Women's Volleyball Pac-12 Conference

Pac-12 Women's Volleyball Weekly Rundown - Sept. 13, 2023

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The final week of non-conference play is here and the schedule is once again full of top-25 matchups. Last week the league's top-three ranked teams - No. 5 Stanford, No. 7 Oregon and No. 11 Washington State - went a combined 4-2 against opponents ranked in the top-15 of the AVCA poll and the Pac-12 squads will hope that trend continues in week four with conference foes looming on the horizon. The Cardinal have beat ranked squads in three of its last five matches and have one final test on the docket this week - a Sunday showdown against No. 2 Louisville in Kentucky set for 10 a.m. PT airing live on ESPN2. The seventh-ranked Ducks will also be on the road, facing No. 8 Pittsburgh on Thursday, Sept. 14 at 4 p.m. PT, while the 11th-ranked Cougars travel to the Lone Star State to take on No. 18 Baylor on Wednesday, Sept. 13 and defending national champion and sixth-ranked Texas on Friday, Sept. 15. USC, on a three-match winning streak, received votes in this week's AVCA poll and will matchup against No. 17 Purdue in West Lafayette on Friday on Big Ten Network.

LAST WEEK IN REVIEW

  • Pac-12 squads went 27-7 during week three of the 2023 campaign, with two teams - Arizona State and California - remaining unbeaten.
  • No. 5 Stanford didn't schedule non-conference opponents lightly as the Cardinal are closing out a stretch of six ranked matchups in their final seven contests before conference play begins. That included three top-15 matchups at home last week with Stanford getting wins over No. 15 Ohio State (3-0) and No. 10 Minnesota (3-1) as part of the Pac-12/Big 10 Challenge at Maples Pavilion before falling to No. 4 Nebraska (3-1) on Tuesday. The Cardinal picked up the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week award for the second straight week, this time by senior Elena Oglivie, who came up big with 4.40 digs per set in the wins over the Buckeyes and the the Golden Gophers.
  • No. 7 Oregon was also in Palo Alto for the Pac-12/Big 10 Challenge and the Ducks saw their unbeaten streak to start the season come to an end with a 1-1 mark on the weekend, dropping a hard-fought five-setter 3-2 to No. 10 Minnesota then bouncing back to take care of business with a 3-1 win over No. 15 Ohio State.
  • Since dropping a match to No. 2 Louisville on opening weekend, No. 11 Washington State has won seven straight, including six straight in Pullman. The Cougars put an exclamation point on the winning streak on Friday with a dominant 3-1 win over then-No. 8 BYU, which came after sweeps of UC Irvine and Towson the previous two days.
  • The Sun Devils had another perfect 3-0 weekend, winning NAU's Lumberjack Classic to move to 9-0 on the year, the fourth-best start in program history tied with the 1985 squad. The Sun Devils swept the matches against Northern Arizona, Boise State and Stephen F. Austin and have lost just three sets total over the nine matches.
  • California continues to surprise, joining the Sun Devils as the last two Pac-12 squads without a loss in 2023. The Bears won four total matches on the week, starting with a 3-1 win at home over St. Mary's, followed by three victories at the Bobcat Classic over Southeastern Louisiana (3-1), host Texas State (3-1) and Abilene Christian (3-0). At 9-0, Cal has already surpassed it's season win total of seven from a year ago. Freshman Maggie Li has been key to the Bears' winning ways as the Beijing native collected 61 kills and 50 digs over the four matches to earn her third consecutive Pac-12 Freshman of the Week honor. Li is the first Bear to not only earn the freshman nod three straight weeks but is the first Bear in program history to win any weekly award three times in a row. Cal's 9-0 start to the season is its best since the 2019 squad started 10-0.
  • Washington, USC and UCLA all went 3-0 on the weekend with the Huskies and Trojans winning their home tournaments. The Huskies picked up wins over Memphis (3-0), UNLV (3-2) and Florida International (3-1) and the Trojans took down UC Davis (3-0), Marist (3-0) and San Diego (3-1). UCLA collected three wins in Honolulu over Pepperdine (3-2), Liberty (3-0) and host Hawaii (3-1). Since losing their season-openers, both UW and UCLA have reeled off seven straight wins, while USC got back to .500 on the season. The Trojans were led offensively by Skylar Fields, who tallied 47 kills and was named the tournament's MVP en route to earning Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week honors.
  • Oregon State and Utah each went 2-1 over the weekend with the Beavers beating Nevada (3-2), UC Riverside (3-0) and losing to California Baptist (3-2) in Southern California and the Utes with a pair of home wins over Tennessee State (3-0) and San Francisco (3-0) and a five-set loss to UC Santa Barbara.
  • Colorado went 1-1 on the road, dropping a 3-1 contest to Kansas before beating host Wichita State (3-0).
  • Arizona had the toughest task of all last week as the Wildcats traveled to top-ranked Wisconsin, dropping matches to the Badgers and Miami.

