2023-11-15 23:42:22
Schedule | Standings | Pac-12 Statistics | NCAA Statistics | Pac-12 Record Book
Pac-12 women’s volleyball hits the final stretch of the regular season with just four matches over the final two weeks left to be played. No. 2 Stanford (22-3, 15-1) has built a commanding lead in the standings, owning a three-match lead over No. 18 Arizona State (24-4, 12-4) and No. 6 Oregon (22-5, 12-4). The Cardinal has all but guaranteed at least a share of a second straight Pac-12 title needing just one win over their final four, but will have a chance to clinch outright this weekend if they can win both matches once morest UCLA and No. 24 USC on the road, where they are 12-1 in 2023. With just one conference loss, Stanford is looking to finish its league slate at 19-1 for a second consecutive year, which would mark the sixth time since 2012 the Cardinal have finished at 19-1 or better in the Pac-12.
The league’s other ranked matchup pits the two second-place teams once morest each other on Friday night as No. 6 Oregon visits No. 18 Arizona State. The Ducks will be hoping to return the favor to the Sun Devils in Tempe following ASU beat the Ducks in Eugene in the first meeting between the top-25 ranked squads, but it will be a tough task as Arizona State has been nails at home with a perfect 8-0 record. The winner of the match will still have a shot at a share of the Pac-12 title, while the loser will officially fall out of contention.
In all, the Pac-12 has five squads ranked in the AVCA Top 25 – No. 2 Stanford, No. 6 Oregon, No. 11 Washington State (20-7, 10-6), No. 18 Arizona State and No. 24 USC (17-9, 11-5) – for a second straight week with a lot left on the line in terms of the fast-approaching NCAA postseason.
LAST WEEK
Stanford captured its second top-10 win in as many weeks and seventh of the season when the Cardinal fought off No. 6 Oregon at home in a five-set nail bitter on Friday, then closed out the weekend with a 3-1 victory over the visiting Beavers, improving Stanford’s all-time time record over Oregon State to a perfect 75-0.
After trailing 2-0 in the match once morest Stanford, Oregon put up a valiant effort, winning the next two sets to push the match to a fifth, but ultimately came up just short at Maples Pavilion as the Cardinal swept the series this year. The Ducks had another tough test at California on Sunday as the Bears didn’t let them off easy in a five-setter that went to Oregon.
Arizona State put its loss to the Trojans in the rearview mirror quickly, getting some revenge once morest Colorado (14-13, 6-10) for an earlier loss in a 3-1 win before sweeping Utah (10-16, 5-11) for the Sun Devils’ school-record 17th sweep of the season. Senior Marta Levinska earned her fourth Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week award of 2023, giving her four of the Sun Devils’ eight offensive honors all-time.
The Trojans split their weekend road trip in the Pacific Northwest with a sweep over Washington – USC’s first straight-set win in Seattle since 2011 – but fell in five sets to then-No. 9 Washington State in Pullman to end the weekend, splitting the season series with the Cougars. USC’s London Wijay was named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Week for the fourth time this season, the first time a Trojan has done so since Raquel Lazaro was a four-time freshman honoree in 2018.
Washington State hit some adversity over the last month and had lost three of four matches heading into the weekend once morest UCLA and No. 25 USC. Unfortunately the Cougars suffered another upset at the hands of the Bruins in a five-set loss at home, but rebounded to take down the Trojans in a much-needed victory in a tightly contested match that went the distance.
UCLA on the other hand seems to be surging at the right time, winning five of its last six matches, including its first top-10 win of the season over the Cougars and a win at Washington for a 2-0 weekend. At 16-10 and 8-8 in Pac-12 play, the Bruins have moved themselves into bubble conversation with a chance to bolster its resume with matches once morest No. 2 Stanford and No. 24 USC still remaining over the final two weekends. Senior Anna Dodson picked up UCLA’s first weekly award of the season, earning defensive honors following the middle blocker was key to the 2-0 road weekend, tallying 11 blocks across the two contests.
Arizona (8-19, 3-13) had its best performance of the season, going 2-0 over a weekend for the first time all year. The Wildcats took down Utah 3-1 to end a nine-match losing skid, then battled Colorado in a five-set win on Sunday for its third Pac-12 victory.
Oregon State (10-16, 5-11) went 1-1 in the Bay Area with a 3-1 win at California, avenging its five-set home loss to the Bears in the first meeting between the squads, followed by a 3-1 loss at Stanford.
California (8-19, 4-12), Washington (14-13, 5-11), Utah and Colorado all came up empty on the weekend.
THIS WEEK
The second-to-last-weekend is packed with 12 more matches on Friday, November 17 and Sunday, November 19 with half the contests airing across Pac-12 Networks.
