Pac-12 volleyball boasts the most ranked teams this week

SAN FRANCISCO - As has been the case all season, eight Pac-12 teams are ranked in the latest AVCA Coaches poll, with STANFORD continuing to lead the way at No. 2. Leading off the week is a Thursday matchup between OREGON STATE and No. 12 USC in Los Angeles. OSU will depend on its blocking corp as it looks to pick up its first league win of the season, using its 2.82 team blocks per set, which ranks 11th in the country, to try to stop the Trojan attack which is averaging 14.00 kills per set, good for the 20th-best average in the country.
• Five top-25 matchups are on the schedule this week and seven league games are on the Pac-12 Networks slate. The Cardinal is the lone team with an undefeated league record and heads to No. 24 UTAH and COLORADO this week as the nation’s top-blocking team, averaging 3.18 blocks per set.

WHAT’S HAPPENING THIS WEEK
• ARIZONA is the only team currently ranked in the AVCA top-25 to have finished with an under .500 record last year. It looks to stay in the polls when it hosts two ranked opponents this week, No. 15 WASHINGTON on Friday and No. 22 WASHINGTON STATE on Sunday.
• CALIFORNIA is looking to remain above .500 and is looking for its first league win of the season. The Golden Bears are one of two league teams still looking for a conference win. Cal heads to Utah and Colorado this week. Sophomore middle blocker Preslie Anderson is the Pac-12’s most efficient hitter (.417) and also ranks eighth in the country in hitting percentage.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE (All Times Local to Site)

* Pac-12 Conference Match

AVCA RANKINGS
• Eight teams are ranked in the AVCA Coaches poll, the most for any conference in the country. Stanford is No. 2 with four first-place votes. In the top 20 this week is No. 12 USC, No. 15 Washington, No. 17 UCLA and No. 20 OREGON. Rounding out the league’s top-25 teams are No. 21 ARIZONA, No. 22 Washington State and No. 24 Utah. ARIZONA STATE and Colorado are receiving votes.
• As many as nine Pac-12 teams were ranked this season, that coming in the Sept. 24 poll, and has had at least seven teams ranked every week this season (including the preseason).

WHAT’S TRENDING
• Pac-12 freshmen are making their mark this season, especially on defense. Four of the top-10 Pac-12 leaders in blocks per set are freshmen led by Stanford’s Holly Campbell, who ranks third with 1.35 blocks per set. Also ranking in the top-10 is Oregon State’s Lindsey Schell with 1.29 bps, Colorado’s Danielle Price with 1.25 bps and Utah’s Phoebe Grace with 1.18 bps. Oregon’s Brooke Nuneviller has also been a defensive force, currently ranking second in the Pac-12 with 4.69 digs per set. She also set a season Conference-high with 35 digs in five sets against Washington State on Sept. 23.
• Offensively, USC’s Raquel Lázaro has been one of the best setters in the Conference despite her rookie status. She ranks fourth in the Pac-12 and 23rd in the country with 11.16 assists per set. Washington’s Ella May Powell is also in the league’s top-10 with 10.43 aps.
• Four Pac-12 teams are ranked in kills per set, including Stanford, Oregon and Arizona appearing in the top six. USC ranks 20th while Utah ranks just outside the top-25 at 26th.
• ARIZONA STATE broke a lengthy losing streak, picking up its first Pac-12 win since 2016 and the first under head coach Sanja Tomasevic on Sept. 23. It is now riding a three-match win streak after road sweeps of Oregon State and then-No. 12 Oregon. The win over the Ducks was the first over a ranked team since 2016 and was also the first sweep of UO since 2005.
• Stanford’s No. 2 national ranking can easily be justified by looking at the team’s statistical numbers. Not only does it tie for the nation’s best blocking average (3.18), but is also in the top 10 in four more categories, including assists per set (3rd), hitting percentage (2nd), kills per set (3rd) and win-loss percentage (8th).
• Stanford’s Jenna Gray leads four Pac-12 setters with assist averages in the NCAA’s top-25. Gray is the nation’s leader at 12.66, followed by Oregon’s August Raskie who ranks fourth with a 12.29 average. Arizona’s Julia Patterson is 12th (11.45) and USC’s Raquel Lazaro is 23rd (11.16).
• Colorado’s Alexa Smith was the latest to join the 1,000-kills club, just the second Colorado native to accomplish the feat, becoming the sixth active Pac-12 player with 1,000 career kills. Stanford’s Kathryn Plummer, Arizona’s Kendra Dahlke, USC’s Khalia Lanier and Oregon’s Lindsey Vander Weide have reached the milestone this season. A total of 177 players in Pac-12 history have reached the 1,000-kill plateau.
• Arizona’s Dave Rubio joined an elite company after claiming his 500th victory while at Tucson on Sept. 14. In his 27th season at the Wildcat helm, he is only the second head coach in Pac-12 history to reach the milestone.
• Arizona’s Kendra Dhalke earned her first-career Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week after leading the Wildcats to a road sweep of the Oregon schools last week, including a victory over then-No. 12 Oregon. She entered UA’s top-10 in career kills list with 1,334 career digs.
• Stanford took in two more weekly nods, junior Morgan Hentz earning Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week nods for the third time this season, while teammate Holly Campbell is the Pac-12 Freshman of the Week for the first time.
• Washington State’s Claire Martin and Colorado’s Naghede Abu are the only two Pac-12 players with over 400-career blocks. Martin broke WSU’s all-time blocks record on Sept. 14.
• Six current players have recorded a a minimum 1,000 career digs, led by OSU’s Kayla Ellis who is on the verge of breaking into the Pac-12’s top 50 with over 1,300. Oregon’s Lindsey Vander Weide became the first player this season to reach the threshold.
• Pac-12 teams opened the season in dominant fashion, going 25-5 (.833) in the first weekend of play. League teams have posted a 385-91 (.809) record in the opening week of play dating back to 2002.

