Women's Volleyball Pac-12 Conference

Pac-12 Women's Volleyball Weekly Rundown - Aug. 30, 2023

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Pac-12 women's volleyball heads into week two action with with 30 matches on the books. Eight of 12 teams will play on the road, with California, Colorado, Oregon State and No. 17 Washington State hosting tournaments at home. Highlighting the slate is No. 2 Stanford's match at defending national champion and seventh-ranked Texas Sunday, Sept. 3 live on ESPN2 at 9:30 a.m. PT.

LAST WEEK IN REVIEW

  • Opening week of the 2023 season for Pac-12 volleyball saw three teams go undefeated, led by No. 6 Oregon, who was perfect on opening weekend in Hawaii winning all nine sets against then-No. 13 San Diego, Northwestern and Hawaii. Sophomore and reigning AVCA National Freshman of the Year Mimi Colyer and senior Karson Bacon picked up the first offensive and defensive player of the week nods, respectively, after Colyer recorded a conference-leading 5.5 kills per set and 6.3 points per game and Bacon collected 16 blocks over the three matches.
  • The Ducks weren't the only squad to go 9-0 in sets as Arizona State won the FCGU Invitational with three wins against host FCGU, St. John's and Ole Miss, marking the first time since 2017 the Sun Devils have started the season with three sweeps and first time since 2019 they are 3-0.
  • California, under interim head coach Crissy Jones Schoonderwoerd, went 3-0 in New York to win the Army Invitational, the Bears' first 3-0 start since 2019. Cal freshman Maggie Li earned Pac-12 Freshman of the Week honors after tallying a team-best 34 kills on the weekend, including a double-double in her first career match. She's the first Bear freshman to garner the nod since 2018.
  • No. 2 Stanford easily dispatched Northern Colorado (3-0) and Colorado State (3-1) over the weekend, but dropped a tough matchup against No. 8 Florida at home on Tuesday (3-0). It was a close battle between the two top-ten squads with set two going 29-27 in favor of Florida and the Gators narrowly edging out the Cardinal 25-23 in the third and final set.
  • No. 17 Washington State was one of four other teams to go 2-1 on opening week as the Cougars beat Wright State and Troy in Louisville, but came up short in a challenging road match against the fourth-ranked Cardinal. Colorado got off to a solid start with wins over Campbell and North Texas, dropping a match to last year's Mountain West Champion in UNLV, while Washington and UCLA's first-year head coaches, UW's Leslie Gabriel and UCLA's Alfee Reft , each got a pair of wins in their head coaching debut weekends.
  • Utah split its weekend matches, dropping one to Utah Valley before rebounding with a win over NC State. Arizona and Oregon State, also debuting new head coaches in Charita Stubbs and Lindsey Behonick , went 1-2 to put a first W in the win column.
  • Then-No. 22 USC had a tough challenge in Texas, dropping a pair of ranked matches to then-No. 19 Houston (3-1) and then-No. 23 Rice (3-0) before leaving the Lone Star State with a win against Southern Mississippi (3-0).

