Women's Volleyball Pac-12 Conference

Pac-12 Women's Volleyball Weekly Rundown - Sept. 6, 2023

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

It's a big week ahead for Pac-12 women's volleyball as marquee matchups are on the docket for the league's top-ranked teams. No. 5 Stanford and No. 6 Oregon will each face a pair of top-25 teams as part of the Pac-12/Big 10 Challenge at Maples Pavilion, with the Cardinal and Ducks squaring off against #15 Ohio State and #10 Minnesota over the weekend. Stanford will finish the slate with a third Big-10 matchup, hosting No. 4 Nebraska on Tuesday, Sept. 12 at 6 p.m. on ESPN. No. 13 Washington State, hosting a second straight tournament in Pullman, will welcome No. 8 BYU to Bohler Gym on Friday, Sept. 8, where the Cougars will have their second shot at a top-10 win this season.

LAST WEEK IN REVIEW

  • Pac-12 squads went 25-6 during week two of the 2023 campaign, which included three teams - No. 6 Oregon, Arizona State and California - remaining unbeaten.
  • The Ducks have been dominant thus far, losing just one set over total six matches this year, easily dispatching San Diego State (3-1), UC Santa Barbara (3-0) and Pepperdine at the San Diego State Invitational last weekend. Oregon has faced three opponents this year that were NCAA Tournament teams (San Diego, Hawaii, Pepperdine) and beat them handily.
  • The Sun Devils stayed hot as well, taking care of business in New Mexico at the Borderland Invitational with 3-1 wins over UTEP, San Francisco and New Mexico State. It's the best start for ASU since the 2015 squad went 15-0 to begin the year.
  • California continues to surprise after two more wins on the weekend against Portland State (3-1) and Southern Utah (3-0). Interim head coach Crissy Jones Schoonderwoerd has the Bears rolling as their five wins is just two shy of the seven they had all of last season. Freshman Maggie Li is a big reason why with the Beijing native picking up her second straight Pac-12 Freshman of the Week honor after collecting 33 kills on .329 hitting while recording 14 digs, five service aces and 5.5 points per set across the two wins. The 5-0 start for the Bears is their best since the 2019 season.
  • No. 5 Stanford is putting itself to the test during non-conference play and that started last week with a pair of top-10 matchups. Despite falling to then-No. 8 Florida at home, the Cardinal rebounded strongly with the program's first-ever win in Austin over No. 7 Texas, a 3-0 sweep to boot. Stanford finished out the road trip with a 3-0 sweep of Rice, who was ranked in the first two polls of the season but dropped out just before the showdown with the Cardinal. The win against the Longhorns came behind strong performances by who other than reigning Pac-12 Player of the Year Kendall Kipp and Setter of the Year Kami Miner , with the pair earning Pac-12 Offensive and Defensive Player of the Week honors after the big win.
  • In addition to Oregon, ASU and Cal, five other Pac-12 teams went unbeaten during week two action. No. 13 Washington State and Colorado faced little resistance with the Cougars picking up three home wins over Northwestern State (3-0), Drake (3-1) and Tulsa (3-0) and the Buffs beating Northern Colorado, Xavier and Charlotte with three straight sweeps. Washington and UCLA each took down Indiana and Long Beach State on the weekend, while Oregon State showed out with a pair of sweeps over Oklahoma and Boise State in Corvallis.
  • Arizona went 2-1 a the GCU Tournament to get back to .500 with the victories coming over LIU Brooklyn (3-0) and a tightly contested match against host Grand Canyon (3-2).
  • Utah pick up one win on the weekend at home against UNLV but fell to Utah State (0-3) and at Portland State (1-3), while USC dropped both its matches against Hawaii in Honolulu.