THIS WEEK

  • No. 5 Stanford has already faced four top-10 opponents and that trend continues this week with the Cardinal traveling to Kentucky for a big matchup with No. 2 Louisville in its final non-conference contest, set for Sunday at 10 a.m. PT on ESPN2.
  • No. 7 Oregon 's schedule doesn't get any easier either as the Ducks head east for the Panther Challenge to take on No. 8 Pittsburgh (Thursday, Sept. 14 at 4 p.m. PT) on ACCN+ and a James Madison squad on Friday (2 p.m. PT) that's receiving votes in the AVCA Top 25 Poll.
  • No. 11 Washington State will play its second and third straight ranked opponents this week, traveling to Texas for a pair of big matchups against No. 18 Baylor on Wednesday at 5 p.m. PT on ESPN+ and No. 6 Texas on Friday at 5 p.m. PT on the Longhorn Network.
  • Arizona State and California will each put their unbeaten streaks on the line on the road this week. ASU is set for three matches in Tennessee for the Beale Street Challenge, where they will go up against Memphis (Thursday 11 a.m. PT on ESPN+), Arkansas-Little Rock (Friday 1 p.m. PT) and Southern Miss (Saturday 8 a.m. PT). Cal will have a pair of matches across the border in Reno, taking on Montana State Friday at 11 a.m. PT and Nevada on Saturday at 1 p.m. PT on the Mountain West Network.
  • Washington and UCLA, each winners of seven straight, are set for road contests in California and Oklahoma, respectively. The Huskies have matches against Cal Poly (Thursday 7 p.m. PT on ESPN+), Pepperdine (Friday at 3 p.m. PT) and St. Mary's (Saturday 10:30 a.m. PT) and the Bruins and Sooners will square off for two on Friday at 3 p.m. PT and Saturday at 12 p.m. PT with both matches live on ESPN+.
  • USC will try to keep its winning ways going at the Boilmaker Challenge, but it will be just that, a challenge, as the Trojans battle Illinois on Thursday at 2:30 p.m. PT and 17th-ranked Purdue on Friday at 5 p.m. PT. Both contests will air live on the Big Ten Network.
  • Only four squads - Arizona, Colorado, Oregon State and Utah - will have home matches on the final week of non-conference play.
    • Arizona hosts the Wildcat Classic and will face Long Beach State (Thursday, Sept. 14 at 6 p.m. PT), New Mexico State (Friday, Sept. 15 at 6 p.m. PT and Alabama State (Saturday, Sept. 16 at 12:30 p.m. PT) all available on Arizona Live Stream.
    • The Buffs have a home-and-home scheduled with nearby Colorado State with Thursday's match in Boulder at 6 p.m. PT on Pac-12 Mountain and Friday's 6 p.m. PT match in Fort Collins on Mountain West Network. Colorado finishes out the weekend against another in-state foe, Denver, at home on Sunday at 1 p.m. PT on Pac-12 Mountain.
    • The Beavers will also have a home and away dual with Portland State, with Thursday's 5 p.m. PT match in Corvallis (OSU Live Stream) and Saturday's 7 p.m. PT match in Portland (ESPN+).
    • Utah will have an in-state showdown at No. 12 BYU on Wednesday night at 6 p.m. PT on ESPN+ before returning home to host Weber State on Friday at 6:00 p.m. MT on Pac-12 Insider.

