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Pac-12 Conference

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NCAA Tournament begins this week with six Pac-12 women's volleyball teams in action

Nov 30, 2022

Pac-12 Volleyball NCAA Tournament History (PDF) // 2022 NCAA Women's Volleyball Bracket

SAN FRANCISCO - Six Pac-12 volleyball teams open postseason play this week in the NCAA Tournament with first round matches set for Thursday, Dec. 1 and Friday, Dec. 2. Pac-12 Champion Stanford was awarded the No. 4 national seed and league runner-up Oregon earned the No. 10 national seed with both hosting first and second round matches at Maples Pavilion and Matthew Knight Arena, respectively. It's the 28th time in the 41-season history of the championship tournament that the Pac-12 has sent at least six of its teams to the postseason, including the 22nd time in the past 23 seasons.

Joining the Cardinal and Ducks in the NCAA Tournament are Washington State, USC, Washington and Colorado. The Huskies extended their Pac-12-best streak of 21 straight NCAA postseason appearances while the Cougars will be making their seventh consecutive appearance after enjoying their highest league finish since 2002. Both the Trojans and Buffs are returning to the tournament after a multi-year absence with USC back in for the first time since 2019 and Colorado for the first time since 2018. 

New to the seeding process this year, instead of seeding just the top 16 teams, the committee seeded the top 32 teams on a national basis across eight seed lines. In their respective quarters of the bracket, Stanford earned a No. 1 seed, Oregon a No. 3, Washington State a No. 6, USC a No. 7 and Washington a No. 8. As national seeds, Stanford and Oregon will have the opportunity to continue to host matches if they can advance that far. 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 1
Colorado (20-10) vs. No. 5 Rice (26-3) • 3:30 p.m. PT •  Waco, Texas 
UNLV (26-4) vs. No. 6 Washington State (22-9) • 5 p.m. PT • San Diego, Calif.

Friday, December 2
High Point (23-9) vs. USC (21-10) • 2 p.m. PT • Columbus, Ohio 
TCU (16-10) vs. Washington (20-10) • 2:30 p.m. PT • Madison, Wisc.
LMU (18-9) at No. 3 Oregon (23-5) • 7 p.m. PT •  Eugene, Ore.
Pepperdine (19-10) at No. 1 Stanford (24-4) • 7 p.m. PT • Palo Alto, Calif.

PAC-12 IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT… Pac-12 institutions have won 17 of the 41 all-time NCAA championships in women’s volleyball, four more than the next closest conference (Big Ten), and four of the past 11 ... Pac-12 teams have compiled a 497-267 (.651) record in NCAA play. Toss out the 48 postseason matches between Conference teams and the league’s NCAA Tournament record against non-conference opponents stands at 442-213 (.672) ... Seven different Pac-12 programs have made NCAA semifinal appearances since 2001 and 14 of the past 21 championship matches have included at least one Pac-12 program ... AA Pac-12 team has been one of the final four teams in all but five years of the NCAA Tournament (1993, 1998, 2009, 2015, 2021) and at least one Pac-12 team has played in 27 of the 41 NCAA title matches all-time, the most of any league ... Four different Pac-12 teams have claimed the NCAA titles (Stanford, UCLA, USC, Washington) … Stanford was the last team to claim a national championship, grabbing the title in back-to-back years in 2018 and 2019.

PAC-12 HONORS … In a vote of the league’s 12 head coaches, Stanford earned four of the five major Pac-12 postseason individual honors … Cardinal senior Kendall Kipp was voted Pac-12 Player of the Year ... Kami Miner became the third Cardinal to be voted Pac-12 Setter of the Year a season after being named the 2021 Pac-12 Freshman of the Year ... Stanford junior Elena Oglivie was the pick as the Pac-12 Libero of the Year joining three-time honoree Morgan Hentz as the only other Cardinal to earn the award since its inception in 2011. ... Oregon’s Mimi Colyer was recognized as Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, just the second such honor for Oregon, after setting a new record with eight Freshman of the Week honors in 2022 ... Stanford head coach Kevin Hambly claimed his second (2018) Pac-12 Coaches of the Year honor after leading the Cardinal to its fourth title under his direction.

