Pac-12 Opens Week 4 Play Tuesday with Stanford vs. Texas

Courtesy: Pac-12 Conference

SAN FRANCISCO – Heading into the final week of non-league action, seven Pac-12 teams are ranked in the latest AVCA Coaches poll, with STANFORD moving up to No. 2 in the country.

After defeating last week’s No. 1 and No. 5 teams in the nation, the Cardinal have slated a home-and-home series vs. No. 3 Texas starting on Tuesday, Sept. 11 on Pac-12 Networks. No. 24 UTAH faces an intra-state battle with this week’s No. 1 team, BYU. Both OREGON STATE and No. 16 USC face No. 24 San Diego for the USD/San Diego State Challenge.

Seven Pac-12 teams have recorded wins over a ranked opponent this season. In addition to the Cardinal’s 2-0 weekend vs. Big Ten teams, No. 12 OREGON had big results, taking down the then-top ranked Golden Gophers.

Pac-12 play begins shortly after this week’s non-conference action with the first league matches scheduled between traditional rivals on Pac-12 Networks on Wednesday, Sept. 19 and Thursday, Sept. 20.

WHAT’S HAPPENING THIS WEEK
• After defeating two top-five ranked opponents last week, Stanford faces another tough test against No. 3 Texas. The home-and-home series is shaping up to be a battle as Stanford (.308) ranks third in the nation in hitting percentage and Texas (.304) ranks fifth. But, both teams are also among the top blocking teams in the nation, the Cardinal ranking 2nd and UT at 10th.
• WASHINGTON STATE is one of only nine teams in the country without a loss this season. The Cougars put their undefeated record to the test at the WKU Tournament in Kentucky, facing Northern Illinois and East Tennessee State.

1 – WKU Tournament, Bowling Green, Ky.; 2 – Boise State Classic, Boise, Idaho; 3 – Wildcat Classic, Tucson, Ariz.; 4 – Sparky Classic, Tempe, Ariz.; 5 – SDSU/USD Challenge, San Diego, Calif.; 6 – Colorado Classic, Boulder, Colo.

AVCA RANKINGS
• Seven Pac-12 teams are ranked in the top-25 this week, tied for the second most of any conference in the country.
• Stanford moved up to No. 2 after picking up a pair of victories against top-five ranked teams. Both No. 12 Oregon and No. 13 Washington moved up in the polls, while USC and UCLA share the 16th spot. Rounding out the top-25 is No. 22 Washington State and No. 24 Utah. COLORADO, ARIZONA and Oregon State are receiving votes.
• The Pac-12 had eight teams among the top-25 during the week of Sept. 3. It has had at least seven teams ranked every week, including the preseason.

WHAT’S TRENDING
• The Pac-12 boasts four setters with assist averages in the top-25 in the NCAA, including two in the top-five. Oregon’s August Raskie (12.73) and Stanford’s Jenna Gray (12.54) rank second and third in the country, helping Oregon (3rd) and the Cardinal (5th) rank in the top-five in team assists average. Arizona’s Julia Patterson (12th, 11.70) and USC’s Raquel Lazaro (25th, 10.97) also rank in the top-25.
• Washington State’s Taylor Mims joined the 1,000-kills club on Sep. 8 against Stony Brook, becoming the fifth active league player with 1,000 career kills including Stanford’s Kathryn Plummer, Arizona’s Kendra Dahlke, USC’s Khalia Lanier and Oregon’s Lindsey Vander Weide. A total of 177 players in Pac-12 history have reached the 1,000-kill plateau.
• All-tournament nods went to Arizona State’s Ivana Jeremic and Courtney Leffel, who both earn their third-straight All-Tournament honors this season. Utah’s Bailey Choy and Dani Drews received nods at the Villanova Volleyball Invitational. Washington’s Ella May Powell and Shayne McPherson were named to the Panther Invitational All-Tournament team. Washington State’s Jocelyn Urias was name the Cougar Challenge MVP, while Ella Lajos and Ashley Brown earned All-Tournament selections.
• Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week honors went to Stanford’s Kathryn Plummer as Plummer and Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week Morgan Hentz led the Cardinal to significant wins over then-No. 1 Minnesota and then-No. 5 Penn State. Oregon’s Brooke Nuneviller also put on an impressive performance at the Pac-12/Big Ten Challenge and was tabbed the Pac-12 Freshman of the Week after anchoring the defense to an upset win over the Golden Gophers.
• Five current players entered the season with a minimum 1,000 career digs, led by OSU’s Kayla Ellis, who ranks 64th all-time in Pac-12 history with over 1,200 digs.
• Pac-12 teams opened the season in dominant fashion, going 25-5 (.833) in the first weekend of play. League teams have posted a 385-91 (.809) record in the opening week of play dating back to 2002.

