Five top-25 matchups in women's volleyball this week

THIS WEEK
For the eighth-straight week, the Pac-12 has seven teams in the latest AVCA Coaches poll. USC remains in the top spot and is joined by three other teams in the top 10. Five top-25 matchups are on deck for the Conference this week and all five will be broadcast live on Pac-12 Networks.

No. 12 UCLA will host No. 14 ARIZONA on Friday, Oct. 16 at 6 p.m. PT. At 8 p.m. PT, No. 10 ARIZONA STATE and No. 1 USC square off and No. 4 WASHINGTON hosts No. 24 OREGON. On Sunday, Oct. 18, No. 14 ARIZONA will take on No. 1 USC at 11 a.m. PT. Later in the afternoon, No. 12 UCLA goes against No. 10 ARIZONA STATE at 1:30 p.m. PT.

CONFERENCE STANDINGS (Expanded standings)

UPCOMING SCHEDULE (All Times Local To Site)

PAC12/PACAZ/PACBA/PACLA/PACMT/PACOR/PACWA - Indicates live broadcast on Pac-12 Networks.

AVCA RANKINGS
• Seven Pac-12 teams are ranked in the top-25 of the AVCA Coaches Poll for the eighth-straight week with four rating in the top 10.

Undefeated USC held on to the No. 1 spot in the country, while WASHINGTON climbed up to No. 4 and STANFORD jumped to No. 6. ARIZONA STATE fell to No. 10 while UCLA stayed at No. 12 and ARIZONA remained at No. 14. OREGON moved up one spot to No. 24. 

The Pac-12 had a league-record nine teams earn preseason top-25 rating this season. USC started the season at No. 22 and quickly moved up to the top three.

NCAA STATS 
• USC is one of just two remaining undefeated teams in the country, the other being Kansas (No. 9, 17-0).
• With just one loss to date, WASHINGTON has been one of the toughest teams on either side of the ball this season. The Huskies are second the nation in hitting efficiency (.319), while leading the country in opponent hitting percentage, limiting teams to just .127. ASU is sixth with a .138 opponent hitting percentage.
• Five Pac-12 teams are in the top 20 in the country in blocks per set: 3. WASHINGTON (3.17), 6. WASHINGTON STATE (3.03), 7. STANFORD (3.02), 15. ARIZONA STATE (2.85) and No. 17 USC (2.82).
• USC’s Samantha Bricio leads the country in aces per set (0.74) and points per set (6.14).
• WASHINGTON's Lianna Sybeldon is No. 1 in the nation in hitting percentage (.481).
• The Pac-12 has three players ranked in the top 25 in the nation in blocks per set and kills per set. USC’s Alicia Ogoms is second in the nation with a 1.71 blocks average, while UW’s Melanie Wade is fourth (1.64), and STANFORD’s Ivana Vanjak is 24th (1.40). Bricio leads the Pac-12 and ranks fourth in the NCAA with a 4.95 kills per set average, followed by UCLA’s Jordan Anderson (6th, 4.88) and ARIZONA’s Kalei Mau (9th, 4.60).

For a complete list of NCAA stats team and individual leaders visit this link: http://stats.ncaa.org/rankings/ranking_summary

RPI RANKINGS 
•USC sits atop the RPI rankings as well. In the second installment of the RPI rankings and the Pac-12 has five teams in the top 16. USC is first, UCLA is No. 6, WASHINGTON is seventh, STANFORD sits in the 14th spot and ARIZONA STATE is 16th. The Conference has nine teams in the top 75. For the full rankings, click here.

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK 
•WASHINGTON’s Lianna Sybeldon was voted the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week after posting a .632 hitting percentage in the team's two wins over top-15 opponents. WASHINGTON’s Melanie Wade was voted the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week for the second time this year. STANFORD’s Hayley Hodson was selected the Pac-12 Freshman of the Week for the second-straight week and the third time this season. For the full release, click here.

AROUND THE LEAGUE
Penina Snuka of Arizona leads the league in double-doubles with 11 … Arizona State holds opponents to a .138 hitting percentage on the year, the sixth-best mark in the country  … California's setter Alyssa Jensen is fifth in the league in assists per set at 9.82 … Colorado took No. 1 USC to five sets on Oct. 9, only the second time all year the Trojans have been pushed to five sets … The Oregon Ducks have split all three conference weekends and hold a 3-3 Pac-12 record, but sit only a game out of third place where three teams are tied … Oregon State's Mary-Kate Marshall, a 2014 AVCA All-American, is currently fifth in the Conference with 4.11 kills per set … Stanford senior Madi Bugg collected her 1,000th career dig last weekend, becoming just the 16th Cardinal player to accomplish that feat … UCLA's junior Jordan Anderson has reached the 20-kill mark five teams this season. She's sixth in the country in kills per set at 4.88 … At 18-0, USC has 13 sweeps during the season and only lost seven sets total … Utah's Adora Anae is second in double-doubles in the Pac-12 with nine on the season … Washington ranks second in the country in hitting percentage (.319) and opponent hitting percentage (.127) … Washington State swept then-No. 5 Arizona State on Oct. 11, the last time WSU swept a ranked team was Oct. 16, 2009.