In addition to the major awards, the Conference announced the 18-member All-Pac-12 team ... In addition to Kipp, Miner, Oglivie and Colyer also earning spots on the All-Conference team were Washington State’s Magda Jehlárová and Washington’s Ella May Powell, who became the 23rd and 24th players in Pac-12 history to earn the honor four times ... Stanford’s Caitie Baird, Washington’s Claire Hoffman, Oregon’s Brooke Nuneviller and Hannah Pukis, Oregon and Washington State’s Pia Timmer are three-time honorees while Kipp, UCLA’s Anna Dodson, Utah’s Madelyn Robinson and Washington’s Marin Grote have each picked up the honor twice ... Miner, Colyer and Oglivie join Stanford’s Elia Rubin and USC’s Skylar Fields and Mia Tuaniga as first-time selections … Colyer and Rubin were also named to the seven-member 2022 All-Freshman team along with Utah’s KJ Burgess, UCLA’s Grayce Olson, Oregon State’s Kinley Swan and USC’s Gala Trubint and Jordan Wilson.

AVCA POLL … With the final regular-season rankings released on Nov. 28, No. 5 Stanford leads four Pac-12 teams in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Coaches Top 25 and is followed by No. 9 Oregon, No. 24 Washington and No. 25 Washington State … Both USC and Colorado received votes for the fourth straight week.

STANFORD WINS FIRST PAC-12 TITLE SINCE 2019 … After being picked to finish second in the preseason coaches poll, the Cardinal surged to the top of the standings for the first time since 2019 behind an 18-match winning streak to end the regular season … It’s the fourth title in six seasons under head coach Kevin Hambly.

NCAA & PAC-12 CAREER LEADERS … Washington's Ella May Powell, the NCAA's active leader list in career assists, is third in Pac-12 history with 6,174 career assists … It's the most career assists for a Pac-12 player in 14 years, since UCLA's Nellie Spicer collected 6,000 from 2005-08 … She trails record holder, Washington’s Courtney Thompson, who had 6,552 from 2003-06, and UCLA’s Erika Selsor (1998-01), who collected 6,234 during her Bruin career.

Powell’s 161 career service aces are 10th on the active career leader list and rank tied for ninth in Pac-12 history with former Trojan April Ross (2000-03), while Powell’s teammate Claire Hoffman’s 149 career aces rank 14th in league history.

Washington State's Magda Jehlarova is now third among active DI players in career total blocks (592) and sits at 14th in Pac-12 history behind Oregon State’s Staci Hintze.

STANFORD IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT …  Stanford is making its 41st all-time NCAA tournament appearance and fifth in six seasons under head coach Kevin Hambly ... The nine-time national champions are looking for their first title since winning back-to-back in 2018 and 2019 and seeking its 24th Final Four trip and 18th appearance in the national title match … Stanford’s first round opponent Pepperdine finished fourth in the West Coast Conference at 19-10 … The two programs will meet for the ninth time with Stanford leading the all-time series 7-1 … The winner will play a second round match against LSU or Hawaii on Saturday, Dec. 3 at 6 p.m.

OREGON IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT … Oregon set a program record with 17 conference wins and finished as the league runner-up for the second time in the last three seasons … Ended the regular season on 13-match winning streak and will compete in the tournament for the 19th time in program history, the 12th time in the past 13 seasons and the fifth time under head coach Matt Ulmer … The Ducks are 20-18 all-time in the postseason and 5-4 under Ulmer, including an Elite Eight appearance in 2018 … Oregon will host LMU (18-8) Friday at 7 p.m. to open the postseason at Matthew Knight Arena, where it is a perfect 12-0 in 2022 … Arkansas and Utah State will meet in the other first round match in Eugene with the winners facing off on Saturday, Dec. 3 at 7 p.m. in the second round. 

WASHINGTON STATE IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT… One of just 15 teams to qualify for the past seven NCAA Tournaments, Washington State is making its 17th all-time postseason appearance … The Cougars finished Conference play in third place - their highest finish since 2002 - and won 14 Pac-12 matches in 2022, a best under head coach Jen Greeny … Seeded seventh in its region, the Cougars will take on Mountain West Regular Season Champions UNLV at the home of No. 2 seed San Diego on Thursday, Dec. 1 … WSU is 14-16 in the NCAA postseason and 1-5 against the Rebels all–time. 

