2023 Pac-12 Player of the Year: Kendall Kipp, Stanford
2023 Pac-12 Setter of the Year: Kami Miner, Stanford
2023 Pac-12 Libero of the Year: Elena Oglivie, Stanford
2023 Pac-12 Freshman of the Year: Maggie Li, California
2023 Pac-12 Coach of the Year: J.J. Van Niel, Arizona State
The Pac-12 announced today the All-Pac-12 honors for the 2023 women's volleyball season, as voted on by the Conference's head coaches.
Back-to-back Pac-12 Champion Stanford garnered three of the five major postseason honors with
Kendall Kipp
repeating as Pac-12 Player of the Year;
Kami Miner
picking up a second straight Pac-12 Setter of the Year award and
Elena Oglivie
earning Pac-12 Libero of the Year again in 2023. This marks the second time since the Setter and Libero of the Year awards were introduced in 2011 the Cardinal have swept all three honors in consecutive years after
Kathryn Plummer
was the Player of the Year,
Jenna Gray
was the Setter of the Year and
Morgan Hentz
was the Libero of the Year in 2017 and 2018.
California's
Maggie Li
was voted Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, joining former Bears
Cara Dane
(1990) and
Holly McPeak
(1987) as the third freshman honoree in program history.
In just his first season at the helm, Arizona State's
J.J. Van Niel
was voted Pac-12 Coach of the Year, becoming the first Sun Devil head coach to earn the nod since
Patti Snyder
in 1992.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR - Kendall Kipp, OPP, Stanford (Newport Beach, Calif.)
Kendall Kipp
returned for a fifth year in 2023 and becomes the fifth Cardinal to garner Pac-12 of the Year honors in back-to-back years, joining former Stanford standouts
Kathryn Plummer
(2017, 2018),
Foluke Akinradewo
(2007, 2008),
Logan Tom
(2001, 2002) and
Kerri Walsh
(1998, 1999). Overall it is the league-leading 18th Player of the Year award for Stanford in 38 years of Pac-12 women's volleyball, while a Cardinal has earned the honor in four of the last seven seasons. Kipp was again key to Stanfords second straight Pac-12 title run in 2023, helping the Cardinal go 19-1 in league play as they captured the championship by a three-match margin. The Newport Beach native's .48 aces per set ranks first in the conference and 23rd in the nation with her team-best 4.13 kills per set and 5.08 points per set both ranking third in the Pac-12.
SETTER OF THE YEAR - Kami Miner, S, Stanford (Redondo Beach, Calif.)
Junior
Kami Miner
earns her third consecutive individual Conference honor after being named the 2021 Pac-12 Freshman of the Year two seasons ago and the Pac-12 Setter of the Year in 2022 and again this fall. She is the third Stanford setter to earn the award in multiple years after former standouts
Madi Bugg
(2013, 2014, 2015) and
Jenna Gray
(2017, 2018, 2019) each garnered the honor three times. Overall, a Cardinal has been voted setter of the year eight of the 13 years since the award was introduced in 2011. Miner's 11.71 assists per set is the top mark in the Conference and ranks third nationally while she keyed an efficient Stanford attack that hit a NCAA-best .316 during the regular season. Her steady play has propelled the Cardinal to a 26-3 record overall, their 21st Pac-12 title and the No. 2 overall national seed in the 2023 NCAA Tournament.
LIBERO OF THE YEAR - Elena Oglivie, L, Stanford (Honolulu, Hawaii)
Elena Oglivie
was voted the Pac-12 Libero of the Year for a second consecutive year, joining three-time honoree
Morgan Hentz
as the only other Cardinal to earn the award more than once since its inception in 2011. The senior led Stanford with 434 digs, averaging 4.17 per set to rank second in the Pac-12, and was a four-time Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week award winner this season on Sept. 11, Oct. 9, Nov. 6 and Nov. 20. Oglivie anchored a Cardinal defense that held opponents to a .192 average, third-best in the Conference. The Honolulu native was instrumental in the Cardinal earning a top-four national seed for a second straight year as Stanford hosts Fresno State at home on Friday, Dec. 1 at 7 p.m. PT to begin its NCAA Tournament run.
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR - Maggie Li, OH, California (Beijing, China)
Maggie Li
is just the third Bear to be voted Pac-12 Freshman of the Year and first in 33 years after former Cal standout
Cara Dane
picked up the award in 1990, three years after
Holly McPeak
was the first Bear to be named the Freshman of the Year in 1987. Li started all 31 matches in 2023, leading California to its first winning season since 2019 at 16-15 overall and most conference wins (5) since winning 10 in 2019. The top freshman in the conference in several categories, she tallied 441 kills and 3.90 kills per set, which ranked third and fourth, respectively in the Pac-12, with her 4.35 points per set ranking fifth overall. The Beijing native recorded 11 double-doubles, tied for team-best, and was third on the team with 265 digs. Li earned Pac-12 Freshman of the Week honors six times this season, two shy of the eight Oregon's
Mimi Colyer
earned last year to set the Pac-12 record and matching the six by USCs
Ebony Nwanebu
in 2013.
