The 2024-25 NCAA volleyball season kicked off in early September, and the initial rankings seemed set in stone. However, heads began to turn when the top teams went on a losing streak to unranked teams.

The University of Texas, two-time national champions, began the season ranked No. 1 and opened the season in Wisconsin for the State Farm Women’s College Volleyball Showcase, where the team faced off for the first time against a team from Wisconsin ranked No. 3 and won.

The concern began the next day when the Longhorns faced No. 18 Minnesota and lost. Confidence was high that Texas would bounce back when it returned to Austin to face Miami — only to lose to the unranked Hurricanes — and people began to wonder what was happening in the volleyball world.

The Longhorns aren’t the only victims of the seemingly random losing bug. The University of Nebraska began the season ranked No. 2, got off to a strong 3-0 start, and then traveled to Dallas to take on then-unranked SMU. The Mustangs swept the Cornhuskers, then defeated No. 18 Baylor in Waco to earn their first ranking at No. 22.

The question remains: What happens? There is no honest answer to this, but the surprising aspect has to do with how dominant these teams typically are. Texas and Nebraska both have the best recruits in the country, so losing is not something they are used to.

The Longhorns currently sit at No. 8 — a testament to the strength of their program, as anything outside the top five is considered bad — with a .500 winning percentage thanks to a recent loss to undefeated Stanford. Nebraska’s lone loss of the season came against SMU, which raises another question: Has the ACC taken over as the top conference in volleyball?

It may be time for a new dynasty to take over. Pittsburgh is ranked No. 1 this week, with Stanford at No. 2; rounding out the ACC members in the top 25 are No. 4 Louisville, No. 13 Georgia Tech, No. 18 Florida State and No. 22 SMU.

The Tigers have a tough slate ahead thanks to the newfound ferocity of the ACC, playing Pitt, Louisville and SMU in succession, followed by a doubleheader at Georgia Tech in October. They’ll be the first Clemson team to travel to their West Coast opponents when they visit Stanford in November, and they’ll be tested again when they return to the East with back-to-back matches against Miami and Florida State.

With so many dominant players in the conference, it’s possible an ACC team could win its first NCAA Volleyball National Championship in December.