Women's Volleyball Pac-12 Conference

Pac-12 Women's Volleyball Weekly Rundown - Nov. 8, 2023

Schedule | Standings | Pac-12 Statistics | NCAA Statistics | Pac-12 Record Book

Another week, another upset in Pac-12 women's volleyball as USC managed its second top-25 win in three weeks with its upset over then-No. 15 Arizona State, just a week after the Sun Devils ended Stanford's 29-match conference winning streak. The Cardinal bounced back nicely from the unexpected defeat, taking down No. 9 Washington State for the second time this season and ending the weekend still in control of its own destiny with a two-match lead in the conference standings with six regular season matches left to play. Second-place Oregon will have a chance to cut into that lead as the Ducks travel to the Bay Area for a Thursday night top-10 showdown at Stanford with first serve set for 6 p.m. PT on Pac-12 Insider.

Thanks to the Trojans' home sweep over the Sun Devils last weekend, the Pac-12 has five teams ranked in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Poll for the first time this season with USC back in the poll at No. 25 after last being ranked in the initial preseason poll on Aug. 15. Three Pac-12 teams remain in the top 10 - No. 4 Stanford, No. 6 Oregon and No. 9 Washington State - while Arizona State remained in the top 20 at No. 17.

Outside of the Stanford-Oregon battle, the other ranked matchup of the weekend features the 25th-ranked Trojans at the ninth-ranked Cougars with Washington State sure to have revenge on its mind after USC handed WSU just its third loss of the season in a five-set thriller in LA. That contest will get underway at 12 p.m. PT on Sunday, Nov. 12. in Pullman.

LAST WEEK

  • Stanford (20-3, 13-1) quickly put the road loss at Arizona State - the Cardinal's first in 30 league matches - behind them and took care of business against No. 9 Washington State (19-6, 9-5) and Washington (14-11, 5-9). The Cardinal won all four matchups against the Northwest foes this season and at 13-1 atop the league standings, have a chance to cruise to another Pac-12 title with the two-match lead heading into the final three weekends. The Stanford defense was stellar against the Cougars and Huskies, led by senior Elena Oglivie who collected 39 digs across the two matches to earn her third Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week award of the season and eighth of her career.
  • Oregon (21-4, 11-3) comfortably captured two home wins over the weekend over Utah (10-14, 5-9) and Colorado (14-11, 6-8) and have won four straight since dropping a home match to Stanford in Eugene on Oct. 22. The Ducks trail the Cardinal by two matches heading into Thursday's big rematch at Maples Pavilion.
  • Arizona State (22-4, 10-4) started the weekend off strong, notching its first win at UCLA (14-10, 6-8) since 2013 and first season series sweep over the Bruins since 1995. Unfortunately the Sun Devils weren't able to complete the LA sweep as the Trojans were too much at home, downing ASU 3-0 on Sunday. Despite the loss to the end the weekend, the Sun Devils' sweep over the Bruins was its 16th of the season, setting a new program record, while ASU has reached double-digit conference wins for the first time since 1999.
  • USC (16-8, 10-4) has been a force on its home court this season, where the Trojans are 10-0 at the Galen Center. That included a pair of sweeps over the weekend against Arizona (6-19, 1-13) and then-No. 15 Arizona State. The wins were largely propelled by senior All-American Skylar Fields , who had arguably the best weekend performance in the country this season, averaging 8.0 kills per set on . 442 hitting and 8.3 points per set. The former Texas transfer not only won her third Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week nod and seventh of her career, but also picked up her third career Gamechanger/AVCA National Player of the Week honor, marking the second straight week the Pac-12 has earned the award. Fields also reached a career milestone, surpassing 2,000 career kills in the weekend finale against the Sun Devils. The Trojans, behind two top-15 wins over the last three weeks, re-entered the AVCA Top 25 for the first time since being ranked in the preseason poll, coming in at No. 25, while the Trojans are tied for third in the conference standings, trailing the Cardinal by three matches.
  • Washington State had a tall task in the Bay Area this weekend and couldn't get it done against Stanford, but was able to end its three-match skid with a sweep at California (15-10, 4-10) and get back in the win column. Despite the loss, the Cougars remain ranked inside the top 10 of the latest AVCA Poll at No. 9.
  • Colorado, UCLA, Utah and Washington joined the Cougars with a split on the weekend. The Buffs and Utes both lost to the Ducks in Eugene but came away with wins over the Beavers in Corvallis. UCLA swept the Wildcats but fell to the Sun Devils and Washington toppled California before ending the weekend with a loss at Stanford. On a high note, Husky freshman Kierstyn Barton picked up her third Pac-12 Freshman of the Week nod after notching a double-double against the Cardinal, which included a career-high 13 digs.
  • Arizona, California (15-10, 4-10) and Oregon State (9-15, 4-10) all came up empty on the weekend.