2018-19 IN A NUTSHELL
• Stanford returns as the defending Pac-12 Champion, also advancing to the NCAA semifinal. The Cardinal were also picked to win the 2018 league crown, followed by USC in second and Oregon in third. For a complete listing of the poll, click on the link below.
• Seven AVCA All-Americans return from last year, including 2017 AVCA National Player of the Year and Pac-12 Player of the Year Kathryn Plummer. Four of the seven are first team honorees and all are juniors, including USC’s Lanier, and Cardinal teammates Morgan Hentz and Jenna Gray. Plummer became the first player to win the national player of the year honor a year after garnering the AVCA National Freshman of the Year award.
• Nine of the 14 players named to the 2017 All-Pac-12 team return for 2018, including Stanford’s Morgan Hentz, the Pac-12 Libero of the Year last year, and Jenna Gray, the 2017 Pac-12 Setter of the Year.
• The Pac-12 welcomes new coaches to the sidelines, including California mentor Jennifer Dorr and USC’s Brent Crouch. Dorr has been with the Golden Bears program since 2009 when she joined the squad as the director of operations before moving to the role of assistant coach in 2011. Crouch was named the 2016 West Coast Conference Coach of the Year while with Portland.
• Pac-12 volleyball continues to attract marquee student-athletes. Five Pac-12 teams landed at least one Volleyball Magazine FAB 50 recruit with Oregon and UCLA pacing the league with four each. Thirteen named to the list will be donning a Pac-12 uniform this season.

PAC-12 VOLLEYBALL BROADCASTS
• In 2018, 91 Pac-12 regular-season volleyball matches will be televised this season, by far the most of any conference in the nation. Of those, 88 appear on the Pac-12 Networks beginning with the Pac-12/Big Ten Challenge Friday, Aug. 31 doubleheader featuring Colorado and Washington taking on Illinois and Iowa.
• ESPN will also televise three Pac-12 matches, including the UCLA-USC rivalry matchup on Wednesday, Sept. 19 on ESPNU. ESPN2 will be the home of two Pac-12 matches: USC at STANFORD on Friday, Sept. 28 and Stanford at OREGON on Sunday, Oct. 21.

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING

• The Pac-12 has captured six of the last 15 NCAA crowns (2011 – UCLA, 2005 – Washington, 2004 – Stanford, 2003 – USC, 2002 – USC, 2001 – Stanford) and 14 NCAA titles overall.
• The current group of Pac-12 volleyball coaches finished the 2015 season with over 5,000 Division I victories to its credit, having compiled 5,040 wins in a combined 230 years of head coaching experience. That averages out to nearly 22 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 14 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, 2015 AVCA), Washington’s Jim McLaughlin (2004 ASICS and AVCA), and UCLA’s Andy Banachowski (2006 ASICS and AVCA).
• The Pac-12 has had 10 or more All-Americans selections in seven of the last 10 years. This year, eight were named to the AVCA All-America squad, USC’s Samantha Bricio and Washington’s Lianna Sybeldon were named to the first team, Stanford had a pair of second-team selections in Hayley Hodson and Merete Lutz, with USC’s Alicia Ogoms joining them. On the third team, Stanford’s Madi Bugg and Brittany Howard, and UCLA’s Taylor Formico earned spots. Ten former Pac-12 players have earned All-America honors four times, while 18 players in all have earned All-American honors three times.
• Since 1990, Pac-12 players garnered AVCA Player of the Year honors 14 times, including the five of the last six – CAL’s Carli Lloyd (2010), USC’s Alex Jupiter (2011), ORE’s Alaina Bergsma (2012), WASH’s Krista Vansant (2013) and the latest honoree in USC’s Samantha Bricio. The NCAA Honda Sports Award honor has been bestowed upon a Pac-12 volleyball player 13 times, including Vansant in 2013.