Pac-12 women's volleyball lands four teams in top 10
• Three matches this week involving Pac-12 teams will have national significance. STANFORD takes a road trip to Chapel Hill to face North Carolina (receiving votes), while UCLA takes a quick road trip to Santa Barbara for a tournament and will face No. 18 San Diego. OREGON STATE will be tested, as well, as the Beavers travel to No. 9 BYU. Pac-12 volleyball fans can also watch one of the hottest teams in the nation on television as part of the Conference’s most comprehensive television volleyball coverage. Both of USC’s matches this weekend will be televised on on Pac-12 LA and with the Pac-12 NOW app.
• Eight Pac-12 teams are ranked in the AVCA Coaches poll, four of which moved up from last week. The Pac-12 now has four teams in the top 10, STANFORD at No. 3, USC moved up to No. 6, Washington is No. 8 and ARIZONA STATE climbed to No. 10. OREGON fell one spot to No. 12, ARIZONA climbed three spots to No. 13, UCLA is up eight spots to No. 17 and COLORADO is down two spots to 23rd.
• Four Pac-12 teams remain undefeated after two weekends of action while 10 teams have a record of .500 or better due, in part, to the strength of the league’s defense. Nine Conference teams are limiting opponents to a .178 or worse hitting percentage. That would’ve ranked all nine teams in the top 66 in the country in the NCAA last year out of 328 teams. ARIZONA STATE has been the most unrelenting, boasting a minuscule .076 opponent hitting average, which would have ranked No. 1 in the country, by far, last year. NCAA stats rankings will be released on a weekly basis beginning Sept. 28.
• Pac-12 teams have defeated seven ranked non-conference teams so far this season with USC accounting for three of those wins. The Trojans’ three wins were to teams ranked in the top 11 at the time of the meeting, two of which came in the opening weekend. UCLA traveled to then-No. 17 Hawai’i over the weekend and took down the UH in front of a crowd of over 8,600 fans. Arizona State, Colorado and Stanford have also notched wins over top-10 foes.
• Pac-12 teams went 27-7 in the opening weekend, with 17 of those victories coming in three-set sweeps. Since 2002, league teams have dominated the first weekend of play, going 332-81 (.804).
• The Pac-12 is coming off another historic season which saw an unprecedented 10 teams earn NCAA Tournament bids and went a perfect 10-0 in the first round of the postseason.
• Last year, 14 players were named AVCA All-Americans and eight return for 2015 including senior standouts such as Stanford’s Madi Bugg and Jordan Burgess, USC’s Samantha Bricio, UO’s Martenne Bettendorf, ASU’s Macey Gardner and UW’s Lianna Sybeldon. Sophomores Merete Lutz of Stanford and Mary-Kate Marshall of OSU also return to help lead their respective teams this season.
• One new coach will be roaming the Pac-12 sidelines after WASHINGTON announced the hiring of Keegan Cook, who replaced former UW coach Jim McLaughlin. However, Cook may look familiar to some as he served as an assistant coach under McLaughlin the last two years, helping the Huskies advance to the NCAA semifinal in 2013. Also in coaching news, UTAH head coach Beth Launiere needs just seven more victories for career No. 500. She has spent all 25 years of her career in Salt Lake City.
• FAB Freshman ... Pac-12 volleyball continues to recruit marquee student-athletes. Seven Pac-12 teams landed at least one Volleyball Magazine FAB 50 recruit with OREGON pacing the Conference with four. STANFORD signed the nation’s top recruit according to the publication in Hayley Hodson.
• Once again, the Pac-12 will have the most comprehensive volleyball television coverage of any league in the country. 95 total matches will be broadcast live, with 92 being televised on the Conference's Pac-12 Network. Another three more were selected to be televised on ESPNU. For the full television schedule, visit pac-12.com.
CONFERENCE STANDINGS (Expanded standings)
| Teams | Points | Pac-12 Record | Overall Record |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona | 0 | 0-0 | 6-0 |
| Arizona State | 0 | 0-0 | 6-0 |
| USC | 0 | 0-0 | 6-0 |
| Washington | 0 | 0-0 | 5-0 |
| Washington State | 0 | 0-0 | 5-1 |
| UCLA | 0 | 0-0 | 4-1 |
| Stanford | 0 | 0-0 | 3-1 |
| Oregon | 0 | 0-0 | 5-2 |
| Utah | 0 | 0-0 | 5-2 |
| California | 0 | 0-0 | 3-3 |
| Colorado | 0 | 0-0 | 2-3 |
| Oregon State | 0 | 0-0 | 2-4 |
UPCOMING SCHEDULE (All Times Local To Site)
| Monday, Sept. 7 | TV/Stream | Time |
| #12 OREGON at UTSA | 7 p.m. CT | |
| Tuesday, Sept. 8 | ||
| #12 OREGON at Texas State | 6:30 p.m. CT | |
| Northern Arizona at #10 ARIZONA STATE | Live Stream | 7 p.m. MT |
| Thursday, Sept. 10 | ||
| Utah State at #6 USC (1) | 10 a.m. PT | |