THIS WEEK

  • No. 2 Stanford will have to put its loss to No. 8 Florida in the rearview mirror quickly as the schedule doesn't get any easier in the foreseeable future. The Cardinal will travel to Austin to face No. 7 Texas on Sunday, Sept. 3 at 9:30 a.m. PT live on ESPN2 then wrap up the road trip at No. 18 Rice in Houston on Tuesday, Sept. 5 at 4 p.m. PT on ESPN+. Stanford is currently on a non-conference stretch where the Cardinal will face seven straight opponents ranked in the current AVCA Top 25, which began this week with Tuesday's match against the Gators.
  • No. 6 Oregon will head south for a second straight weekend, this time to Southern California for the San Diego State Invitational. The Ducks open the weekend against host San Diego State on Thurs., Aug. 31 at 6:30 p.m. PT on the Mountain West Network, followed by a Friday match against UC Santa Barbara at 4 p.m. PT and a Saturday tournament finale against Pepperdine at 1 p.m. PT. The week two slate should serve as a tune up for the Ducks, who are set to play No. 5 Minnesota and No. 12 Ohio State the following weekend in the Pac-12/Big 10 Challenge at Stanford.
  • No. 17 Washington State will welcome Northwestern State, Drake and Tulsa to Pullman for the Cougar Invitational at Bohler Gym. The Cougars will take on Northwestern State in their home opener on Friday, Sept. 1 at 12 p.m. PT followed by a match with Drake at 7:30 p.m. PT later that evening. WSU wraps the home tournament up against Tulsa on Saturday, Sept. 2 at 6 p.m. PT.
  • Arizona State will try to stay unbeaten in New Mexico as the Sun Devils are slated to take on UTEP (Friday, Sept. 1 at 3 p.m. PT), San Francisco (Saturday, Sept. 2 at 9 a.m. PT) and host New Mexico State (Sunday, Sept. 3 at 12 p.m. PT) as part of the Borderland Invitational.
  • Arizona won't have to go very far as they make the short drive up to Phoenix for the GCU Tournament. The Wildcats open the weekend on against Iowa State on Friday, Sept. 1 at 4:30 p.m. PT, then take on LIU Brooklyn on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. PT before finishing up week two against host Grand Canyon on Sunday at 2 p.m. PT. All three matches will be available to watch on ESPN+.
  • California , already with three wins after totaling seven a season ago, has a chance to add a couple more at home this weekend with matches against Portland State (Friday, Sept. 1 at 7 p.m. PT) and Southern Utah (Saturday, Sept. 2 at 2 pm. PT) at Haas Pavilion. Both contests will be live streamed.
  • Colorado will stay home for a second consecutive week to start the 2023 campaign, hosting the Colorado Classic at CU Events Center. The Buffs take on Xavier Friday, Sept. 1 at 6 p.m. PT and Charlotte on Saturday, Sept. 2 at 5 p.m. PT, both matches available on live stream.
  • Oregon State will play at home with the Beavers facing off against Oklahoma (Friday, Sept. 1 at 3 p.m. PT) on Pac-12 Insider and Boise State, Sunday. Sept. 3 at 11 a.m. PT as part of the Asics Invitational in Corvallis.
  • UCLA also won't have to travel far for its week two matchups as the Bruins head a little south for the Long Beach State Tournament where they will go up against Indiana on Friday, Sept. 1 at 4 p.m. PT and host Long Beach State on Saturday, Sept. 2 at 7 p.m. PT. Both matches will be available on ESPN+.
  • Utah kicks off the week two matches with a Wednesday night contest at in-state foe Utah State at 5 p.m. PT in Logan live on the Mountain West Network. The Utes will return to the Jon M. Huntsman Center to host UNLV on Friday, Sept. 1 at 6 p.m. PT on Pac-12 Insider as former Utah assistant coach Malia Shoji makes her first return to Salt Lake City after taking over the Rebels' program this offseason. Utah concludes week two with a Tuesday, Sept. 5 match at Portland State at 12 p.m. PT on ESPN+.
  • USC will make the trip to Honolulu for a pair of matches at Hawaii, the first scheduled or Thursday, Aug. 31 at 10 p.m. PT and the second for Saturday, Sept. 2, also at 10 p.m. PT. Both contests will be available to watch live on ESPN+.
  • Washington will join the Bruins in Southern California at the Long Beach State Tournament, also facing host Long Beach State (Friday, Sept. 1 at 7 p.m. PT) and Indiana (Saturday, Sept. 2 at 4 p.m. PT) this weekend on ESPN+.

THREE IN LATEST AVCA TOP 25

  • Three Pac-12 teams appeared in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Coaches Top 25 on Aug. 28 in No. 2 Stanford, No. 6 Oregon and No. 17 Washington State.
  • After a 2-0 start on opening weekend, the Cardinal moved up a spot and collected 11 first-place votes.
  • Oregon also climbed the poll three spots after an impressive 3-0 weekend in Hawaii, which included a 3-0 sweep of then-No. 13 San Diego in the season-opener.
  • The Cougars wen 2-1 in Louisville, dropping a match to the host and fourth-ranked Cardinal, and managed to move up four spots from No. 21 to No. 17.
  • USC (13 votes) dropped out after a pair of ranked losses on opening weekend, but received votes, as did Washington (6 votes).

AMONG THE NCAA LEADERS - TEAM (THROUGH 8.28)

  • After opening weekend, four Pac-12 teams rank in the top 15 in hitting percentage, with three in the top -10. Arizona is 4th (.378), Stanford is fifth (.357), Washington State is seventh (.350) and Oregon is 13th (.333).
  • Stanford, Washington State and Oregon also rank in the top-20 in kills per set in 10th (15.29), 15th (14.89) and 18th (14.78), respectively.
  • Oregon is fifth in the country in blocks per set with 3.44, while Arizona State and Washington are tied for 15th overall in aces per set (2.67).
  • Washington State ranks 12th in assists per set (14.11), followed by Oregon in 14th (13.89) and Stanford in 16th (13.86).

