NCAA Volleyball Rankings Explained: How the AVCA Top 25 Works (2026 Guide)

What Is the AVCA Coaches Poll?

The American Volleyball Coaches Association poll, known as the AVCA Top 25, is the primary national ranking for Division I women’s volleyball ^[1]. Every week during the season, committees of AVCA member coaches — representing every conference and division — analyze results and vote for the top teams ^[1].

The poll is released weekly on Mondays around 12 p.m. CT during the season ^[2]. Voters rank their top teams, and the results are tabulated into a points-based top 25. The No. 1 team typically holds most or all of the first-place votes. For example, Texas A&M closed the 2025 season as the unanimous No. 1 with all 61 first-place votes and 1,525 points ^[3].

The AVCA also runs polls for Division II, Division III, men’s volleyball, beach volleyball, and high school (the Super 25) ^[1]. It’s the closest thing college volleyball has to an official set of rankings.

The Final 2025 AVCA Poll, Decoded

Here is the complete final 2025 Division I poll, so you can see how the points and conferences stack up:

Source: NCAA.com final 2025 AVCA Division I poll ^[3].

The rest of the top 25: SMU (11), Arizona State (12), Indiana (13), Kansas (14), Minnesota (15), Miami FL (16), Southern California (17), TCU (18), North Carolina (19), Baylor (20), Cal Poly (21), Colorado (T-22), Iowa State (T-22), Tennessee (24), and BYU (25) ^[3].

What Does “Receiving Votes” Mean?

Scroll to the bottom of any AVCA poll and you’ll see teams listed under “others receiving votes.” That’s not a consolation prize — it’s a technical category.

“Receiving votes” means a team appeared on at least two coaches’ ballots but didn’t accumulate enough points to crack the top 25 ^[4]. In the final 2025 poll, Penn State, Marquette, Utah State, Kansas State, Michigan, Florida, Northern Iowa, UCLA, Western Kentucky, San Diego, and UTEP all received votes ^[3]. These are the teams to watch next season — they were a bad weekend or a hot streak away from the national conversation.

Preseason Rankings vs. Regular Season Polls

The preseason AVCA Top 25 for 2026 releases on August 10, 2026 ^[5]. Before it dropped, the NCAA.com preseason Power 10 — a separate, hand-picked ranking from NCAA.com’s volleyball beat reporter — put Nebraska at No. 1 and Kentucky at No. 2 ^[6].

Here is what to remember about preseason polls: they are educated guesses built on returning starters, transfers, and recruiting classes. They tell you who to watch. They don’t tell you who is good. The real rankings start the week the season starts, and they only care about results.

RPI: The Number That Actually Matters

RPI stands for Rating Percentage Index, and it is the number the NCAA tournament selection committee leans on most ^[7]. The NCAA publishes both the AVCA poll and a separate “Committee’s Top 16 RPI” list throughout the season ^[3].

RPI is a transparent statistical formula — anyone can calculate it from a team’s record and its opponents’ records ^[8]. It rewards beating good teams (strength of schedule) and punishes losing to bad ones. The committee uses RPI to seed the top 16 teams and assign the four regional groupings for the 64-team NCAA tournament ^[3][9].

The practical difference: a team can be No. 5 in the AVCA poll but No. 2 in RPI, because the poll rewards wins while RPI weights who those wins came against.

How the Rankings Feed the NCAA Tournament

The Division I tournament is a 64-team field ^[10]. Here is how the rankings interact with the bracket:

• The top 16 teams, ranked by the committee, are seeded and divided into four regional groupings ^[3].
• Teams from the same conference are generally kept apart in the early rounds to protect competitive balance ^[9].
• Conference tournament champions get automatic bids. The rest of the field is filled by the committee using RPI, the AVCA poll, and the eye test ^[10].

That’s why a strong non-conference schedule matters. Win a few matches against top-10 teams in September and your RPI stays high in December, when it counts.

Why Non-Conference Schedules Matter So Much

Here is the part that confuses casual fans: a team can win its conference and still miss the tournament, while a team that finishes third in the Big Ten gets a top-eight seed. The rankings explain why.

The AVCA poll rewards wins anywhere. RPI rewards wins against good teams. A September match against a top-five program moves your RPI more than three conference wins against the bottom of your league ^[7][8]. That’s why elite programs schedule brutal non-conference slates — the AVCA First Serve event in Milwaukee, the early-season classics, and marquee cross-conference matches like the Big Ten/SEC Challenge at Wrigley Field are all designed to build RPI before the committee meets ^[6].

For a mid-major program, a single upset of a ranked Power conference team in September can be the difference between an at-large bid and a summer of watching the tournament from home. Rankings aren’t just a beauty contest. They are the committee’s data.

FAQ: NCAA Volleyball Rankings

How often is the AVCA Top 25 released?

Weekly during the season, typically on Mondays around 12 p.m. CT ^[1][2].

When is the 2026 preseason AVCA Top 25 released?

August 10, 2026 ^[5].

What’s the difference between the AVCA poll and RPI?

The AVCA poll is voted on by coaches and rewards wins. RPI is a formula that weighs strength of schedule and is used more heavily for tournament seeding ^[2][7][8].

What does “receiving votes” mean in the volleyball poll?

A team that appeared on at least two ballots but didn’t make the top 25 ^[4].

Who was No. 1 in the final 2025 NCAA volleyball rankings?

Texas A&M, with all 61 first-place votes after winning the national championship ^[3].

Sources

1. AVCA — “Polls & Awards” and AVCA Coaches Poll description
2. SEC — “AVCA Volleyball Top 25” (released Mondays ~12 p.m. CT)
3. NCAA.com — Final 2025 AVCA Division I women’s volleyball rankings with RPI
4. Volleyballschedule.us — “What does ‘receiving votes’ mean in the volleyball poll?”
5. SportsBrackets — “2026 Women’s College Volleyball Rankings: AVCA preseason Aug 10, 2026”
6. NCAA.com — “Nebraska takes top spot in 2026 women’s volleyball preseason Power 10” (Aug 4, 2026)
7. Volleyballschedule.us — “How does the NCAA volleyball ranking differ from the RPI?”
8. MaxPreps Support — RPI explanation
9. Grokipedia — NCAA volleyball championship selection and regional alignment
10. NCAA.org / SportsBrackets — 64-team Division I tournament format