THREE IN LATEST AVCA TOP 25

  • For a third straight, three Pac-12 teams appeared in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Coaches Top 25 on Sept. 11 with all three in the top 15 - No. 5 Stanford, No. 7 Oregon and No. 11 Washington State.
  • With a road win at Rice and a pair of top-15 wins over then-No. 10 Minnesota and No. 15 Ohio State, the Cardinal stayed steady in the fifth spot.
  • Oregon only fell one spot from No. 6 to No. 7 after its tight five-set defeat to Minnesota.
  • The Cougars were rewarded for their big win over then-No. 8 BYU and jumped two more spots in the poll to No. 11 after starting the season at No. 17.
  • Four different Pac-12 squads received votes this week with Washington collecting votes in a fourth straight poll (68 votes). UCLA had the second-most among all schools with 63 while Arizona State tallied 13 and USC three votes.

AMONG THE NCAA LEADERS (Team)

  • Through three weeks of action, four Pac-12 teams rank in the top 10 in hitting percentage, one more than any other conference in the country. Arizona State is second (.345), Washington State is third (.345), Oregon is seventh (.323) and Stanford is eighth (.311). Colorado sits just outside the top 10 in 11th at .301.
  • Oregon is fifth in the country in kills per set (14.71), followed by Washington State in 11th (14.41) and Stanford in 14th (14.22).
  • Stanford and Oregon rank 24th and 25th, respectively, in the country in blocks per set at 2.72 and 2.71.
  • Washington is second overall (2.61) and California (2.25) is 10th overall in aces per set.
  • Oregon ranks second in assists per set (13.79), followed by Stanford in 11th (13.37) and California in 13th (13.25).

AMONG THE NCAA LEADERS (Individual)

  • Arizona State's Marta Levinska ranks tied for 5th in the NCAA with 0.70 aces per set.
  • Oregon's Hannah Pukis is tied for sixth overall (11.36) and Stanford's Kami Miner is 11th overall (11.22) in assists per set.
  • USC's Skylar Fields is third in the country in attacks per set (13.50).
  • Washington State's Magda Jehlarova ranks tied for fifth (.500) in hitting percentage, followed by Colorado's Skyy Howard (.460) in 18th.
  • USC's Fields owns the Pac-12's top kills per set average through two weeks at 5.14, which ranks third in the country. Oregon's Mimi Colyer is 13th (4.54).
  • Fields (5.54) and Colyer (5.27) also rank seventh and 11th, respectively, in the NCAA in points per set.

BY THE NUMBERS

  • Pac-12 teams have gone 75-24 (.758) through three weeks of play, which is the top non-conference mark among Power 5 Conferences.
  • Arizona State and California are two of just 14 teams in the country that remain undefeated. ACC leads the way with three unbeaten teams followed by two each from the Pac-12 and Big 10.
  • Stanford and Arizona State have the 12th and 15th-ranked toughest schedules heading into week four.
  • Washington State fifth year senior Magda Jehlarova is the NCAA's active career leader for total blocks with 632. Last weekend, Jehlarova officially became Washington State's all-time blocks leader, breaking the old mark of 615 set by former Cougar Carrie Couturier from 1988-91. After 12 another blocks this most recent weekend, Jehlarova now sits in fifth in Pac-12 history and needs just 125 to break the conference's all-time career record for blocks. Oregon's Kara McGhee , a transfer from Baylor, is tied for third on the list with 565.
  • USC's Skyar Fields ranks fourth on the active career leader list for kills with 1,668 total.
  • Oregon's Hannah Pukis is the current active career for total assists with 4,313, while Stanford's Kami Miner is currently third in the NCAA with an 11.41 career assists per set mark.
  • USC's Ellie Snook is fourth on the active career digs list with 2,216, while Washington State's Iman Isanovic is fifth on the active career total attacks list with 4,396.

PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM

  • The Pac-12 announced the 2023 Women's Volleyball Preseason All-Conference Team ahead of the upcoming season. 14 of the 15 members of the team were All-Pac-12 or All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention selections in 2022.
  • Stanford led the way with six selections - three of which were individual award winners a year ago, reigning Pac-12 Player of the Year Kendall Kipp , Setter of the Year Kami Miner and Libero of the Year Elena Oglivie . Caitie Baird , Elia Rubin and Sami Francis rounded on the Cardinal on the list.
  • Washington State saw three voted onto the team in Magda Jehlarova , Pia Timmer and Arizona State transfer Iman Isanovic .
  • Oregon ( Mimi Colyer , Hannah Pukis ) and USC ( Skylar Fields, Mia Tuaniga ) collected two selections apiece while Arizona State ( Marta Levinska ) and UCLA ( Anna Dodson ) had one each.

STAR POWER RETURNING

  • Every 2022 Pac-12 individual award winner is back in 2023 - Player of the year Kendall Kipp (Stanford) ; Freshman of the Year Mimi Colyer (Oregon) ; Setter of the Year Kami Miner (Stanford) ; and Libero of the Year Elena Oglivie (Stanford) .
  • 12 of 18 All-Pac-12 selections return highlighted by four-time All-Pac-12 honoree Magda Jehlrov (Washington State).
  • Four of five 2022 AVCA First Team All-Americans return in 2023 ( Skylar Fields , USC; Magda Jehlarova , WSU; Kendall Kipp , STAN; Kami Miner (STAN); 2022 AVCA Second Team All-American Hannah Pukis (ORE) and third-team selection and AVCA National Freshman of the Year Mimi Colyer is also back for the Ducks. 2022 AVCA All-America Honorable Mention selections Elena Oglivie (STAN) and Mia Tuaniga (USC) return as well.

NEW COACHING FACES

Half the league has a new face on the sideline as the Pac-12 will have six new head coaches in 2023 - two of which are alums of the programs they are taking over.

  • Arizona: Charita Stubbs , who played at Arizona from 1992-94, takes over after the retirement of longtime head coach Dave Rubio. Stubbs was the first player in Arizona history to record 300 kills, 300 digs and 100 blocks in one season and helped the program to back-to-back Sweet 16 appearances.
  • Arizona State: JJ Van Niel comes to Tempe after servicing as an assistant coach and associate head coach at Utah and USC for the past eight years.
  • California: Crissy Jones Schoonderwoerd takes over as the interim head coach after former head man Sam Crosson resigned in July. Jones Schoonderwoerd is no stranger to the Pac-12 as she was an AVCA All-American and a three-time All-Pac-12 performer at Washington (2014-17), helping the Huskies to a pair of Elite Eight appearances.
  • Oregon State: Lindsey Behonick is new to the Pac-12 but brings a wealth of experience after serving as an assistant coach at Pittsburgh for the last 10 years. Pitt is fresh off back-to-back Final Four appearances and Behonick helped the program win four ACC Championships and compile a 258-62 record during her time there.
  • UCLA: After helping guide San Diego to a Final Four appearance last season as an assistant coach, Alfee Reft becomes just the fourth Bruin head coach in UCLA history. He previously served as an assistant coach at Illinois and Minnesota and currently serves as a season assistant coach for the U.S. Womens National Team.
  • Washington: Leslie Gabriel is the other alum to take over the program where she played. From 1995-1998 Gabriel was one of the best blockers in Pac-12 history and is third all-time in the Huskies record book with 613. Gabriel will get the chance to lead the Huskies after being on UWs staff through multiple head coaches since 2001, helping the Huskies to 21 straight NCAA tournament appearances and the 2005 National Championship.

