Conference realignment has brought a new atmosphere to NCAA volleyball. Between the cross-country flights for newly bicoastal conferences and recently forged rivalries between schools that never used to play each other, the sport looks vastly different than it did just a year ago. One of the more interesting, if not undercovered, new phenomena in college volleyball is the different style of play between Midwest, East and West Coast teams. That contrast is now starting to become more present in regular season play, as conference realignment has increased matchups between teams from all over the country.

Midwestern volleyball teams have generally been known for their physical and aggressive style of play. This is especially true in the Big Ten, a conference that has generally dominated college volleyball throughout the sport’s history.

Two teams, Nebraska and Wisconsin, have somewhat defined this dominant style of play in recent years. As Fox Sports’s Emily Ehman detailed in the outlet’s preview for the 2024 season, the two schools are physical powerhouses and were expected to dominate the season.

Wisconsin has middle Carter Booth, who at 6’7, is “just massive, and can thump a ball.” At 6’9, Anna Smrek is a formidable presence on the right side. As Ehman put it, “If you’re hitting up against them, it’s not fun.”

The same could be said about Nebraska, whose vaunted defense is led by liberos Lexi Rodriguez and Laney Choboy.

Schools on the West Coast, meanwhile, have been historically recognized not for their strength and power, but rather for their speedy and energetic style of play. That style is on full display with UCLA, USC, Oregon, and Washington joining the Big Ten. Before the 2024 season, the Daily Bruin noted that UCLA would bring a “creative, dynamic, and fierce style of play with an international flare,” a style largely attributed to Bruins head coach Alfee Reft. Similarly, USC’s head coach Brad Keller “promised to bring an innovative, pass-heavy, ‘West Coast’ style of play to their transition to the Big Ten.”

Meanwhile, Oregon saw their entrance to volleyball’s best conference as an opportunity to showcase their style to new fans across the country. Per Sports Illustrated, the Ducks are “known for their fast-paced, high-energy style of play.”

The players themselves have noticed these differences in styles of play, and they are enjoying responding to them. As conference play starts to heat up, the bicoastal members of the Big Ten now finally have the chance to see these contrasting styles in action.

UCLA entered the season ready to face the physical play of opponents in the Big Ten. “Serving tough and getting them out of system to put ourselves in better situations to be able to defend and playing smarter and adapting to new environments will be big for us,” Bruins middle hitter Leilani Dodson told the Los Angeles Daily News.

Oregon has also recalibrated its strategy to take on the toughness of the Big Ten. “I think Pac-12 schools have a bit of a different style as far as defense, scrappiness and quickness,” Ducks defensive specialist Daley McClellan told the Associated Press. “I feel like the Big Ten, it’s just big girls, big blocks, aggressive swings, aggressive defense. I think everything is just a lot more physical.”

Off the court, the new Big Ten teams have also adjusted their recruitment strategies to build rosters that better stack up against their new competition.

“I’ve always been someone who has been going after a lot of maybe some smaller players that are really quick-twitch fast, explosive,” Keller told the AP. “Now I’ve mixed and blended it with more physical, bigger volleyball players as well.”

Conference realignment has also created the need for coaches to adjust training practices so that players and staff can familiarize themselves with their new opponents. “You need to study film a little bit more, because when you get in your conferences, you kind of have a general idea of how they operate,” said Texas head coach Jerritt Elliott, whose Longhorns left the Big 12 for the SEC this year. “So you’re just kind of learning the nuances of what they’re bringing.”

We’re about halfway into the 2024 season, and thus far, the meeting of East Coast and West Coast playing styles has yet to cause any major shake-ups in the sport. Nebraska and Wisconsin still dominate the Big Ten, and other East Coast or East Coast-adjacent teams like Pittsburgh, Penn State, and Purdue still rank on the NCAA’s Top 25 list. Pitt and Nebraska have emerged as the top two teams in the country, with Pitt having yet to drop a single set.

That said, Oregon’s West Coast style has shown early signs of success, at least against weaker opponents in the Big Ten. Last weekend, the Ducks extended their winning streak to 10 games with wins over Illinois and Indiana. No. 11 Oregon is now 10-1 on the season and 2-0 in the Big Ten.

But the meeting – and clashing – of these coastal styles of play is a feature of conference realignment, one that’s drawing viewers and bringing more attention to college volleyball at a time when interest in women's sports is surging across the country.

“People care about volleyball in the Big Ten, and so we’ll see a lot of eyes turning toward our sport and rightfully so,” Reft told the Los Angeles Daily News. “I think people will see this fall that it looks a little different from playing in the Pac-12.”