Most opponents leave Texas' Gregory Gymnasium and Brigham Young's Smith Fieldhouse with a loss. But the final week of volleyball's nonconference schedule produced a few surprises, including a pair of memorable performances by Wisconsin and Utah in hostile territory.
Badgers take two in Texas
What a weekend for Wisconsin, which finished 2-0 in the Lone Star state.
On Friday, the Badgers swept Texas A&M behind 27 kills from freshman Molly Haggerty.
A split on the weekend for Wisconsin looked inevitable in Sunday's touted matchup between two of the sports heavyweights when Texas secured the first two sets. The teams played in cozy Gregory Gymnasium, where Wisconsin had not won in three visits.
But the Badgers staged an epic comeback, finishing off the national runner-up 20-18 in five. Texas was unable to convert three match points.
Badgers senior Lauren Carlini's 62nd career double-double (54 assists, 11 digs) set a school record; Haggerty added 20 kills and senior Kelli Bates had 15.
Service errors cost Wisconsin early, but "once we were able to squeeze out the third set, that gave us new life," coach Kelly Sheffield said. "By the end, we were the cleaner team."
The Badgers (8-1), who lost 3-2 at North Carolina on Sept. 9, moved up to 3 in this week's American Volleyball Coaches Association poll. Texas, previously No. 2, dropped to 5. The Aggies are 19th.
Haggerty earned offensive and freshman player of the week honors from the Big Ten.
One more number to note: Wisconsin traveled 12,614 miles during its nonconference slate, which included a trek to Hawaii. That's more than half the earth's circumference.
These streaks are over
Speaking of success on its home floor, No. 13 Brigham Young had won a national-best 29 straight prior to Friday's match with unranked Utah.
On top of that, in its last five matches against BYU, the Utes were 0-5.
It took five sets last weekend to reverse the trend for Utah, which stunned a program that was 55-1 at home since November 2011.
The Utes, swept by the Cougars the last two times the teams played, took the first two sets before dropping sets three and four, but saved enough to survive the fifth, 15-13. Trailing 13-11 in the final set, Utah never allowed another point, finishing off the match with a block and a pair of kills by Adora Anae. The junior's 31 kills were a school record; her freshman teammate Bailey Choy notched 57 assists.
Anae is this week's Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week; her teammate Megan Shughrou, with 24 digs in the match, is the conference's Defensive Player of the Week.
In case you're wondering: No. 2 Minnesota is the new national leader in home win streak with 22 straight at the Sports Pavilion.
In another in-state matchup, No. 16 Colorado prevailed over Colorado State for the first time since 2002, ending the Rams' seven-match, 14-year win streak over the Buffs. MVP honors went to sophomore Alexa Smith, a transfer from Purdue, who recorded 21 kills on .391 hitting.
Kansas also fell to Purdue, ending the Jayhawks' 25-match nonconference win streak. The loss was also Kansas' first of the season. It was the second win over a top 10 opponent for the Boilermakers, who upended Stanford the week before.
Kansas had held each of its previous opponents to a hitting percentage under .200; Purdue hit at a .331 clip. "This is a sign of what we can do," Boilermakers coach Dave Shondell said.
Kansas dropped four spots in the poll to No. 8; Purdue improved from No. 14 to 10.
Welcome back, Annie
When Annie Mitchem signed with Hawaii after twice being named AVCA Two-Year College National Player of the Year, expectations were high for her to fuel an already potent offense. Mitchem of Irvine Valley College was the national leader in kill percentage (.517) in 2014.
But injuries slowed the 6-2 outside hitter. A pair of pinkie fractures in each hand caused her to miss the final 12 matches of last season and the first nine of this one.
Finally healthy, she returned to Hawaii's starting lineup over the weekend, helping the Rainbow Wahine to back-to back victories over Pepperdine. With a combined 21 kills in her first two matches back, and reigning Big West Player of the Year Nikki Taylor healthy after an elbow injury, No. 14 Hawaii is poised to win its fourth conference title in five years.
Who's still unbeaten?
Top-ranked Nebraska (9-0) remains unscathed and is one of five unbeaten teams in the nation, along with No. 4 Washington (10-0), South Carolina (12-0), East Carolina (10-0) and Weber State (9-0).
Two Husker notes: Creighton became the second team this season to take a set from the Huskers, winning the first before a four-set loss; Florida is the other team to take a set off Nebraska in 2016. The Jays could not convert three set points in the third. Husker senior Kadie Rolfzen's stat line was a near-miss triple double with 17 kills, 13 digs and nine blocks.
Among those knocked from the unbeaten ranks last week were Santa Clara and Pitt.
Arizona State stunned Santa Clara, coming back from an 0-2 deficit to prevail in five. The win, the 700th in Sun Devils' history, was also the first over a top-25 opponent for first-year coach Stevie Mussie.
Western Kentucky (12-2) toppled Pitt in five sets in what coach Travis Hudson called "a gutty performance by our team." Alyssa Cavanaugh recorded 18 kills, including her career 1,000th, for the Hilltoppers, and Jessica Lucas added 43 assists and 22 digs. Western Kentucky returned to the poll at No. 25.
Get ready, get set for conference play
Here are some interesting matchups to circle on the calendar to start league play.
Kansas at Texas: The No. 8 Jayhawks, who take on Texas Saturday, have lost the last 24 to the Longhorns, but Texas, ranked fifth, needed five for the win in 2015.
Nebraska at Michigan and Michigan State: The No. 1 Cornhuskers travel north to meet No. 22 Michigan and No. 20 Michigan State in back-to-back games Friday and Saturday. The Wolverines won their first eight before losing to Pitt. The Spartans were the last team to extend the Huskers to five sets.
Minnesota at Ohio State: The No. 2 Golden Gophers needed five to get by the Buckeyes, ranked 17th, last season.
North Carolina at NC State: The No. 12 Tar Heels, who were upset by TCU 3-2 on Friday, travel to NC State on Thursday for the ACC opener for both teams.