For many conferences across the country, this weekend marks the end of the regular season, which means the volleyball season is hitting its stretch run.
Selection Day (Nov. 29, 6 p.m. ET, ESPN) is less than three weeks away. With the return of the Pac-12, there are once again 32 automatic bids with 32 at-large teams chosen by the NCAA volleyball committee. Volleyball seeds the top eight teams in each region, and the top four in each region serve as first- and second-round hosts. The rest of the bracket is filled out to balance it competitively and geographically. The highest remaining seeds also host the regionals, and the 2026 Final Four will be held in San Antonio on Dec. 17, with the finals on Dec. 20.
Bracket watch
While the No. 1 seeds remained the same, the shake-up came on the No. 2 line with Penn State making the jump. Victories at Minnesota and Wisconsin extended the Nittany Lions' winning streak to seven and they moved into the top 10 of the RPI. With 28 kills in the five-set upset of the Badgers on Sunday, Kennedy Martin now sits third nationally in kills per set and is making a run to unseat Nebraska's Bergen Reilly as Big Ten Player of the Year. The Big Ten, about to hold its inaugural conference tournament, now has six teams among the top-16 and is easily the top conference in the country.
Top seedings
No. 1 seeds: Nebraska, Pittsburgh, Florida, Louisville
No. 2 seeds: SMU, Kentucky, BYU, Penn State
No. 3 seeds: Wisconsin, Arizona State, Oregon, Vanderbilt
No. 4 seeds: Tennessee, Washington, TCU, Purdue
No. 5 seeds: Texas, Kansas, Minnesota, UCLA
No. 6 seeds: North Carolina, Baylor, Texas A&M, Illinois
No. 7 seeds: Stanford, Indiana, Western Kentucky, Creighton
No. 8 seeds: Toledo, Michigan State, Colorado State, Pepperdine
Rest of the field (alphabetical): American, Ball State, Cal Poly, Charleston, Colorado, Coppin State, Cornell, Dayton, Eastern Kentucky, Fairfield, Florida A&M, Florida Atlantic, Georgia Southern, Georgia Tech, Hawai'i, High Point, Lipscomb, Lindenwood, Long Island, Loyola Marymount, UMBC, Marquette, Miami, Michigan, Missouri, Northern Iowa, South Dakota, Southeastern Louisiana, Utah Tech, Wright State, Wofford.
(The rest of the teams in the field wouldn't be seeded)
Bubble watch
Miami makes the biggest move from Next Four Out to into the field. The Hurricanes' overall record of 13-10 and RPI of 62 do not make for a strong résumé, but they are playing their best volleyball of the season, after losing seven straight in an injury-riddled start of the year, including wins over Cal and Stanford. That upset at SMU also looms large in comparing Miami to other bubble teams. Two matches to come against North Carolina provide more opportunity to solidify a spot in the field.
Last Four In: Miami, Loyola Marymount, California, Ball State
First Four Out: DePaul, Georgia, Missouri State, Utah
Next Four Out: Long Beach State, Oklahoma, Iowa State, Duke
Conference breakdown
Big Ten: 12
SEC: 7
Big 12: 6
ACC: 8
MAC: 2
Big East: 2
WCC: 2