The Ducks – Sun Devils showdown highlights the Friday night slate with that match set for 5 p.m. PT in Tempe, available to watch on the ASU Live Stream. Oregon finishes out the weekend at Arizona on Sunday at 11 a.m. PT while the Sun Devils host Oregon State Sunday at 11 a.m. PT on Pac-12 Arizona and Oregon with ASU looking to avoid another upset at the hands of the Beavers. OSU and Arizona will meet Friday night in Tucson at 4 p.m. PT.
No. 11 Washington State and Washington head to the Mountain Schools, with the Cougars taking on Colorado on Pac-12 Insider at 6 p.m. PT and the Huskies and Utes meeting Friday night, also at 6 p.m. PT. The schools will swap opponents for Sunday with Washington at Colorado (Pac-12 Washington) and Washington State at Utah (Pac-12 Mountain) both scheduled for 11 a.m. PT.
Second-ranked Stanford will look to complete its title quest this weekend, first facing UCLA on Pac-12 Los Angeles at 7 p.m. PT on Friday night before a battle with No. 24 USC, which may be its only remaining road block to the title, on Pac-12 Insider at noon on Sunday. California and USC begin the weekend Friday night at 7 p.m. PT and the Bears and the Bruins will meet at 12 p.m. PT on Pac-12 Bay Area and Pac-12 Los Angeles on Sunday.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE (Full Schedule)
Friday, Nov. 17
TV/Stream
Time (PT)
Oregon State at Arizona
ARIZ Live Stream
4:00 p.m. PT
No. 6 Oregon at No. 18 Arizona State
ASU Live Stream
5:00 p.m. PT
No. 11 Washington State at Colorado
Pac-12 Insider
6:00 p.m. PT
Washington at Utah
6:00 p.m. PT
California at No. 24 USC
USC Live Stream
7:00 p.m. PT
No. 2 Stanford at UCLA
Pac-12 Los Angeles
7:00 p.m. PT
Sunday, Nov. 19
Oregon State at No. 18 Arizona State
Pac-12 Arizona/Oregon
11:00 a.m. PT
No. 6 Oregon at Arizona
ARIZ Live Stream
11:00 a.m. PT
No. 11 Washington State at Utah
Pac-12 Mountain
11:00 a.m. PT
Washington at Colorado
Pac-12 Washington
11:00 a.m. PT
California at UCLA
Pac-12 Bay Area/Los Angeles
12:00 p.m. PT
No. 2 Stanford at No. 24 USC
Pac-12 Insider
12:00 p.m. PT
RPI REVEAL
In the seventh RPI update of the 2023 season on Nov. 12, three Pac-12 teams rank in the top 15 and four are in the top 17.
The four in the top 17 this week are the most among all conferences.
Stanford’s climbed another spot to No. 2, while Oregon moved to No. 8 and Washington State moved to No. 12. Arizona State moved down one spot to No. 17.
USC, which made a 21-spot rise three weeks ago, stayed steady at No. 31, followed by UCLA at No. 42 and Colorado at No. 58. Washington comes in at No. 60 this week with California 12 spots behind at No. 72.
Utah checks in at No. 103, Arizona at No. 129 and Oregon State at No. 150.
FIVE IN LATEST AVCA TOP 25 FOR SECOND STRAIGHT WEEK
For a second straight week, five Pac-12 teams appeared in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Coaches Top 25 poll with Stanford at No. 2, Oregon at No. 6, Washington State at No. 11, Arizona State at No. 18 and USC at No. 24. The five total in the top 25 is tied for the most with the 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, but remains to the only conference this season to have 3 in the top five at any point.
Stanford rose two more sports to No. 2 following a second top-10 win in as many weeks, this one over No. 6 Oregon. The Ducks remained in the No. 6 spots, while Washington State fell out of the the top 10 for the first time since week three following its loss to UCLA and win over the Trojans. Arizona State, who eight weeks ago entered the top 25 for the first time since 2018, fell back one spot to No. 18 following a pair of wins, while the Trojans rose one spot to No. 24 following entering the poll for the first time during the season at No. 25 last week.
WSU’s three-week stint in the top five earlier this season 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 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.
AMONG THE NCAA LEADERS (Team)
Through 12 weeks, four Pac-12 teams rank in the top 20 in hitting percentage. Stanford leads the country (.313), followed by Arizona State in 9th (.286), Washington State in 15th (.283) and Oregon in 17th (.281).
Two teams are in the top 15 in kills per set, with Stanford third in the NCAA (14.53) and Oregon at 14th (13.95).
Oregon is the league’s top-ranked blocks per set squad in 10th (2.75), with Stanford the next best at 15th (2.71) and Colorado and Washington State tied for 20th (2.64).
Arizona State is second in the country with 2.08 aces per set, followed by Stanford in 24th at 1.87 per set.
Stanford ranks second in the country in assists per set (13.75) followed by Oregon in 14th (13.01).