MARQUEE NON-CONFERENCE MATCHUPS

Pac-12 programs will play a total of 19 games against non-conference opponents ranked in the AVCA Preseason Poll:

  • Stanford: vs. No. 11 Florida (loss vs. Florida on August 29); at No. 1 Texas (win at Texas on Sept. 3); at No. 23 Rice (win at Rice on Sept. 5); vs. No. 14 Ohio State (win at home on Sept. 8); vs. No. 7 Minnesota (win at home Sept. 9); vs. No. 5 Nebraska (Sept. 12); at No. 4 Louisville (Sept. 17)
  • Oregon: vs. No. 13 San Diego (win vs. San Diego on Aug. 25 in Hawaii); vs. No. 7 Minnesota (loss at Stanford on Sept. 8); vs. No. 14 Ohio State (win at Stanford on Sept. 9); at No. 5 Pittsburgh (Sept. 14)
  • Washington State : at No. 4 Louisville (loss to Louisville on Aug. 26); vs. #17 BYU (win at home on Sept. 8); at No. 15 Baylor (Sept. 13); at No. 1 Texas (Sept. 15)
  • USC: at No. 19 Houston (loss to Houston on Aug. 25); at No. 23 Rice (loss to Rice on Aug. 26); at No. 15 Purdue (Sept. 15)
  • Arizona: at No. 2 Wisconsin (loss at Wisconsin on Sept. 7)

HOW TO WATCH

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING

  • Pac-12 institutions have won 17 of the 42 all-time NCAA championships in womens volleyball, four more than the next closest conference (Big Ten), and four of the past 12.
  • The Conference has had at least five teams earn NCAA Tournament bids in 24 consecutive seasons and eight postseason berths in five of the past 10 tournaments.
  • Four different Pac-12 teams have won at least one NCAA title (UCLA, USC, Stanford, Washington), double any other conference. The Big Ten (Nebraska, Penn State) and Big West (Hawaii, Long Beach State) are the only other leagues with multiple NCAA champions.
  • Seven different Pac-12 programs have made NCAA semifinal appearances since 2001 and 14 of the past 22 NCAA championship matches have included at least one Pac-12 program.
  • At least one Pac-12 team has played in 27 of the 42 NCAA title matches all-time, the most of any league. At least one Big Ten team has been in 22 NCAA finals all-time and a Big West team has played in the title match nine times.
  • Five NCAA title matches have been between two Pac-12 teams (2002, 1994, 1992, 1984, 1981). The only other conference to have an all-conference NCAA title match is the Big Ten, which has done so three times (2021, 2013, 2000).
  • A Pac-12 team has been one of the final four teams in all but six years of the NCAA tournament.
  • Since 2010, the Pac-12 has the second-most NCAA Tournament berths of any league with 94.
  • The Pac-12 has had 10 or more first, second and third-team All-America selections in 13 of the last 18 seasons. Thirteen former Pac-12 players have earned first, second or third-team All-America honors four times, while 30 players have earned All-America honors three times, with Magda Jehlarova (Washington State) garnering her third nod last season.
  • Since 1990, Pac-12 players garnered AVCA Player of the Year honors 15 times, including the seven of the last 12  - Californias Carli Lloyd (2010), USCs Alex Jupiter (2011), Oregons Alaina Bergsma (2012), Washingtons Krista Vansant (2013), USCs Samantha Bricio (2015) and Stanfords Kathryn Plummer (2017 and 2018). Overall, the Pac-12 has produced 16 student-athletes that have won AVCA Player of the Year, the most of any league. Thirteen Big Ten student-athletes have earned the honor, along with 10 from the Big West and one each from the Big 12 and WCC.
  • The Honda Sports Award for volleyball has been bestowed upon a Pac-12 athlete 21 times in its 47 years of existence, including eight of the past 12. The Big Ten has had 11 student-athletes earn the honor, the Big West seven, the SEC two and the Big 12, WCC, A-10 and MWC each one.