USC IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT… USC is making a return to the postseason after a two-year absence and will appear in its 38th NCAA tournament all-time … The Trojans’ fourth-place Pac-12 finish was their highest since finishing third in 2018 while their 13 conference wins are tied for the most since 2015 … USC is 81-34 in the NCAA postseason overall and 32-5 in first-round matches all-time and will face Big South Champion High Point for the first time in program history on Friday, Dec. 2 in Columbus, Ohio.

WASHINGTON IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT … The Huskies’ 21st consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance is the fifth-longest active streak in the NCAA and the longest in the Pac-12 ... Washington, which won it all in 2005, is seeded No. 8 in the Wisconsin quarter of the bracket and will begin postseason play Friday, Dec. 2 against Big 12 member TCU at the home of the defending national champion Badgers in Madison … This will be the first ever meeting between the Huskies and the Horned Frogs … Washington is 58-25 all-time in the NCAA tournament.

COLORADO IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT… Colorado earns its first NCAA tournament bid since 2018 and will make its 21st appearance in program history … The Buffs’ 12 league wins and fifth-place finish in 2022 are both tied for their best since joining the Pac-12 in 2011 … Colorado heads into postseason play having won seven of its last 10, which included its first ever weekend sweep over the LA schools and its third win over USC all-time … The Buffs and Conference USA Champion Rice are meeting for the third time with the series tied 1-1.

NOTABLES … Pac-12 players have won two of the 12 Gamechanger/AVCA National Player of the Week awards this season (Skylar Fields - Oct. 11; Kami Miner - Oct. 25) ... The Pac-12 has had 10 or more first, second and third-team All-America selections in 13 of the last 17 seasons ... Twelve former Pac-12 players have earned first, second or third-team All-America honors four times, while 27 players have earned All-America honors three times, with current Husky Ella May Powell garnering her third nod in 2021 ... Since 1990, Pac-12 players garnered AVCA Player of the Year honors 15 times, including the seven of the last 12 - 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 46 years of existence, including most recently Stanford's Jenna Gray in 2019 ... In Stanford’s 3-0 sweep of USC on Oct. 23, the Cardinal hit .605, its highest percentage since 2013 and the second highest mark in the NCAA in 2022 … Against Colorado on Sept. 30, USC's Mia Tuaniga put up 37 assists, had 10 digs, and served a USC-record 10 aces for her first career triple-double and first for the Trojans since Raquel Lázaro on Sept. 7, 2019 against Northern Iowa (36 assists, 16 digs, 11 blocks).

2022 Pac-12 Women's Volleyball Weekly Awards

  Offensive Defensive Freshman
Aug. 29 Brooke Nuneviller, ORE Alexia Kuehl, COLO Mimi Colyer, ORE
Sept. 5 Madelyn Robinson, UTAH Alexia Kuehl, COLO Mimi Colyer, ORE
Sept. 12 Kendall Kipp, STAN Izzi Szulczewski, OSU Elia Rubin, STAN
Sept. 19 Hannah Pukis, ORE Elena Oglivie, STAN Mimi Colyer, ORE
Sept. 26 Ella May Powell, WASH Meegan Hart, COLO Mimi Colyer, ORE
Oct. 3 Skylar Fields, USC Magda Jehlarova, WSU Mimi Colyer, ORE
Oct. 10 Skylar Fields, USC Gala Trubint, USC Elia Rubin, STAN
Oct. 17 Skylar Fields, USC Gala Trubint, USC Elia Rubin, STAN
Oct. 24 Kami Miner, STAN Magda Jehlarova, WSU Elia Rubin, STAN
Oct. 31 Caitie Baird, STAN Meegan Hart, COLO Elia Rubin, STAN
Nov. 7 Kendall Kipp, STAN Georgia Murphy, ORE Mimi Colyer, ORE
Nov. 14 Pia Timmer, WSU Elena Oglivie, STAN Mimi Colyer, ORE
Nov. 21 Mimi Colyer, ORE Elena Oglivie, STAN Mimi Colyer, ORE
Nov. 28 Skylar Fields, USC McKenna Vicini, STAN Adonia Faumuina, USC