have seven losses in the Big Ten but have only been swept once (Purdue). Iowa took a set off Wisconsin, Penn State and Michigan State. The Hawkeyes have gone to five sets only once, and it was at Maryland. Their lone victory came in a sweep over Rutgers. Besides Northwestern, Iowa’s best chance for a victory comes this weekend against USC. The other seven remaining opponents are either ranked or receiving votes in the AVCA poll. 

Halfway MVP: Middle blockers Liv Mogridge and Hannah Whittingstall. The duo has each started 21 of Iowa’s 22 matches. They lead the Hawkeyes’ attack as the only players with more than 160 kills. Mogridge tops the team with 2.6 kills per set. Overall, 13 Iowa players have earned a start this year, including four outside hitters with at least six starts.

The Scarlet Knights swept Ohio State in Columbus, but have won five of their seven other Big Ten matches. Rutgers ranks ninth in the league in kills during conference matches, but second-to-last in hitting percentage at .191. Making the league tournament may be a tall task, but they still have matches against Maryland and Northwestern. 

Halfway MVP: Imani Howell. The sophomore middle blocker leads Rutgers with 3.21 points per set. She is hitting .337 with 2.26 kills and 1.13 blocks per set and 18 aces.

Not much has gone right for the Wildcats this season. They’ve won just four sets in conference play, two against Maryland. Northwestern led 14-11 in the fifth set, but the Terps won the next four points and eventually won the set 19-17. Perhaps the scariest thing this Halloween will be the Rutgers-Northwestern match. 

Halfway MVP: Mara Stiglic. The junior outside hitter is ninth in the Big Ten with 3.63 kills per set. She put up 20 kills against Ohio State and Maryland this season.