• Pac-12 teams have defeated nine ranked non-conference teams so far this season with USC accounting for three of those wins. The Trojans’ three wins were to teams ranked in the top 11 at the time of the meeting, two of which came in the opening weekend. UCLA traveled to then-No. 17 Hawai’i over the weekend and took down the UH in front of a crowd of over 8,600 fans. ARIZONA STATE, COLORADO and STANFORD have also notched wins over top-10 foes.

• Pac-12 teams went 97-31 (.758) in the non-conference, including going 27-7 in the opening weekend. In the opening weekend, 17 of the 27 wins came in three-set sweeps. Since 2002, league teams have dominated the first weekend of play, going 332-81 (.804).

• Three Pac-12 teams remain undefeated after the conclusion of the non-conference portion of the schedule and 11 teams have a record of .500 or better due, in part, to the strength of the league’s defense. Four Conference teams are ranked in the top 12 in the nation in opponent hitting percentage, as ARIZONA STATE, WASHINGTON, WASHINGTON STATE and ARIZONA limiting opponents to under .142 hitting. Four league squads are also in the top 15 in the country in blocks per set, with STANFORD ranking second in the country at 3.19. Four Pac-12 teams also rank in the top 15 in kills per set, including the Huskies (7th) and the Wildcats (13th).

• The Pac-12 is coming off another historic season which saw an unprecedented 10 teams earn NCAA Tournament bids and went a perfect 10-0 in the first round of the postseason.

• Last year, 14 players were named AVCA All-Americans and eight return for 2015 including senior standouts such as Stanford’s Madi Bugg and Jordan Burgess, USC’s Samantha Bricio, UO’s Martenne Bettendorf, ASU’s Macey Gardner and UW’s Lianna Sybeldon. Sophomores Merete Lutz of Stanford and Mary-Kate Marshall of OSU also return to help lead their respective teams this season.

• One new coach will be roaming the Pac-12 sidelines after WASHINGTON announced the hiring of Keegan Cook, who replaced former UW coach Jim McLaughlin. However, Cook may look familiar to some as he served as an assistant coach under McLaughlin the last two years, helping the Huskies advance to the NCAA semifinal in 2013. Also in coaching news, UTAH head coach Beth Launiere needs just seven more victories for career No. 500. She has spent all 25 years of her career in Salt Lake City.

• FAB Freshman ... Pac-12 volleyball continues to recruit marquee student-athletes. Seven Pac-12 teams landed at least one Volleyball Magazine FAB 50 recruit with OREGON pacing the Conference with four. STANFORD signed the nation’s top recruit according to the publication in Hayley Hodson.

• Once again, the Pac-12 will have the most comprehensive volleyball television coverage of any league in the country. 95 total matches will be broadcast live, with 92 being televised on the Conference's Pac-12 Network. Another three more were selected to be televised on ESPNU. For the full television schedule, visit pac-12.com.

COMPLETE CAMPAIGN
Pac-12 students are known for their success on the field, but they are also impressive, complete people with outside interests, diverse backgrounds, extracurricular activities, interesting families, busy schedules, and full lives.

PAC-12 PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

2015 PAC-12 WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

NATIONAL HONORS

Sept. 30 - Samantha Bricio, USC - ESPNW National Player of the Week
Oct. 6 - Macey Gardner, ASU - AVCA National Player of the Week

IN THE PRESEASON

Pac-12 Preseason Coaches Poll & All-Pac-12 Team | AVCA Preseason Coaches Poll

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING

o The Pac-12 has captured six of the last 14 NCAA crowns (2011 - UCLA, 2005 - Washington, 2004 - Stanford, 2003 - USC, 2002 - USC, 2001 - Stanford) and 14 NCAA titles overall.

o The Pac-12 has had 10 or more All-Americans selections in eight of the last 10 years. Last year, 11 were named to the AVCA All-America squad, the most since 13 were selected in 2009. Ten former Pac-12 players have earned All-America honors four times, while another 18 players in all have earned All-American honors three times.

o Since 1990, Pac-12 players garnered AVCA Player of the Year honors 13 times, including the last four of the last five years - CAL's Carli Lloyd (2010), USC's Alex Jupiter (2011), ORE's Alaina Bergsma (2012) and WASH's Krista Vansant (2013). The NCAA Honda Sports Award honor has been bestowed upon a Pac-12 volleyball player 13 times, including Vansant in 2013.

o The current group of Pac-12 volleyball coaches enters the 2015 season with nearly 5,000 Division I victories to its credit, having compiled 4,822 wins in a combined 219 years of head coaching experience. That averages out to nearly 23 wins a season for each coach per season. In addition, these coaches have guided NCAA Division I teams to 38 NCAA semifinal appearances and eight NCAA titles. In the last 13 years, seven different coaches have been named the ASICS/Volleyball Magazine Coach of the Year and/or the AVCA Coach of the Year - Arizona's David Rubio (2001 ASICS), California's Rich Feller (2007 ASICS, 2010 ASICS and AVCA), Stanford's John Dunning (2001 AVCA), UCLA's Mike Sealy (2011 AVCA), USC's Mick Haley (2003 AVCA), Washington's Jim McLaughlin (2004 ASICS and AVCA), and UCLA's Andy Banachowski (2006 ASICS and AVCA).