2018-19 IN A NUTSHELL
• Stanford returns as the defending Pac-12 Champion, also advancing to the NCAA semifinal. The Cardinal were also picked to win the 2018 league crown, followed by USC in second and Oregon in third. For a complete listing of the poll, click on the link below.
• Seven AVCA All-Americans return from last year, including 2017 AVCA National Player of the Year and Pac-12 Player of the Year Kathryn Plummer. Four of the seven are first team honorees and all are juniors, including USC’s Lanier, and Cardinal teammates Morgan Hentz and Jenna Gray. Plummer became the first player to win the national player of the year honor a year after garnering the AVCA National Freshman of the Year award.
• Nine of the 14 players named to the 2017 All-Pac-12 team return for 2018, including Stanford’s Morgan Hentz, the Pac-12 Libero of the Year last year, and Jenna Gray, the 2017 Pac-12 Setter of the Year.
• The Pac-12 welcomes new coaches to the sidelines, including California mentor Jennifer Dorr and USC’s Brent Crouch. Dorr has been with the Golden Bears program since 2009 when she joined the squad as the director of operations before moving to the role of assistant coach in 2011. Crouch was named the 2016 West Coast Conference Coach of the Year while with Portland.
• Pac-12 volleyball continues to attract marquee student-athletes. Five Pac-12 teams landed at least one Volleyball Magazine FAB 50 recruit with Oregon and UCLA pacing the league with four each. Thirteen named to the list will be donning a Pac-12 uniform this season.

PAC-12 VOLLEYBALL BROADCASTS
• In 2018, 91 Pac-12 regular-season volleyball matches will be televised this season, by far the most of any conference in the nation. Of those, 88 appear on the Pac-12 Networks beginning with the Pac-12/Big Ten Challenge Friday, Aug. 31 doubleheader featuring Colorado and Washington taking on Illinois and Iowa.
• ESPN will also televise three Pac-12 matches, including the UCLA-USC rivalry matchup on Wednesday, Sept. 19 on ESPNU. ESPN2 will be the home of two Pac-12 matches: USC at STANFORD on Friday, Sept. 28 and Stanford at OREGON on Sunday, Oct. 21.
• For a full television schedule, visit pac-12.com.

STANDINGS

PAC-12 VOLLEYBALL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

THIS WEEK:
Offensive: Kendra Dahlke, ARIZ
Defensive: Morgan Hentz, STAN
Freshman: Holly Campbell, STAN 

ALSO NOMINATED THIS WEEK:

Offensive: Ivana Jeremic, ASU; Preslie Anderson, CAL; Naghede Abu, COLO; Ronika Stone, ORE; Maddie Goings, OSU; Meghan McClure, STAN; Mac May, UCLA; Megan Yett, UTAH; Jocelyn Urias, WSU.
Defensive: Devyn Cross, ARIZ; Callie Jones, ASU; Lauren Forte, CAL; Danielle Price, COLO; Ronika Stone, ORE; Grace Massey, OSU; Zana Muno, UCLA; Ella Lajos, WSU.
Freshman: Danielle Price, COLO; Brooke Nuneviller, ORE; Lindsey Schell, OSU; Megan Yett, UTAH; Alexis Light, UCLA.

2018 PAC-12 VOLLEYBALL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

IN THE PRESEASON

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

NATIONAL HONORS

AVCA National Player of the Week:
Sep. 11 - Kathryn Plummer, Stanford

ESPNW Player of the Year Watch: 
Kathryn Plummer keeps elevating
Khalia Lanier hitting and knitting her way to Stanford showdown

Senior CLASS Award Nominees: 
Alexa Smith, COLO
Tami Alade, STAN