Pac-12 | Washington volleyball’s Krista Vansant repeats as Player of the Week

Junior outside hitter named Pac-12’s best offensive player for week of September 23-29

NCAA | Washington volleyball rises to #1 in national coaches' poll

Huskies top AVCA poll for the first time since 2005

Pac-12 | #2 Washington volleyball defeats Oregon; #1 Penn State loses

Huskies break 3-year losing string in Eugene, could be nation’s top team this week

• #2 Washington def. #21 Oregon 3-1 (25-23, 25-19, 29-31, 25-8)

NCAA | Conference play begins

#1 Penn State loses at home; #2 Washington at Oregon tonight at 8PM

Pac-12 | Three keys as #2 Washington volleyball visits Eugene

Ignoring antics and smart serves are part of a recipe for success

• #2 Washington @ #21 Oregon | September 27 | 8PM | Pac-12 Network

Pac-12 | What we learned from Washington volleyball’s win against WSU

Passing, setting are key as Huskies keep Cougars guessing

#2 Washington def. Washington State 3-0 (25-17, 25-17, 25-17)

• next: #2 Washington @ #21 Oregon | September 26 | 8PM | Pac-12 Network

Pac-12 | Conference volleyball schedule kicks off with rivals

All teams begin league play against in-state foes; ASU & Utah win

• next: #2 Washington @ Washington State | September 25 | 7:30PM | Pac-12 Network

NCAA | Media poll also ranks Washington volleyball #2

Volleyball Magazine media poll closely tracks AVCA coaches’ poll

NCAA | Washington volleyball moves to #2 in national coaches' poll

AVCA poll keeps Penn State #1; 6 Pac-12 teams among top 21

Pac-12 |What we learned from Washington volleyball’s win against CS Northridge

Huskies’ sophomore middles add spark and big blocks

#3 Washington def. Cal State Northridge 3-1 (25-13, 21-25, 25-14, 25-21)

• next: #2 Washington @ Washington State | September 25 | 7:30PM | Pac-12 Network

Pac-12 | Volleyball power ratings for week four

Washington on top, but it's time for the Pac-12 to cut out a week of nonconference play

• #3 Washington def. Coppin State 3-0 (25-4, 25-11, 25-18)
• next: Cal State Northridge at #3 Washington | September 20 | 7PM

Pac-12 | Breaking down Jim McLaughlin’s 300 Washington volleyball wins

In 12+ seasons, Washington’s winningest coach has the edge on most opponents

• next: Coppin State @ #3 Washington | September 19 | 7PM

NCAA | Washington climbs to #2 in latest media volleyball poll

Huskies one of only 11 undefeated teams remaining; lead nation in service aces

Pac-12 | Washington’s Krista Vansant is Pac-12 Volleyball Offensive Player of the Week

Huskies’ junior outside hitter wins honor for third time in her career

NCAA | Washington volleyball jumps to #3 in national media poll

AVCA poll elevates Penn State #1 and Cinderella team San Diego #2

NCAA | Who will be/should be the #1 volleyball team this week?

The mighty have fallen … although they’ve mostly fallen to other mighties.

Pac-12 | Washington overwhelms Illinois; top two volleyball teams fall

Huskies not intimidated by packed Huff Hall gym; #1 USC and #2 Texas both lose

#6 Washington def. #14 Illinois 3-1 (25-21, 22-25, 25-19, 25-13)

• next: #6 Washington @ Loyola Chicago | September 15 | 1:00PM (Pacific)

Pac-12 | Washington @ Illinois: volleyball before football

Huskies take on their first ranked opponent of the season

• #6 Washington @ #14 Illinois | September 13 | 5:30PM (Pacific)

Pac-12 | Volleyball Power Ratings for Week Three

-photo by Shutter Geeks Photography

Conference is 62-10 so far in preseason play; a few more good matchups this weekend

Pac-12 | Washington to retire volleyball alum Courtney Thompson’s jersey

After more than 100 years of athletics, UW will retire a woman athlete’s jersey

NCAA | Washington moves up in latest media volleyball poll

Huskies move ahead of Stanford; USC #1 in both national polls

NCAA | Washington volleyball remains high in national polls

Huskies at #6 in coaches poll after top teams beat each other; USC #1

Pac-12 | What we learned from Washington volleyball’s two wins against Canada

Defense and adjustments are key to two wins against Canada’s National Team

• #5 Washington def. Canadian National Team 3-1 (25-21, 25-19, 24-16, 25-23)
• #5 Washington def. Canadian National Team 3-1 (24-26, 25-20, 25-16, 25-21)
• next #6 Washington @ #14 Illinois | September 13 | 5:30PM (Pacific)