Defensively, Oregon ranks 10th in opponent hitting percentage at .153.
AMONG THE NCAA LEADERS (Individual)
Two rank in the top-10 in assists per set – Stanford’s We are Miners is third (11.82) and Oregon’s Hannah Pukis is ninth (10.89).
USC’s Skylar Fields is fifth in the country in attacks per set (12.62).
Washington State’s Magda Jehlarova is ninth (1.45) in blocks per set with Oregon’s Karson Bacon in 14th (1.40) and Colorado’s Skyy Howard is 18th (1.33).
Oregon’s Kara McGhee in sixth in hitting percentage (.436), followed by WSU’s Jehlarova in 16th (.414).
USC’s Fields owns the Pac-12’s top kills per set average at 5.23, which ranks second in the country. Arizona State’s Marta Levinska is sixth (4.66) and Stanford’s Kendall Kipp is 28th (4.12).
USC’s Fields also has the conference’s top points per set mark at 5.66, which is third in the nation, while ASU’s Levinska is fifth at 5.42 and Stanford’s Kipp ranks 18th at 5.02.
BY THE NUMBERS
Stanford (22-3) is one of just 11 teams in the country to have three or fewer losses through 12 weeks of competition. Arizona State’s 24 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, owns the second-toughest schedule in the country through 12 weeks. Washington State is the next highest with the 13th-toughest schedule, while Oregon is the 18th-toughest, Washington is the 19th-toughest and Arizona’s is the 21st-toughest schedule.
Washington State fifth year senior Magda Jehlarova is the NCAA’s active career leader for total blocks and earlier this season became just the eighth player in the NCAA to reach the 700 mark in the rally-scoring era (since 2001). She added 15 more blocks over the weekend to get to 742 in her career. In September, 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 15 to break the conference’s all-time career record for blocks, currently held by UCLA’s Marissa Hatchettwho played for the Bruins from 1989-92. Oregon’s Kara McGheea transfer from Baylor, is third on the active list with 646.
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 2,068 following surpassing the 2,000 career kills mark once morest Arizona State on Nov. 5.
Oregon’s Hannah Pukis sits atop the active career list for total assists with 5,073, while Stanford’s We are Miners is currently sixth in the NCAA with an 11.55 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 is the Pac-12’s top freshman in kills, kills per set, points and points per set, ranking among the conference’s top-five overall players in all of those categories.
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 once morest opponents ranked in the Top-25 of the AVCA Poll, with its top-three ranked teams – Stanford, Oregon and Washington State, going 10-4 once morest ranked foes. The four losses all came once morest 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 KippSetter of the Year We are Miners 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 Jehlárová (Washington State).
Four of five 2022 AVCA First Team All-Americans return in 2023 (Skylar FieldsUSC; Magda JehlarovaWSU; Kendall KippSTAN; We are Miners (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 My 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 Stubbswho played at Arizona from 1992-94, takes over following 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 following 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 following 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 following 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. Women’s 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 following being on UW’s staff through multiple head coaches since 2001, helping the Huskies to 21 straight NCAA tournament appearances and the 2005 National Championship.
HOW TO WATCH
The league’s teams will be featured 97 times this season across Pac-12 Networks and Pac-12 Insiderwhich is available on Pac-12.com and the Pac-12 Now app, as well as eight partner platforms, including Local Now, Redbox, Samsung TV Plus, Sling, Sportstribal, The Roku Channel, Vizio Bad, Sling and Pipes.
ESPN will also televise three Pac-12 matches on their networks – Nebraska at Stanford on Sept. 12, Stanford at Oregon on Oct. 22 and Oregon at Washington on Oct. 29.
For a full television schedule, visit pac-12.com.
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING
Pac-12 institutions have won 17 of the 42 all-time NCAA championships in women’s 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 – California’s Carli Lloyd (2010), USC’s Alex Jupiter (2011), Oregon’s Alaina Bergsma (2012), Washington’s Krista Vansant (2013), USC’s Samantha Bricio (2015) and Stanford’s 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
#2 Stanford
15-1
22-3
#18 Arizona State
12-4
24-4
#6 Oregon
12-4
22-5
#24 USC
11-5
17-9
#11 Washington State
10-6
20-7
UCLA
8-8
16-10
Colorado
6-10
14-13
Washington
5-11
14-13
Oregon State
5-11
10-16
Utah
5-11
10-16
California
4-12
15-12
Arizona
3-13
8-19
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 Jehlárová, WSU London Wijay, USC
Sept. 25
Marta Levinska, ASU Karson Bacon, ORE London Wijay, USC
Oct. 2
Kendall Kipp, STAN Magda Jehlárová, 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
Nov. 13
Marta Levinska, ASU Anna Dodson, UCLA London Wijay, USC
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