This week in Pac-12 volleyball

THIS WEEK
Just one game separates No. 2 USC and No. 3 WASHINGTON for the Pac-12 Conference lead after the Huskies avenged an early-season loss to the Trojans last week.  USC looks to get back on track at home when it hosts COLORADO and UTAH, while UW travels to No. 20 ARIZONA STATE on Friday and No. 19 ARIZONA on Sunday for the only two top-25 matchups of the week.

The Buffs are looking to post some upsets this week when they travel to No. 9 UCLA to start the week’s action on the Pac-12 Networks’ Match of the Week on Wednesday. Colorado is a dangerous squad having already posted four wins over ranked teams this season.

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.
ESPNU - Indicates live broadcast on ESPNU

AVCA RANKINGS
Six Pac-12 teams are ranked in the AVCA Coaches Poll this week. USC slipped to No. 2 after suffering its first loss of the season, but garnered 27 first-place votes. WASHINGTON took over the No. 3 spot after defeating the Trojans last week. STANFORD remained at No. 7 and UCLA is ninth this week. ARIZONA and ARIZONA STATE are No. 19 and No. 20, respectively, while COLORADO is receiving votes.

A league-record nine Pac-12 teams were ranked in the preseason top 25. The Trojans started the season ranked No. 22 and quickly moved up to No. 1 in the country, remaining there for four-straight weeks.

NCAA STATS 
• With USC’s loss last week, there are no more undefeated teams in the country remaining. However, the Trojans still posses the best winning percentage in the country at .958.
• The Pac-12’s all-time aces leader, USC senior outside hitter Samantha Bricio continues to make a strong case for national player of the year. She leads the country in aces per set (0.71), total aces (60) and points per set (6.23), while ranking third in kills per set (5.10).
• WASHINGTON’s Lianna Sybeldon is the nation’s most efficient hitter at .487.
• The Conference boasts four of the top-25 hitters in the country, as Bricio, UCLA’s Jordan Anderson (7th, 4.75), Kalei Mau of Arizona (16th, 4.53) and Adora Anae of Utah (25th, 4.26) are all ranked in kills per set.
• The Huskies have the third-best hitting percentage in the country at .312 and also claim the third-best opponent hitting percentage in the nation, limiting their foes to .134. They are also fourth in blocks per set (3.06).

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

RPI RANKINGS 
USC has the No. 1 RPI in the nation, and UCLA and WASHINGTON are both in the top 10 at No. 7 and No. 10, respectively. STANFORD is No. 11, followed by No. 26 ARIZONA STATE, No. 49 ARIZONA, No. 65 OREGON, No. 70 COLORADO, No. 75 WASHINGTON STATE, No. 123 UTAH, No. 124 CALIFORNIA and No. 146 OREGON STATE. For the full rankings, click here.

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK 
UTAH’s Adora Anae was the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week after leading the Utes to a pair of wins while posting 6.00 kills and 6.23 points per set. WASHINGTON’s Cassie Strickland was selected the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week after helping the Huskies defeat then-No. 1 USC last week. STANFORD’s Halland McKenna was voted the Pac-12 Freshman of the Week. For the complete release and for previous winners, click here.

AROUND THE LEAGUE
Kalei Mau of ARIZONA is 16th in the country with 4.53 kills per set … ARIZONA STATE has held opponents to a .161 hitting percentage on the year, the 25th-best mark in the country  … CALIFORNIA's setter Alyssa Jensen is sixth in the league in assists per set at 9.82, helping Cal win three of its last five matches … COLORADO's Alexis Austin became the CU rally-scoring era career-kills record holder and now has 1,307 kills in her career … OREGON came back from a 2-1 deficit to win at Colorado on Oct. 31, 3-2 … OREGON STATE's Mary-Kate Marshall, a 2014 AVCA All-American, is second in the Pac-12 and sixth in the country in attacks per set (12.7) … STANFORD's victory over Arizona marked it's 19th-straight victory against the Wildcats … UCLA's junior Jordan Anderson has reached the 20-kill mark seven times this season. She's seventh in the country in kills per set at 5.03 … USC bounced back following their first loss of the season to Washington and staved off a strong Cougar attack to finish with their third five-set road win of the season … UTAH's Adora Anae is tied for first in double-doubles in the Pac-12 with 14 on the season … With WASHINGTON's sweep over USC and UCLA last weekend, UW pushed its Pac-12 home winning streak to 27 in a row … WASHINGTON STATE averages 2.89 blocks per set, the 16th-best mark in the country on the year.

• On Mon., Oct. 26, the Pac-12 Networks revealed the Pac-12 All-Century Women’s Volleyball roster. STANFORD's Logan Tom was named Pac-12 Women’s Volleyball Player of the Century honors and UCLA's Andy Banachowski being named the Pac-12 Women’s Volleyball Coach of the Century. To view the full roster, click here.

• On Friday, Oct. 16, USC head coach Mick Haley earned his 900th career NCAA Division I victory (378 at USC, 522 at Texas).

• Utah head coach Beth Launiere picked up her 500th career win in the Utes’ 3-1 victory against Oregon State on Sun., Nov. 1, at the Huntsman Center. She has been in Salt Lake City for all 25 years of her head coaching career.

• 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.

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).