COACH OF THE YEAR - J.J. Van Niel, Arizona State
In his first year as a head coach, Arizona State's
J.J. Van Niel
becomes the third Sun Devil to earn the Pac-12 Coach of the Year award, joining two-time honoree
Patti Snyder
(1990, 1992) and
Debbie Brown
(1986). The former USC assistant is only the third coach in Pac-12 history to garner the nod in a debut season, joining former USC interim head coach
Jerritt Elliott
, who picked up the award in his first season in 1999, and legendary Stanford head man
John Dunning
, who was named the Pac-12 Coach of the Year in his first season in 2001. Van Niel led the Sun Devils to a historic 2023 campaign, going 26-6 for their third-most wins all-time and setting program records for most conference wins (14) and most sweeps (19) in a single season. ASU began the season 14-0, the best start by a new head coach in the NCAA era, and went on to finish tied for third in the Pac-12 - the Sun Devils' highest finish since 1993 - en route to a NCAA Tournament bid for the first time since 2015.
ALL-CONFERENCE HONORS
Below is the 18-member All-Pac-12 team and seven-member Pac-12 All-Freshman team, also voted on by the leagues 12 head coaches. Head coaches were not allowed to vote for their own player or themselves. Players must appear in two-thirds of their institutions Conference matches to be eligible for Pac-12 postseason awards.
Five Pac-12 teams are headed to the NCAA Tournament
, which begins this week with Stanford, Oregon and Washington State all hosting first and second round matches and the Sun Devils and Trojans competing as well.
2023 ALL-PAC-12 WOMENS VOLLEYBALL TEAM
|
PLAYER, TEAM
|
POS.
|
HT.
|
YR.
|
HOMETOWN
|
|
Caitie Baird, Stanford****
|
OH
|
6-3
|
RS Sr.
|
Indianapolis, Ind.
|
|
Mimi Colyer, Oregon**
|
OH
|
6-3
|
So.
|
Lincoln, Calif.
|
|
Anna Dodson, UCLA***
|
MB
|
6-5
|
RS Sr.
|
Fort Collins, Colo.
|
|
Skylar Fields, USC**
|
OH
|
6-2
|
5th Yr.
|
Missouri City, Texas
|
|
Sami Francis, Stanford
|
MB
|
6-6
|
Jr.
|
San Diego, Calif.
|
|
Gabby Gonzales, Oregon
|
OH
|
6-3
|
Sr.
|
Marietta, Ga.
|
|
Magda Jehlrov, Washington State*****
|
MB
|
6-3
|
5th Yr.
|
Prerov, Czech Republic
|
|
Kendall Kipp, Stanford***
|
OPP
|
6-5
|
5th Yr.
|
Newport Beach, Calif.
|
|
Marta Levinska, Arizona State
|
OPP
|
6-3
|
Sr.
|
Riga Latvia
|
|
Morgan Lewis, Oregon
|
OPP
|
6-3
|
Sr.
|
Carlsbad, Calif.
|
|
Maggie Li, California
|
OH
|
6-3
|
Fr.
|
Beijing, China
|
|
Kara McGhee, Oregon
|
MB
|
6-5
|
Sr.
|
San Antonio, Texas
|
|
Kami Miner, Stanford**
|
S
|
6-0
|
Jr.
|
Redondo Beach, Calif.
|
|
Elena Oglivie, Stanford**
|
L
|
5-10
|
Sr.
|
Honolulu, Hawaii
|
|
Hannah Pukis, Oregon****
|
S
|
5-11
|
RS Sr.
|
Tacoma, Wash.
|
|
Elia Rubin, Stanford**
|
OH
|
6-1
|
So.
|
Santa Monica, Calif.
|
|
Pia Timmer, Washington State****
|
OH
|
6-2
|
5th Yr.
|
Emlichheim, Germany
|
|
Mia Tuaniga, USC**
|
S
|
5-9
|
Jr.
|
Long Beach, Calif.
|
** two-time selection; *** three-time selection; **** four-time selection; ***** five-time selection
Honorable Mention:
Karson Bacon, ORE; Geli Cyr, ASU; Tara DeSa, CAL; Lexi Hadrych, COLO; Skyy Howard, COLO; Iman Isanovic, WSU; Claire Jeter, ASU; Annalea Maeder, CAL; Georgia Murphy, ORE; Iman Ndiaye, UCLA; Katy Ryan, WSU; Shannon Shields, ASU; Mary Shroll, ASU; Maya Tabron, COLO; Argentina Ung, WSU; Mychael Vernon, OSU; McKenna Vicini, STAN; London Wijay, USC.
2023 PAC-12 ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM
|
PLAYER, TEAM
|
POS.
|
HT.
|
HOMETOWN
|
|
Kierstyn Barton, Washington
|
OH
|
6-1
|
Chandler, Ariz.
|
|
Lily Dwinell, Colorado
|
OH
|
6-2
|
San Clemente, Calif.
|
|
Kamryn Gibadlo, Utah
|
OH
|
6-1
|
Cave Creek, Ariz.
|
|
Maggie Li, California
|
OH
|
6-3
|
Beijing, China
|
|
Cayla Payne, Colorado
|
MB
|
6-4
|
Carlsbad, Calif.
|
|
Katy Wessels, Washington
|
MB
|
6-2
|
Lewiston, Idaho
|
|
London Wijay, USC
|
OH
|
5-10
|
Porter Ranch, Calif.
|