AMONG THE NCAA LEADERS - INDIVIDUAL (THROUGH 8.28)

  • Arizona State's Marta Levinska ranks sixth in the NCAA with 1.11 aces per set.
  • Stanford's Kami Miner is third overall in assists per set with 12.43, while USC's Skyar Fields ranks fourth in the country with a 13.80 attacks per set average, followed by Oregon's Mimi Colyer in 12th at 12.78.
  • Utah sophomore KJ Burgess is 11th in the NCAA with a 1.86 blocks per set average, followed Oregon's Karson Bacon in 19th at 1.78.
  • Burgess and Colorado's Alexia Kuehl ranks 17th (.520) and 18th (.516), respectively, in hitting percentage.
  • Colyer own the Pac-12's top kills per set average after opening weekend of 5.33, which ranks fourth in the country. Fields is 15th at 4.90. Colyer also ranks fifth in the NCAA in points per set with 6.33, while ASU's Levinska is ninth at 5.89.

BY THE NUMBERS (THROUGH 8.28)

  • Washington State fifth year senior Magda Jehlarova is the NCAA's active career leader for total blocks with 607. Jehlarova is seven blocks away from entering the top-10 in Pac-12 history and needs just 150 to break the conference's all-time career record for blocks - a number she's surpassed in three of her four seasons in Pullman. Oregon's Kara McGhee , a transfer from Baylor, is third on the list with 543.
  • USC's Skyar Fields ranks fifth on the active career leader list for kills with 1,573 total.
  • Stanford's Kami Miner is currently third in the NCAA with an 11.46 career assists per set mark, while Oregon's Hannah Pukis is second on the active career list with 4,096 assists total.

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 (Sept. 3); at No. 23 Rice (Sept. 5); vs. No. 14 Ohio State (Sept. 8); vs. No. 7 Minnesota (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 (Sept. 8); vs. No. 14 Ohio State (Sept. 9); at No. 5 Pittsburgh (Sept. 14)
  • Washington State : at No. 4 Louisville (loss to Louisville on Aug. 26); 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)
  • Colorado : vs. No. 19 Illinois (Sept. 3)
  • Arizona: at No. 2 Wisconsin (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
Arizona State 0-0 3-0
California 0-0 3-0
#6 Oregon 0-0 3-0
Colorado 0-0 2-1
UCLA 0-0 2-1
#2 Stanford 0-0 2-1
(RV) Washington 0-0 2-1
#17 Washington State 0-0 2-1
Utah 0-0 1-1
Arizona 0-0 1-2
Oregon State 0-0 1-2
USC 0-0 1-2

UPCOMING SCHEDULE ( Full Schedule )

Wednesday, Aug. 30 TV/Stream Time (PT)
Utah at Utah State MW Network 5:00 p.m. PT
Thursday, Aug. 31
Colorado at Northern Colorado ESPN+ 5:00 p.m. PT
#6 Oregon at San Diego State MW Network 6:30 p.m. PT
(RV) USC at Hawaii ESPN+ 10:00 p.m. PT
Friday, Sept. 1
Northwestern State at #17 Washington State 12:00 p.m. PT
Oklahoma at Oregon State Pac-12 Insider 3:00 p.m. PT
UTEP vs. Arizona State (Las Cruces, N.M.) ESPN+ 3:00 p.m. PT
Indiana vs. UCLA (Long Beach, Calif.) ESPN+ 4:00 p.m. PT
UCSB vs. #6 Oregon (San Diego, Calif.) 4:00 p.m. PT
Iowa State vs. Arizona (Phoenix, Ariz.) ESPN+ 4:30 p.m. PT
UNLV at Utah Pac-12 Insider 6:00 p.m. PT
Xavier at Colorado COLO Live Stream 6:00 p.m. PT
Portland State at California CAL Live Stream 7:00 p.m. PT
(RV) Washington at Long Beach State ESPN+ 7:00 p.m. PT
Drake at #17 Washington State 7:30 p.m. PT
Saturday, Sept. 2
San Francisco vs. Arizona State (El Paso, Texas) 9:00 a.m. PT
Pepperdine vs. #6 Oregon (San Diego, Calif.) 1:00 p.m. PT
Southern Utah at California CAL Live Stream 2:00 p.m. PT
Indiana vs. (RV) Washington (Long Beach, Calif.) ESPN+ 4:00 p.m. PT
LIU Brooklyn vs. Arizona (Phoenix, Ariz.) ESPN+ 4:30 p.m. PT
Charlotte at Colorado COLO Live Stream 5:00 p.m. PT
Tulsa at #17 Washington State 6:00 p.m. PT
UCLA at Long Beach State ESPN+ 7:00 p.m. PT
(RV) USC at Hawaii ESPN+ 10:00 p.m. PT
Sunday, Sept. 3
#2 Stanford at #7 Texas ESPN2 9:30 a.m. PT
Boise State at Oregon State 11:00 a.m. PT
Arizona State at New Mexico State 12:00 p.m. PT
Arizona at Grand Canyon ESPN+ 2:00 p.m. PT
Tuesday, Sept. 5
Utah at Portland State ESPN+ 12:00 p.m. PT
#2 Stanford at #18 Rice ESPN+ 4:00 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