THIS WEEK

  • No. 5 Stanford and No. 6 Oregon will be competing in the Pac-12/Big 10 Challenge, which the Cardinal are hosting at Maples Pavilion over the weekend. No. 10 Minnesota and No. 15 Ohio State will come west for showdowns with the Cardinal and Ducks Friday, Sept. 8 and Saturday, Sept. 9. The Friday doubleheader on Pac-12 Network will feature Oregon and Minnesota at 4:30 p.m. PT followed by Stanford vs. Ohio State at 7 p.m. PT, while Saturday's lineup starts with Oregon and Ohio State at 4:30 p.m. PT and caps with Minnesota and Stanford at 7 p.m. PT, both on Pac-12 Insider.
  • Stanford finishes out the challenging week-three slate with a Tuesday, Sept. 12 match hosting No. 4 Nebraska at 6 p.m. PT live on ESPN. The Cardinal are in the midst of a non-conference stretch in which six of seven opponents are ranked in the latest AVCA Top-25 Poll, while this will be the first big test of the season for the undefeated Ducks.
  • No. 13 Washington State will face its second top-10 opponent of the season and will hope the result is different this time around as the Cougars welcome No. 8 BYU to Bohler Gym on Friday, Sept. 8 at 7 p.m. PT on Pac-12 Insider. WSU's week-three schedule starts with a Wednesday, Sept. 6 matchup with UC Irvine (6 p.m. PT) followed by a Thursday, Sept. 7 meeting with Towson (8 p.m. PT on Pac-12 Insider) before the big match against the "other" Cougars on Friday.
  • Arizona State will put its winning streak on the line, traveling a short distance north to Flagstaff for a trio of matches against Northern Arizona (Thursday, Sept. 7, 6:30 p.m. PT), Boise State (Friday, Sept. 8 and Stephen F. Austin (Saturday, Sept. 9 at 11 a.m. PT).
  • California has a busy week ahead with four matches on the docket. The Bears will host St. Mary's on Wednesday, Sept. 6 at 7 p.m PT (CAL Live Stream) before heading to San Marcos, Texas for the Bobcat Classic, where they will face Southeastern Louisiana (Friday, Sept. 8 8 a.m. PT), Texas State (Friday, Sept. 8 5 p.m. PT on ESPN+) and Abilene Christian (Saturday, Sept. 9 at 9 a.m. PT).
  • Arizona may have the most daunting task of all this week with a road trip to Wisconsin to take on the top-ranked Badgers on Thursday, Sept. 7 at 5 p.m. PT live on FS1. The Wildcats wrap up the tournament Saturday against Miami at 5 p.m. PT on BTN+.
  • Since losing its season opener, Colorado has reeled off five straight wins and will hope to keep that momentum going in the state of Kansas this weekend with matchups against Kansas (Friday, Sept. 8 1 p.m. PT) and host Wichita State (Saturday, Sept. 9 at 5 p.m. PT).
  • Oregon State will go south to Southern California for the CBU/UCR Invitational with matches set against Nevada (Friday, Sept. 8 11 a.m. PT), UC Riverside (Friday, Sept. 8 6:00 p.m. PT on ESPN+) and California Baptist (Saturday, Sept. 9 at 12 p.m. PT on ESPN+).
  • UCLA is the Pac-12 third team to travel to Hawaii during the non-conference slate with the Bruins going up against Pepperdine on Thursday at 7:45 p.m. PT, Liberty on Friday at 7:45 p.m. PT and host Hawaii on Sunday at 8 p.m. PT on ESPN+.
  • USC will hope some home cookin' will get the Trojans back in the win column, hosting UC Davis (Friday 7 p.m. PT), Marist (Saturday 1 p.m. PT) and San Diego (Sunday 2 p.m. PT) as part of the Trojan Invitational at the Galen Center Sept. 8-10.
  • Utah will also be at home for the Utah Classic with matches against Tennessee State (Friday, Sept. 8 11 a.m. PT), UC Santa Barbara (Friday, Sept. 8 at 6 p.m. PT) and San Francisco (Saturday, Sept. 9 at 3 p.m. PT) available to watch on the UTAH Live Stream.
  • Rounding out the week-three slate is the Husky Invitational with Washington welcoming Memphis (Thursday, Sept. 7 at 7 p.m. PT), UNLV (Friday, Sept. 8 at 7 p.m. PT) and Florida International (Sunday, Sept. 10 at 12 p.m. PT) to Seattle. All three matches will be live on the Washington Live Stream. The Huskies will have to move forward without one of their most experienced returners in Emoni Bush, a 2022 All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention selection a year ago, as the junior underwent season-ending shoulder surgery last week.

THREE IN LATEST AVCA TOP 25

  • For a second straight week, three Pac-12 teams appeared in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Coaches Top 25 on Sept. 4 in No. 5 Stanford, No. 6 Oregon and No. 13 Washington State.
  • After going 1-1 against then-No.8 Florida and No. 7 Texas, the Cardinal fell three spots but still remain in the top five in the fifth spot.
  • Oregon stayed steady at No. 6 after a 3-0 weekend in San Diego and remains unbeaten on the year.
  • The Cougars were also perfect on the weekend to move to 5-1 and were rewarded with a No. 13 ranking, a four-spot climb.
  • Washington continued to receive votes in a third straight poll (32 votes).

AMONG THE NCAA LEADERS (Team)

  • Through two weeks of action, five Pac-12 teams rank in the top 10 in hitting percentage, three more than any other conference in the country. Arizona State is second (.359), Oregon is fourth (.341), Colorado is fifth (.340), Washington State is sixth (.340) and Stanford is eighth (.335).
  • Stanford is fourth in the country in kills per set (15.06), followed by Oregon and Washington State in a tie for 21st (14.26).
  • Oregon ranks ninth in the country in blocks per set with 3.05, while Washington is seventh overall in aces per set (2.47).
  • Stanford ranks sixth in assists per set (13.88), followed by Oregon in 17th (13.37) and California in 21st (13.24).