THIS WEEK

  • Three weeks remain in the regular season and 12 more matches are on deck this upcoming weekend. After five straight weeks with a Friday/Sunday conference slate, this week's matches will run over four days from Thursday, Nov. 9 through Sunday, Nov. 12 with five of the 12 airing live across Pac-12 Networks.
  • The Arizona schools return home this weekend, welcoming Colorado and Utah to Tempe and Tucson. No. 17 Arizona State, who is 6-0 at home this season, and Colorado will meet at 6 p.m. PT on Thursday in a rematch after the first meeting resulted in a Buffs' win in Boulder a few weeks ago before facing the Utes on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. PT. On the flip side, Arizona and Utah go head-to-head on Thurday at 6 p.m. and the Wildcats and Buffs close out the weekend on Saturday at 1 p.m. PT.
  • It will be a big weekend in the Bay Area as the Ducks try to keep pace with the Cardinal in the Pac-12 title race. Oregon suffered a loss at the hands of Stanford in Eugene a few weeks ago, but the Ducks won the previous three meetings, including the Cardinal's lone conference loss a year ago. Trailing by two matches with six to play, Oregon can close the gap with a win on Thursday on the road, where they've gone 9-0 away from Eugene in 2023. Oregon's Saturday matinee matchup at California, set for 11 a.m. PT, will be just as important with few matches left to make up ground. The Cardinal meanwhile control its own path to a second straight Pac-12 title, starting with the Ducks on Thursday followed by Oregon State on Saturday at 3 p.m. PT. The Beavers and Bears will begin the weekend on Thursday at 7 p.m. PT on Pac-12 Bay Area. Stanford does has a small chance to clinch at least a share of the Pac-12 title this weekend, but that would require Oregon to go 0-2 plus Arizona State and USC both going 1-1 or worse. More likely, the Cardinal will have a chance to clinch the title outright the following weekend.
  • Washington and Washington State will host the LA Schools this weekend with UCLA and No. 9 Washington State squaring off on Friday at 7 p.m. PT and No. 25 USC and Washington meeting in Seattle on Pac-12 Insider, also at 7 p.m. PT on Friday. The squads will swap opponents for Sunday with the top-25 matchup in Pullman between the Trojans and Cougars set for 12 p.m. PT and UCLA and Washington closing out the weekend slate on Pac-12 Insider at 1 p.m. PT.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE ( Full Schedule )

Thursday, Nov. 9 TV/Stream Time (PT)
Colorado at No. 17 Arizona State ASU Live Stream 6:00 p.m. PT
No. 6 Oregon at No. 4 Stanford Pac-12 Insider 6:00 p.m. PT
Utah at Arizona Pac-12 Arizona/Mountain 6:00 p.m. PT
Oregon State at California Pac-12 Bay Area 7:00 p.m. PT
Friday, Nov. 10
UCLA at No. 9 Washington State WSU Live Stream 7:00 p.m. PT
No. 25 USC at Washington Pac-12 Insider 7:00 p.m. PT
Saturday, Nov. 11
No. 6 Oregon at California 11:00 a.m. PT
Colorado at Arizona ARIZ Live Stream 1:00 p.m. PT
Oregon State at No. 4 Stanford STAN Live Stream 3:00 p.m. PT
Utah at No. 17 Arizona State ASU Live Stream 5:30 p.m. PT
Sunday, Nov. 12
No. 25 USC at No. 9 Washington State WSU Live Stream 12:00 p.m. PT
UCLA at Washington Pac-12 Insider 1:00 p.m. PT

RPI REVEAL

  • In the sixth RPI update of the 2023 season on Nov. 6, three Pac-12 teams rank in the top 10 and four are in the top 16.
  • For a sixth consecutive week, the three in the top 10 are the most of any conference in the nation, while the four in the top 16 this week are tied with the SEC for most among all conferences.
  • Stanford's win over the ninth-ranked Cougars moved the Cardinal into the No. 3 spot, while Oregon and Washington State stayed steady at No. 7 and No. 10, respectively. Arizona State dropped four spots to No. 16 after its loss to the Trojans.
  • USC, which made a 21-spot rise two weeks ago, moved up to No. 31 after the sweep of the Sun Devils, followed by Washington at No. 44 and UCLA at No. 48. Colorado comes in at No. 51 this week with California 10 spots behind at No. 61.
  • Utah checks in at No. 94, Arizona at No. 137 and Oregon State at No. 152.

