Six Pac-12 women's volleyball teams open NCAA Tournament action this week
Pac-12 Volleyball NCAA Tournament History (PDF) // 2021 NCAA Women's Volleyball Bracket
SAN FRANCISCO - Six Pac-12 volleyball teams are headed to the NCAA Tournament, which begins Thursday and Friday, Dec. 2 and 3. UCLA was awarded the No. 13 seed, Pac-12 champion Washington the No. 15 seed and both will host first and second rounds at Alaska Airlines Arena and Pauley Pavilion, respectively. It's the 27th time in the 40-season history of championship tournament that the Pac-12 has sent at least six of its teams to the postseason, including the 21st time in the past 22 seasons.
Joining the Bruins and Huskies in the NCAA Tournament are Oregon, Stanford, Utah and Washington State. Five of the six teams are making a return trip to the tournament, having participated in the event during the COVID-impacted 2020 season this past spring. After missing out on the postseason for the first time in program history last season, the Cardinal is back and will be making its 40th all-time NCAA Tournament appearance. Every first and second-round match of the 2021 NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Championship will be aired on ESPN+.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
Thursday, December 2
Oregon (22-8) vs. Kansas (16-11) • Omaha, Neb. • 2:30 p.m. PT
Washington State (19-11) vs. Northern Colorado (24-6) • Waco, Texas • 2:30 p.m. PT
Friday, December 3
Stanford (18-10) vs. Iowa State (16-11) • Minneapolis, Minn. • 2:30 p.m. PT
Utah (21-8) vs. Utah Valley (16-12) • Provo, Utah • 3 p.m. PT
Fairfield (24-8) at No. 13 UCLA (23-5) • Los Angeles, Calif. • 7 p.m. PT
Brown (20-5) at No. 15 Washington (24-4) • Seattle, Wash. • 7 p.m. PT
PAC-12 IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT… Pac-12 institutions have won 17 of the 40 all-time NCAA championships in women’s volleyball, five more than the next closest conference (Big Ten), and four of the past 10 ... Pac-12 teams have compiled a 490-261 (.652) record in NCAA play ... Toss out the 48 postseason matches between Conference teams and the league’s NCAA Tournament record against nonconference opponents stands at 442-213 (.675) ... Seven different Pac-12 programs have made NCAA semifinal appearances since 2001 and 14 of the past 20 championship matches have included at least one Pac-12 program ... A Pac-12 team has been one of the final four teams in all but four years of the NCAA Tournament (1993, 1998, 2009, 2015) and at least one Pac-12 team has played in 27 of the 40 NCAA title matches all-time, the most of any league ... Four different Pac-12 teams have claimed the NCAA titles (Stanford, UCLA, USC, Washington), a total double the next closest conference.
PAC-12 HONORS … In a vote of the league’s 12 head coaches, UCLA's Mac May was voted the Pac-12 Player of the Year for the second time (2019) ... She is the seventh in Conference history to be named Pac-12 Player of the Year multiple times, and second from UCLA (Daiva Tomkus - 1988, 1989) ... Ella May Powell, the first from Washington to be voted Pac-12 Setter of the Year last season, was again recognized as the best at her position in 2021 ... UCLA's Zoe Fleck was the pick as the Pac-12 Libero of the Year for the second consecutive season, joining Taylor Formico (2015, 2016) as Bruins to win the award twice ... Stanford's Kami Miner was recognized as Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, Stanford's record 13th and first since Kathryn Plummer in 2016 ... Washington State's Jen Greeny and UCLA's Micheal Sealy were both voted Co-Pac-12 Coaches of the Year ... Greeny claims her second (2016) and the Cougs' fourth Coach of the Year award, while Sealy was recognized for the first time, joining Andy Banachowski (1988, 1989, 1993, 1994, 1998) as winners from UCLA.
In addition to the major awards, the Conference announced the 18-member All-Pac-12 team ... In addition to May, Powell and Fleck earning spots on the All-Conference team, Utah's Dani Drews made the squad for the fourth time along with teammate and first-time honoree Madelyn Robinson ... Washington's Marin Grote (first selection), Samantha Drechsel (third) and Claire Hoffman (second) join Powell on the list, while Washington State's Magda Jehlárová (third), Hannah Pukis (second) and Pia Timmer (second) represent the Cougars ... Karson Bacon (first) and Brooke Nuneviller (second) from Oregon and Caitie Baird (second) and Kendall Kipp (first) from Stanford are also on the team, as are USC's Brooke Botkin (third), UCLA's Anna Dodson (first) and Arizona State's Iman Isanovic (first).