| #3 STANFORD at North Carolina | 6 p.m. ET | |
| CS Northridge at #8 WASHINGTON | 7 p.m. PT | |
| Pepperdine at #6 USC (1) | PAC12/PACLA | 8 p.m. PT |
| Friday, Sept. 11 | ||
| CALIFORNIA vs. Harvard (2) | 10 a.m. ET | |
| Idaho State at #6 USC (1) | 10 a.m. PT | |
| Morehead State at WASHINGTON STATE (6) | Live Stream | 12 p.m. PT |
| CS Northridge at #8 WASHINGTON | 1 p.m. PT | |
| #13 ARIZONA vs. Syracuse (4) | 4:30 p.m. ET | |
| Sam Houston State vs. #23 COLORADO (7) | 4 p.m. CT | |
| #3 STANFORD at Duke | 6:30 p.m. ET | |
| #17 UCLA vs. #18 San Diego (5) | 4 p.m. PT | |
| UTAH at Louisville (3) | 7:30 p.m. ET | |
| OREGON STATE at #9 BYU | 7 p.m. MT | |
| St. Mary's (Calif.) at #8 WASHINGTON | 7 p.m. PT | |
| Ball State at WASHINGTON STATE (6) | Live Stream | 7:30 p.m. PT |
| New Mexico at #6 USC (1) | PACLA | 8 p.m. PT |
| Saturday, Sept. 12 | ||
| CALIFORNIA vs. Air Force (2) | 11 a.m. ET | |
| UTAH vs. Ohio (3) | 12 p.m. ET | |
| #13 ARIZONA at LIU Brooklyn (4) | 12:30 p.m. ET | |
| Louisiana-Lafayette vs. #23 COLORADO (7) | 12:30 p.m. CT | |
| #13 ARIZONA vs. #15 Ohio State (4) | 5 p.m. ET | |
| UTAH vs. Seton Hall (3) | 5:30 p.m. ET | |
| #23 COLORADO at Rice (7) | 7 p.m. CT | |
| OREGON STATE at #9 BYU | 6 p.m. MT | |
| Utah Valley at WASHINGTON STATE (6) | Live Stream | 7 p.m. PT |
| SMU vs. #17 UCLA (5) | 7 p.m. PT | |
| Sunday, Sept. 13 | ||
| Gonzaga at #10 ARIZONA STATE | Live Stream | 2 p.m. MT |
| #17 UCLA at UC Santa Barbara (5) | 2 p.m. PT |
1 - USC Classic, Los Angeles, Calif.; 2 - Service Academy Classic, Arlington, Va.; 3 - Louisville/Active Challenge, Louisville, Kent.; 4 - Blackbird Invitational, Brooklyn, N.Y.; 5 - UCSB Tournament, Santa Barbara, Calif.; 6 - Cougar Challenge, Pullman, Wash.; 7 - Rice Invitational, Houston, Texas
PAC12/PACAZ/PACBA/PACLA/PACMT/PACOR/PACWA - Indicates live broadcast on Pac-12 Networks.
PAC-12 PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
THIS WEEK:
Offensive - Samantha Bricio, USC
Defensive - Brenna DeYoung, Utah
Freshman - Lindsey Vander Weide, Oregon
ALSO NOMINATED:
Offensive: Kalei Mau, ARIZ; Mercedes Binns, ASU; Alexis Austin, COLO; Mary-Kate Marshall, OSU; Hayley Hodson, STAN; Jordan Anderson, UCLA; Adora Anae, UTAH; Melanie Wade, WASH; Kyra Holt WSU.
Defensive: Halli Amaro, ARIZ; Whitney Follette, ASU; Cierra Simpson, COLO; Amanda Benson, ORE; Haley Clarke, OSU; Brittany Howard, STAN; Taylor Formico, UCLA; Alicia Ogoms, USC; Cassie Strickland, WASH; Kate Sommer, WSU.
Freshman: Tyler Spriggs, ARIZ; Naghede Abu, COLO; Kayla Ellis, OSU; Hayley Hodson, STAN; Zana Muno, UCLA; Baylee Johnson, USC; Berkeley Oblad, USC; McKenna Woodford, WSU.
2015 PAC-12 WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
| Offensive | Defensive | Freshman | |
| Aug. 31 | Samantha Bricio, USC | Kalei Mau, ARIZ | Hayley Hodson, STAN |
| Sept. 7 | Samantha Bricio, USC | Brenna DeYoung, UTAH | Lindsey Vander Weide, ORE |
IN THE PRESEASON
Pac-12 Preseason Coaches Poll & All-Pac-12 Team | AVCA Preseason Coaches Poll
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING
o The Pac-12 has captured six of the last 14 NCAA crowns (2011 - UCLA, 2005 - Washington, 2004 - Stanford, 2003 - USC, 2002 - USC, 2001 - Stanford) and 14 NCAA titles overall.
o The Pac-12 has had 10 or more All-Americans selections in eight of the last 10 years. Last year, 11 were named to the AVCA All-America squad, the most since 13 were selected in 2009. Ten former Pac-12 players have earned All-America honors four times, while another 18 players in all have earned All-American honors three times.
o Since 1990, Pac-12 players garnered AVCA Player of the Year honors 13 times, including the last four of the last five years - CAL's Carli Lloyd (2010), USC's Alex Jupiter (2011), ORE's Alaina Bergsma (2012) and WASH's Krista Vansant (2013). The NCAA Honda Sports Award honor has been bestowed upon a Pac-12 volleyball player 13 times, including Vansant in 2013.
o The current group of Pac-12 volleyball coaches enters the 2015 season with nearly 5,000 Division I victories to its credit, having compiled 4,822 wins in a combined 219 years of head coaching experience. That averages out to nearly 23 wins a season for each coach per season. In addition, these coaches have guided NCAA Division I teams to 38 NCAA semifinal appearances and eight NCAA titles. In the last 13 years, seven different coaches have been named the ASICS/Volleyball Magazine Coach of the Year and/or the AVCA Coach of the Year - Arizona's David Rubio (2001 ASICS), California's Rich Feller (2007 ASICS, 2010 ASICS and AVCA), Stanford's John Dunning (2001 AVCA), UCLA's Mike Sealy (2011 AVCA), USC's Mick Haley (2003 AVCA), Washington's Jim McLaughlin (2004 ASICS and AVCA), and UCLA's Andy Banachowski (2006 ASICS and AVCA).