SEASON-HIGH FIVE IN LATEST AVCA TOP 25

  • For the first time during the 2023 season, five Pac-12 teams appeared in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Coaches Top 25 poll with Stanford at No. 4, Oregon at No. 6, Washington State at No. 9, Arizona State at No. 17 and USC joining the ranking for the first time since the preseason at No. 25. The three top-10 teams for the Pac-12 are tied with the ACC for most from one conference in the nation while the five total in the top 25 is tied for most with the SEC and Big 12. Earlier this season, the Pac-12 saw a two-week run of three in the top five, but that came to an end on Oct. 16.
  • Stanford rose one spot to No. 4 after its top-10 win over Washington State, Oregon climbed another spot up to No. 6 after its pair of wins over the weekend and the Cougars stayed steady No. 9 despite the loss to the Cardinal. Arizona State, who seven weeks ago entered the top 25 for the first time since 2018, fell back two spots to No. 17 after its road loss to USC, while the Trojans jumped into the No. 25 spot with the upset over the Sun Devils.
  • WSU's three-week stint in the top five was its longest in program history, while the No. 4 ranking was also its highest, besting the previous high of No. 5 back in October of 1995. The week-three jump from No. 11 to No. 7 was the Cougars' first time in the top 10 since 2016.

NCAA D1 COMMITTEE TOP 10 RANKINGS - SECOND REVEAL

  • The NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Committee revealed its second and final top-10 in-season rankings of 2023 on Sunday, Oct. 28.
  • Stanford is projected as the No. 2 seed, Washington State is the No. 5 seed and Oregon is the No. 6 seed. The three Pac-12 teams in the top-10 are the most of any conference in the country, while the Pac-12 owns three of the top six projected seeds according to the committee.
  • In the committee's first rankings released on Sept. 26, three Pac-12 teams appeared in the top-10 with Stanford at No. 4, Washington State at No. 6 and Oregon at No. 7.

GAMECHANGER/AVCA DIVISION I NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE WEEK

  • After not seeing any national weekly honors through the first two months of the season, the Pac-12 has earned the Gamechanger/AVCA Division I National Player of the Week honor in back-to-back weeks with Arizona State senior and three-time Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week this season Marta Levinska earning the conference's first American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Division I National Player of the Week award of the season on Oct. 31 followed by USC All-American senior Skylar Fields, also a three-time Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week in 2023, earning her third career national weekly honor on Nov. 7.
  • The two honorees this season match the total from last fall, while Fields picks up the award in two consecutive years.
  • Levinska was the fifth Sun Devil in program history to earn the honor and Fields collected the 13th national weekly honor in Trojan history.
Date Player
Oct. 31 Marta Levinska, ASU
Nov. 7 Skylar Fields, USC

AMONG THE NCAA LEADERS (Team)

  • Through 11 weeks, four Pac-12 teams rank in the top 15 in hitting percentage. Stanford leads the country (.314), followed by Oregon in 9th (.289), Arizona State in 11th (.287) and Washington State in 13th (.286).
  • Two teams are in the top 25 in kills per set, with Stanford second in the NCAA (14.80) and Oregon at 9th (14.16).
  • Oregon is the league's top-ranked blocks per set squad in 10th (2.78), with Stanford the next best at 14th (2.70), Colorado in 16th (2.68) and Washington State in 19th (2.64).
  • Arizona State is fourth in the country with 2.08 aces per set, followed by Stanford in 17th at 1.91 per set and Washington at 25th at 1.88 aces per set.
  • Stanford continues to lead the country in assists per set (14.01) followed by Oregon in sixth (13.21).
  • Defensively, Oregon ranks 11th in opponent hitting percentage at .153.

AMONG THE NCAA LEADERS (Individual)

  • Two rank in the top-25 in assists per set - Stanford's Kami Miner leads the country (12.05) and Oregon's Hannah Pukis is seventh (11.10).
  • USC's Skylar Fields is sixth in the country in attacks per set (12.47).
  • Washington State's Magda Jehlarova is 10th (1.44) in blocks per set with Oregon's Karson Bacon in 12th (1.43) and Colorado's Skyy Howard is 16th (1.39).
  • Oregon's Kara McGhee in fourth in hitting percentage (.444), followed by WSU's Jehlarova in ninth (.429).
  • USC's Fields owns the Pac-12's top kills per set average at 5.14, which ranks second in the country. Arizona State's Marta Levinska is 12th (4.51) and Stanford's Kendall Kipp is 23rd (4.19).
  • USC's Fields also has the conference's top points per set mark at 5.57, which is third in the nation, while ASU's Levinska is 9th at 5.24 and Stanford's Kipp ranks 15th at 5.12.