AVCA POLL … With the final regular-season rankings released, No. 12 Washington leads six Pac-12 teams in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Coaches Top 25 and is followed by No. 14 UCLA, No. 16 Utah, No. 18 Stanford, No. 19 Oregon and No. 22 Washington State ... At least five Pac-12 teams have been ranked in the AVCA poll every week this season, with seven different schools earning a top-25 ranking at least once ... The Huskies topped all league schools when they checked it at No. 4 in the preseason poll released on Aug. 16.
WASHINGTON WINS BACK-TO-BACK PAC-12 CHAMPIONSHIPS … For the second consecutive season and seventh time overall, Washington won the Pac-12 title, going 17-3 in league play and clinching it outright on the final day of the regular season with a 3-1 win over Washington State ... The Huskies were also preseason favorite to win the Pac-12 title and the coaches' preseason pick has now gone on to win the league title 21 times in the 36 years of Pac-12 women’s volleyball.
NCAA & PAC-12 CAREER LEADERS … Utah's Dani Drews is second among active NCAA players in career kills (2,232) and and is third in Conference history in that category ... She is the ninth Pac-12 player to surpass 2,000 career kills and first since USC's Khalia Lanier in 2019 ... Drews is third in the NCAA this season in kills per set (5.24) and fourth in points per set (5.81) ... Also with 1,084 career digs, Drews is just the sixth player in Conference history with at least 2,000 kills and 1,000 digs, joining Kristee Porter (UCLA), Kim Glass (Arizona), Alix Klineman (Stanford), Samantha Bricio (USC) and Lanier.
UCLA's Mac May is fourth among active players and 10th in the Pac-12 record book with 2,002 career kills ... She also has 173 career aces, which is ninth among active NCAA players and tied for third in Conference history ... Her 4.76 kills per set average this season is 11th nationally and her 5.42 points per set are ninth.
Washington's Lauren Sanders is second among active Division I players in career blocks with 642, a total that is also fifth in Pac-12 history ... She has more blocks than any Pac-12 player in 24 years, since fellow Husky Makare Desilets had 677 from 1994-97.
Utah's Stef Jankiewicz, a transfer from Illinois State, sits atop in active NCAA career leaders in assists with 5,886, while Washington's Ella May Powell is sixth in that category (4,861) ... Powell is 16th in Conference history in assists.
Oregon State’s Grace Massey is 11th among active NCAA players with 2,175 career digs, a total which is sixth in Conference history.
OREGON IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT … Oregon is in the tournament for the 18th time in program history, the 11th in the past 12 seasons and the fourth time under head coach Matt Ulmer ... The Ducks are 20-17 all-time in the postseason and 5-3 under Ulmer, including an Elite Eight appearance in 2018 ... Kansas, Thursday's first-round opponent, enters the postseason with a 16-11 record ... The two programs have played three times previously, but not since 2008 ... The other half of the Omaha quadrant features host and No. 14 seed Creighton (30-3) and Ole Miss (21-8).
STANFORD IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT … After missing out on the postseason for the first time in program history during the spring's COVID-impacted campaign, the Cardinal is back and will be making its 40th all-time NCAA Tournament appearance and fourth under head coach Kevin Hambly ... Nine-time national champions, Stanford will be seeking its 24th Final Four trip and 18th appearance in the national title match ... It will be the second meeting between the Cardinal and Cyclones in the postseason ... Stanford swept Iowa State in an NCAA Regional Semifinal in Berkeley in 2012 ... It's the first time the Cardinal has had to travel for the first weekend of the tournament since 2004, when Maples Pavilion was being renovated ... Before that, Stanford was last away from home to begin the NCAA Tournament in 2000 ... Stanford has won three of the past five national titles (2016, 2018, 2019) and has more NCAA championships than any other program (9) ... The Cardinal is 131-31 all-time in the NCAA Tournament.
UCLA IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT … UCLA fell just short of its first Pac-12 title since 1999, finishing as runners-up to Washington with a 16-4 league mark ... The Bruins earned a national seed for the first time since 2017 and best since they wwere a No. 10 seed in 2016 ... Four-time national champions, the Bruins will be going for their first NCAA title since 2011 in their 38th all-time NCAA Tournament appearance ... UCLA is 92-34 all-time in the NCAA Tournament.