CONFERENCE STANDINGS ( Expanded Standings )

Teams Pac-12 Record Overall Record
(RV) Arizona State 0-0 9-0
California 0-0 9-0
#11 Washington State 0-0 8-1
#7 Oregon 0-0 7-1
(RV) UCLA 0-0 7-1
(RV) Washington 0-0 7-1
#5 Stanford 0-0 6-2
Colorado 0-0 6-2
Oregon State 0-0 5-3
(RV) USC 0-0 4-4
Utah 0-0 4-4
Arizona 0-0 3-5

UPCOMING SCHEDULE ( Full Schedule )

Wednesday, Sept. 13 TV/Stream Time (PT)
#11 Washington State at #18 Baylor ESPN+ 6:00 p.m. PT
Utah at #12 BYU ESPN+ 6:00 p.m. PT
Thursday, Sept. 14
(RV) Arizona State at Memphis ESPN+ 11:00 a.m. PT
Illinois vs. (RV) USC (West Lafayette, Ind.) Big Ten Network 2:30 p.m. PT
#7 Oregon at #8 Pittsburgh ACCN+ 4:00 p.m. PT
Portland State at Oregon State OSU Live Stream 5:00 p.m. PT
Colorado State at Colorado Pac-12 Mountain 6:00 p.m. PT
Long Beach State at Arizona ARIZ Live Stream 6:00 p.m. PT
(RV) Washington at Cal Poly ESPN+ 7:00 p.m. PT
Friday, Sept. 15
Montana State vs. California (Reno, Nev.) 11:00 a.m. PT
Arkansas-Little Rock vs. (RV) Arizona State (Memphis, Tenn.) 1:00 p.m. PT
(RV) James Madison vs. #7 Oregon (Pittsburgh, Pa.) 2:00 p.m. PT
Pepperdine vs. (RV) Washington (San Juis Obispo, Calif.) 3:00 p.m. PT
(RV) UCLA at Oklahoma ESPN+ 3:00 p.m. PT
USC at #17 Purdue Big Ten Network 5:00 p.m. PT
#11 Washington State at #6 Texas Longhorn Network 5:00 p.m. PT
Colorado at (RV) Colorado State MW Network 6:00 p.m. PT
New Mexico State at Utah Pac-12 Insider 6:00 p.m. PT
Saturday, Sept. 16
Southern Miss vs. (RV) Arizona State (Memphis, Tenn.) 8:00 a.m. PT
Saint Mary's vs. (RV) Washington (San Luis Obispo, Calif.) 10:30 a.m. PT
(RV) UCLA at Oklahoma ESPN+ 12:00 p.m. PT
Alabama State at Arizona ARIZ Live Stream 12:30 p.m. PT
California at Nevada MW Network 1:00 p.m. PT
Oregon State at Portland State ESPN+ 7:00 p.m. PT
Sunday, Sept. 17
#5 Stanford at #2 Louisville ESPN2 10:00 a.m. PT
#7 Oregon at (RV) Marquette FS1 11:00 a.m. PT
Denver at Colorado Pac-12 Mountain 1:00 p.m. PT

2023 PAC-12 WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL WEEKLY AWARDS

Offensive Defensive Freshman
Aug. 28 Mimi Colyer, ORE Karson Bacon, ORE Maggie Li, CAL
Sept. 4 Kendall Kipp, STAN Kami Miner, STAN Maggie Li, CAL
Sept. 11 Skylar Fields, USC Elena Oglivie, STAN Maggie Li, CAL