BY THE NUMBERS

  • Stanford (20-3) is one of just 13 teams in the country to have three or fewer losses through the 11 weeks of competition. Arizona State's 22 wins are tied for ninth-most among all teams. Top-ranked Nebraska remains the only unbeaten left in the nation.
  • Stanford, who played six ranked teams out of nine non-conference games, has the fourth-toughest schedule in the country through 11 weeks. Arizona is the next highest with the 11th-toughest schedule, while Washington State is the 15th-toughest and Oregon's is the 19th-toughest schedule.
  • Washington State fifth year senior Magda Jehlarova is the NCAA's active career leader for total blocks and recently became just the eighth player in NCAA to reach the 700 mark in the rally-scoring era (since 2011). She added 14 blocks over the weekend to get to 727 in her career. Earlier this season, 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. Jehlarova currently sits in second place in Pac-12 history and needs just 30 to break the conference's all-time career record for blocks. Oregon's Kara McGhee , a transfer from Baylor, is third on the active list with 635.
  • On Oct. 2, Jehlarova earned her second Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week award of the season and the 10th of her career, giving her 11 combined defensive and offensive weekly awards to set a new conference record for most career weekly honors, surpassing former Washington standout Krista Vansant (2011-14).
  • USC's Skyar Fields is the current NCAA active career leader for kills with 2,017, surpassing the 2,000 career kills mark against Arizona State on Nov. 5.
  • Oregon's Hannah Pukis ranks second on the active career list for total assists with 4,983, while Stanford's Kami Miner is currently third in the NCAA with an 11.60 career assists per set mark.
  • Cal freshman Maggie Li, who earned her fifth Pac-12 Freshman of the Week honor on Oct. 30, became the first freshman in Pac-12 history to start the season with three consecutive Pac-12 freshman weekly nods. She is also the first ever Bear to earn a weekly award in three consecutive weeks. Currently, she ranks second among all Division I freshmen with 362 total kills (40th all D-I/3rd Pac-12); third with 3.98 kills per set (39th D-I/4th Pac-12) and 406.5 points (54th D-I/4th Pac-12; and fourth with 4.47 points per set (49th D-I/4th Pac-12). She also leads the team with nine double-doubles on the year while having the second most digs (225) and aces (30) on the roster.

NON-CONFERENCE WRAP

  • Pac-12 programs closed non-conference play at 96-31 (.756), the best mark among all leagues in 2023 (ACC .741, SEC .731; Big 12 .707; Big 10 .671), and a marked improvement over the last two seasons - 84-37 (.694) in 2022 and 78-36 (.684) in 2021.
  • The Pac-12 went 11-8 overall against opponents ranked in the Top-25 of the AVCA Poll, with its top-three ranked teams - Stanford, Oregon and Washington State, going 10-4 against ranked foes. The four losses all came against top-10 opponents, while eight of the 10 wins came on the road or at neutral sites.
  • USC added a ranked win on the road, taking down No. 17 Purdue on the final weekend of non-conference play.

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.

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
#4 Stanford 13-1 20-3
#6 Oregon 11-3 21-4
#17 Arizona State 10-4 22-4
#25 USC 10-4 16-8
#9 Washington State 9-5 19-6
UCLA 6-8 14-10
Colorado 6-8 14-11
Washington 5-9 14-11
Utah 5-9 10-14
California 4-10 15-10
Oregon State 4-10 9-15
Arizona 1-13 6-19

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
Sept. 18 Marta Levinska, ASU Magda Jehlrov, WSU London Wijay, USC
Sept. 25 Marta Levinska, ASU Karson Bacon, ORE London Wijay, USC
Oct. 2 Kendall Kipp, STAN Magda Jehlrov, WSU Maggie Li, CAL
Oct. 9 Caitie Baird, STAN Elena Oglivie, STAN Kierstyn Barton, WASH
Oct. 16 Mychael Vernon, OSU Ryan White, OSU Kierstyn Barton, WASH
Oct. 23 Skylar Fields, USC Kendall Kipp, STAN London Wijay, USC
Oct. 30 Marta Levinska, ASU Mary Shroll, ASU Maggie Li, CAL
Nov. 6 Skylar Fields, USC Elena Oglivie, STAN Kierstyn Barton, WASH