UTAH IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT … Utah is set to make its sixth-consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance and 18th overall with Friday's first-round matchup against Utah Valley in Provo, the Utes' fourth trip to the Provo Regional in six years ... Third in the Pac-12 for the third consecutive season with a program record-tying 14 Conference wins, Utah also had six wins over top-25 teams, highlighted by the two best true road wins in program history, beating then-No. 3 Nebraska in Lincoln on Sept. 11 and then-No. 6 Washington in Seattle on Sept. 22 ... The Utes are 17-17 all-time in the NCAA Tournament.
WASHINGTON IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT … The back-to-back Pac-12 champion Huskies will be making their 20th-consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance, which is the fifth-longest active streak in the NCAA and the longest in the Pac-12 ... Washington, which won it all in 2005, is one of four seeded teams in its region along with No. 2 Texas, No. 7 Kentucky and No. 10 Nebraska. The Huskies, Longhorns and Wildcats were three of the four national semifinalists this past spring ... Washington is 56-24 all-time in the NCAA Tournament.
WASHINGTON STATE IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT… One of just 17 teams to qualify for the past six NCAA Tournaments, Washington State is making its 16th all-time postseason appearance ... The Cougars won 13 Conference matches in 2021, a best under head coach Jen Greeny, to finish in a tie for fourth in the Conference standings ... Washington State and Northern Colorado have faced off twice previously, with WSU winning both matchups in 1981 and 2007 ... The Cougars are 13-15 all-time in the NCAA Tournament.
NOTABLES … Pac-12 players have won four of the 12 Sports Imports/AVCA National Player of the Week awards this season, a total which leads all conferences ... The Pac-12 has had 10 or more first, second and third-team All-America selections in 12 of the last 16 seasons ... Eleven former Pac-12 players have earned first, second or third-team All-America honors four times, while 26 players have earned All-America honors three times, with Dani Drews garnering her third nod this past spring ... Since 1990, Pac-12 players garnered AVCA Player of the Year honors 15 times, including the seven of the last 11 - California's Carli Lloyd (2010), USC’s Alex Jupiter (2011), Oregon's Alaina Bergsma (2012), Washington's Krista Vansant (2013), USC’s Samantha Bricio (2015) and Stanford's Kathryn Plummer (2017 and 2018) ... The Honda Sports Award for volleyball has been bestowed upon a Pac-12 athlete 21 times in its 45 years of existence, including most recently Stanford's Jenna Gray in 2019 ... Against Arizona State on Nov. 7, Washington State's Magda Jehlářová had a career-high 21 kills on 25 attempts to hit .840 as a three-rotation player ... It's the third-best percentage for a Pac-12 player with 20+ attempts all-time and the best since 2006 ... It's also the 18th-best hitting percentage in NCAA history for a player with 20+ attempts and the fifth-best in NCAA single-match history for a player with 20+ kills ... UCLA's Mac May totaled a career-high 39 kills in a five-set victory at Washington State on Oct. 3, the second-most in program history and tied for the sixth-most in Pac-12 history ... Her 39 kills were the most by a Bruin since Natalie Williams set the school record with 43 against Hawaii on Sept. 7, 1991 and are tied for the third-most in the NCAA this season ... In a five-set victory over then-No. 6 Washington on Sept. 26, Washington State totaled 132 points (25-14, 23-25, 25-16, 44-46, 15-11) to tie the NCAA record for a five-set match in the 25-point scoring era (since 2008), while the Huskies' 46 points in the fourth also tied the NCAA mark for points in a set ... Both marks equaled totals from a Nov. 21, 2017 match between Saint Mary's and Santa Clara. The Gaels won the five setter (22-25, 25-22, 44-46, 26-24, 15-11), while the Broncos took the fourth set with 46 points.
PAC-12 VOLLEYBALL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
THIS WEEK:
Offensive: Dani Drews, Utah
Defensive: Vanessa Ramirez, Utah
Freshman: Kami Miner, Stanford
ALSO NOMINATED:
Offensive: Karson Bacon, ORE; Brooke Botkin, USC; Jahara Campbell, COL; Samantha Drechsel, WASH; Jaelyn Hodge, ARIZ; Kendall Kipp, STAN; Mac May, UCLA; Katy Ryan, WSU.
Defensive: Abby Hansen, ORE; Meegan Hart, COLP; Emery Herman, ARIZ; Elena Oglivie, STAN; Lauren Sanders, WASH; Shannon Scully, USC.
Freshman: Emoni Bush, WASH; Jahara Campbell, COLO; Katy Ryan, WSU; Puk Stubbe, ARIZ; Mia Tuaniga, USC.
2021 Pac-12 Women's Volleyball Weekly Awards