AMONG THE NCAA LEADERS (Individual)

  • Arizona State's Marta Levinska ranks 17th in the NCAA with 0.71 aces per set.
  • Stanford's Kami Miner is fourth overall in assists per set with 11.81.
  • USC's Skylar Fields it No. 1 in the country in attacks per set (14.42), while Colorado's Skyy Howard is seventh at 1.69.
  • Colorado's Alexia Kuehl and Arizona State's Claire Jeter rank eighth (.532) and ninth (.508), respectively, in hitting percentage, followed by Washington State's Magda Jehlarova in 12th at (.500).
  • USC's Fields owns the Pac-12's top kills per set average through two weeks at 5.11, which ranks fourth in the country. Oregon's Mimi Colyer is ninth (4.84) and Stanford's Kendall Kipp is 20th (4.54).
  • Colyer (5.84) and Fields (5.63) also rank fifth and seventh, respectively, in the NCAA in points per set.

BY THE NUMBERS

  • Pac-12 teams have gone 48-17 (.738) through two weeks of play, which ranks second among Power 5 Conferences, trailing only the SEC (.750).
  • Arizona State, California and Oregon are three of just 32 teams in the country that remain undefeated.
  • Washington State fifth year senior Magda Jehlarova is the NCAA's active career leader for total blocks with 620. With 13 over three matches 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. The 13 blocks also launched Jehlarova into the top-10 in Pac-12 history and needs just 137 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 553.
  • USC's Skyar Fields ranks fourth on the active career leader list for kills with 1,621 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 4,203 assists total.
  • USC's Ellie Snook is fourth on the active career digs list with 2,197, while Washington State's Iman Isanovic is fifth on the active career total attacks list with 4,315.

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 (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); vs. #17 BYU (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 (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 6-0
#6 Oregon 0-0 6-0
California 0-0 5-0
Colorado 0-0 5-1
#13 Washington State 0-0 5-1
#5 Stanford 0-0 4-1
UCLA 0-0 4-1
(RV) Washington 0-0 4-1
Oregon State 0-0 3-2
Arizona 0-0 3-3
Utah 0-0 2-3
USC 0-0 1-4

UPCOMING SCHEDULE ( Full Schedule )

Wednesday, Sept. 6 TV/Stream Time (PT)
UC Irvine at #13 Washington State Pac-12 Insider 6:00 p.m. PT
St. Mary's at California CAL Live Stream 7:00 p.m. PT
Thursday, Sept. 7
Arizona at #1 Wisconsin FS1 5:00 p.m. PT
Arizona State at Northern Arizona ESPN+ 6:30 p.m. PT
Memphis at (RV) Washington WASH Live Stream 7:00 p.m. PT
Pepperdine vs. UCLA (Honolulu, Hawaii) 7:45 p.m. PT
Towson at #13 Washington State Pac-12 Insider 8:00 p.m. PT
Friday, Sept. 8
Southeastern Louisiana vs. California (San Marcos, Texas) 8:00 a.m. PT
Nevada vs. Oregon State (Riverside, Calif.) 11:00 a.m. PT
Tennessee State at Utah 11:00 a.m. PT
Kansas vs. Colorado (Wichita, Kan.) 1:00 p.m. PT
#10 Minnesota vs. #6 Oregon (Stanford, Calif.) Pac-12 Networks 4:30 p.m. PT
Boise State at Arizona State 5:00 p.m. PT
California at Texas State ESPN+ 5:00 p.m. PT
Oregon State at UC Riverside 6:00 p.m. PT
UCSB at Utah 6:00 p.m. PT
#8 BYU at #13 Washington State Pac-12 Insider 7:00 p.m. PT
UNLV at (RV) Washington 7:00 p.m. PT
#15 Ohio State at #5 Stanford Pac-12 Networks 7:00 p.m. PT
Liberty vs. UCLA (Honolulu, Hawaii) 7:45 p.m. PT
Saturday, Sept. 9
Abilene Christian vs. California (San Marcos, Texas) 10:00 a.m. PT
Stephen F. Austin vs. Arizona State (Flagstaff, Ariz.) 11:00 a.m. PT
Oregon State vs. Cal Baptist (Riverside, Calif.) ESPN+ 12:00 p.m. PT
Marist at USC USC Live Stream 1:00 p.m. PT
San Francisco at Utah 3:00 p.m. PT
#15 Ohio State vs. #6 Oregon (Stanford, Calif.) Pac-12 Insider 4:30 p.m. PT
Colorado at Wichita State 5:00 p.m. PT
Miami vs. Arizona (Madison, Wisc.) BTN+ 5:00 p.m. PT
#10 Minnesota at #5 Stanford Pac-12 Insider 7:00 p.m. PT
Sunday, Sept. 10
Florida International at (RV) Washington 12:00 p.m. PT
San Diego at USC Pac-12 Los Angeles 2:00 p.m. PT
UCLA at Hawaii ESPN+ 8:00 p.m. PT
Tuesday, Sept. 12
#4 Nebraska at #5 Stanford ESPN 6:00 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