Preseason polls are typically frowned upon by fans and coaches alike, but after one weekend of Big Ten volleyball it appears the coaches knew exactly what they were doing when they picked the conference contenders. Four teams have separated themselves, with three of them going 2-0 to start the Big Ten campaign.

In a highly anticipated Big Ten opener between top 5 teams, No. 4 Penn State took a 3-1 victory (23-25, 28-26, 25-17, 26-24) over No. 3 Nebraska on Wednesday night at Rec Hall. A trio of Nittany Lions registered double-digit kill nights in the match aired live on BTN. Watch the Penn State and Nebraska highlights now.

Four weekends of the 2012 women’s volleyball season are behind us and another grueling conference campaign is about to begin. Seven teams came into the year ranked in the AVCA Top 25 and following a month of non-conference foes, the Big Ten remains the nation’s top league. Before the conference race begins here is some of what we learned from the first month.

Several Big Ten teams took to the volleyball court and soccer pitch on Friday night. Penn State volleyball came out with a five-set win over Standford, while the Purdue women’s soccer team scored a 2-0 win over Tennessee-Martin. Watch the volleyball highlights now and jump inside for coverage of Purdue’s win.

Big Ten coaches voted defending Big Ten champion Nebraska as the conference favorite for the 2012 season, it was announced Thursday. Earning the conference’s automatic berth to the NCAA Championship last season, the Huskers top the poll for the first time as members of the Big Ten.