Pac-12 | Volleyball Power Ratings for Week Two

Conference is 31-3 so far in preseason play; which coming matchups are hottest?

next: Canadian National Team @ #5 Washington [Exhibition matches]

• Fri, Sept 6 | 7PM | Key Arena

• Sat, Sept 7 | 6PM | Alaska Airlines Arena

Pac-12/WAC | What we learned from Washington volleyball’s win over Seattle U

Seattle U’s star player injured in warmups as Huskies rout Redhawks

#5 Washington def. Seattle University 3-0 (25-14, 25-10, 25-15)

correction: A previous version of this post reported incorrect times for Friday and Saturday's matches with the Canadian National Team. Corrected times are now:

next: Canadian National Team @ #5 Washington [Exhibition matches]

• Fri, Sept 6 | 7PM | Key Arena

• Sat, Sept 7 | 6PM | Alaska Airlines Arena

Pac-12/WAC | UW volleyball plays Seattle U in its home opener (Terry Wood)

Seattle University (2-2) @ #5 Washington (3-0) | September 3 | 7PM

NCAA | Washington volleyball remains high in national polls

Huskies remain #5 in coaches poll, #6 in media poll

NCAA | How the Top 25 D1 Volleyball fared

#1 Texas, #8 Oregon, #10 Nebraska all lose

National Team | USA defeats Japan to take World Grand Prix volleyball 6th place

Americans break 4-match losing streak with 5-set win

• #1 USA def. #3 Japan 3-2 (17-25, 25-19, 18-25, 25-17, 15-12)
• next: NORECA Championships | September 16-21 | Omaha

It had been a rough World Grand Prix for Nicole Fawcett.

The 6-4 opposite out of Penn State had been in and out of the lineup, locked in a battle with newcomer Kelly Murphy to be in the right side mix once Destinee Hooker returns. Mostly, she had been out.

 

USA head coach Karch Kiraly reacts during his team's 3-2 World Grand Prix victory over Japan
-photo courtesy FIVB

But with USA facing the possibility of a 5-match skunking in the World Grand Prix finals, Fawcett replaced a suddenly-struggling Murphy in the second set. In the end, she would connect on 22 kills to lead the Americans to a much-needed come-from-behind victory against host Japan. USA won the final match 3-2 (17-25, 25-19, 18-25, 25-17, 15-12) in Sapporo, Japan.

Japan and USA both finished 1-4 in the final round-robin. Because scoring is based on points throughout the 5 match finals, USA finished in 6^th place with 3 points. Brazil crushed previously-undefeated China 3-0 (25-15, 25-14, 25-20) to win the gold, while Serbia beat Italy 3-2 (22-25, 25-23, 20-25, 25-16, 15-11) for third place.

Only three members of the 2012 US Olympic team participated in this year’s Grand Prix: libero Tama Miyashiro and middle Christa Harmotto saw action throughout the entire month, while setter Courtney Thompson contributed to three wins in Belgrade.

“There were a lot of people,” said head coach Karch Kiraly in a post-match press conference, “who hadn’t had any significant time in the World Grand Prix – people like Cassidy Lichtman, Lauren Paolini, Lauren Gibbemeyer, Kayla Banwarth, Kimberly Hill, Kelly Murphy. It was really good for them to get experience. The positive was the nice Preliminary Round we played; the difficult part was seeing how good we have to be to compete in the world.” Washington alum Jenna Hagglund was another newer USA player; she one again saw action in all five sets.

With one more international competition this summer—the NORECA Continental Championship September 16-21 in Omaha—Alicia Glass has seen the lion’s share of playing time at setter, with Hagglund and Thompson coming in during late-set switches. Glass’s decidedly sub-par week in Sapporo continued against Japan, as she committed 2 service errors, 4 digging errors 3 blocking errors and 2 setting errors. Open expressions of emotion are not her style, and while she connects well with middles when passers are on target, she struggles when she sets out of system. On defense, opponents have effectively targeted her for tips and roll shots.

That said, it’s a long way to Rio. Grand Prix rosters for the first year of a quad are rarely a good predictor of the final squad selected for the next Olympics.