Volleyball: What lies ahead in new conference?

Coming off of a red hot 2022 season, Oregon Volleyball looks primed for a major run in 2023. But beyond that, what will they be looking at in the Big Ten?

Oregon will get away from Stanford, who is a consistent juggernaut in volleyball, but whom they defeated last season. They will still be seeing USC, who’s been a tough matchup for them in recent years, as well as UCLA and Washington.

But what about their new conference opponents?

One concern is that Oregon was beaten twice in the Pac-12/Big 10 challenge last season by Minnesota and Penn State, both of whom they will now see consistently. The Ducks did knock off Nebraska, who finished second in the conference, in the NCAA Tournament though. Wisconsin was the number one Big Ten team in 2022, and Ohio State were no slouch either.

Then again, neither is Oregon, and the Ducks will likely have the firepower to compete with the big guns in the Big Ten.

After the Buckeyes, the competition becomes much less imposing, as Purdue was the only other team to finish above .500.

Still, the jump looks like it will yield a stronger field of opponents as Wisconsin, Nebraska, and Minnesota all appear to be legitimate national championship competitors. Aside from Oregon, Stanford was the only one of those in the Pac-12.