Showing posts with label Oregon State. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Oregon State. Show all posts

Monday, November 10, 2014

College | Washington volleyball’s “modest” setters strive not to be “chicken”

Katy Beals and Bailey Tanner have big impact while garnering little attention
#2 Washington def. #11 Oregon 3-0 (25-20, 25-18, 25-20)
#2 Washington def. Oregon State 3-0 (25-17, 25-15, 25-15)
  • #2 Washington @ #22 Colorado | Thu, Nov 13 | 5PM
  • #2 Washington @ Utah | Sat, Nov 15 | 6PM

Saturday, October 11, 2014

Thursday, October 4, 2012

Pac-12 | Football bounces volleyball’s biggest match of the season (so far)


Pac-12 Network will not broadcast showdown of nation’s only two undefeated volleyball teams; Oregon says it will stream #2 Washington @ #2 Oregon on October 13
note: Washington and Oregon are tied for #2 in this week’s AVCA/Sports Imports coaches’ poll


Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Pac-12 | Pac-12 Power Rankings: Week Four

Pac-12 goes 30-1 in final week of nonconference play. Now the real games begin.

There will be losses …

Pac-12 schools simply roared through the preseason, winning 10 of every 12 matches played (.833).

Now that conference contests are upon us, the victory rate will drop to 6 of every 12, and contenders will slowly separate from pretenders. No matter what, however, the conference RPI should get a boost come tournament time.

The first and last week of conference play is rivalry week, and that has probably never meant so much. The biggest matches:
  • #1 UCLA @ #2 USC: The top-two teams in the national polls; will Galen Center attract more Trojan fans than Bruin fans?
  • Washington State @ #5 Washington: Huskies haven’t dropped a set, and the Cougs keep holding opponents to single digits. Both teams serve and block with the best.
  • Oregon State @ #8 Oregon: ESPN ranks Oregon third in the nation; Oregon State beat Penn State
  • California @ #6 Stanford : In any other season, this might have been the match of the week. Cal has a lot of returning talent; someone is going to underestimate them.

Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week Arica Nassar
-Oregon State Sports Inofrmation
 Here’s how we count 'em down … 

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Pac-12 | Pac-12 Power Rankings: Week Three


Pac-12 is 81-21 in nonconference play.

"LIKE" VOLLEYBLOG SEATTLE
POSTS ON FACEBOOK
The biggest story of the week involves an unlikely Pac-12 upstart. The Oregon State Beavers pulled off the upset of the young season by taking down mighty Penn State during a tournament in Chicago.

The Pac-12 responded accordingly, naming OSU’s Camille Saxton the conference offensive player of the week (an award won the previous week by Washington’s Krista Vansant.) Saxton’s teammate Becky Defoe was the defensive player of the week. Stanford’s happily-named Madi Bugg was the freshman of the week. (Washington players nominated this week include Kylin Muñoz for offense, Amanda Gil for defense and Lianna Sybelton for freshman.) Muñoz had a combined 17 kills and no errors on 32 swings (.531)

UCLA scored a big win at Hawai’i; USC held off San Diego, Oregon and Washington continue to roll.

Washington setter Jenni Nogueras (9)
-Volleyblog Seattle photo by Leslie Hamann
Here’s how we see it …

Monday, September 10, 2012

NCAA | Washington volleyball climbs to top five in week 4 coaches’ poll

Washington (8-0) moves up two more places; 5 Pac-12 teams in top 9

For the third consecutive week, Washington has moved up in the weekly coaches’ poll is conducted by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA).
Washington's Amanda Gil
-Volleyblog Seattle photo by Leslie Hamann
The Huskies (8-0) are #5 in this week’s poll, moving up from #7. In week 2, UW was #12, and started the preseason at #14.
Also making moves this week:
  • Louisville (#12, up from #24), after beating Big Ten powers Purdue and Illinois (and recovering from an early-season loss to Penn State)
  • Ohio State (#21, up from #26), after beating former #10 Dayton and a decent Western Kentucky team. The Buckeyes’ only loss is to Oregon.
  • Miami, FL (#26, up from #34), after beating former #6 Florida State (and an earlier win against Oregon State.)
  • BYU (#15, up from #21), after beating Utah, and staying undefeated.

And, in our humble opinion:
  • Silly to rank #8 Hawai’i above #9 Oregon.
  • Illinois, Kentucky and Iowa State have all overstayed their welcome. Those who deserve to be in the Top 25 instead: Michigan State (9-0), Oregon State (7-2), Miami (7-1)

Thursday, March 1, 2012

Pac-12 Finalizing 2012 Conference Volleyball Schedule

There's bad news for fans of balanced scheduling.
The Pac-12 is proceeding with plans—announced last fall—to have each of its volleyball teams play two fewer conference matches each season. That means some teams will miss marquee matchups, others will avoid near-certain losses or victories. And the final standings may leave room for debate.
This fall, Washington will play Arizona State in Tempe and host Arizona … but will not reciprocate with a home match against the Sun Devils or a road trip to Tucson. Next season, the Huskies will also miss one match against each of the Arizona schools, with the venues switched. Washington State—as the Huskies’ travel partner—will also skip two Arizona matches each of the next two seasons, but in reverse.
The other “skip partners” for 2012 & 2013:
  • Cal/Stanford miss one each against Colorado/Utah
  • UCLA/USC miss one each against Oregon/Oregon State

Washington coach Jim McLaughlin is not a big fan of the new schedule. “I came to Washington, in large part, because the Pac-12 is the best conference around,” he says. “I came because I can play Stanford twice, the Bruins twice, the Trojans twice, Cal twice. Playing teams in this conference is as good as it gets.”
At first glance, the teams that could see the biggest benefit the next two seasons are Oregon and Oregon State. The Ducks and Beavers avoid four total matches against UCLA and USC. On the other hand, Cal and Stanford miss what would likely be four wins each against Utah and Colorado.
Why the change?
Remember that Pac-12 schools were hugely disrespected by the NCAA tournament selection committee last fall. It seeded USC #7, despite the fact the Trojans were #1 in the polls. The Trojans went on to reach their second consecutive Final Four. Even more glaring, eventual National Champion (and #4 in the polls) UCLA was seeded #9.
The Pac-12’s 20-match schedule gives conference teams an additional weekend to try to schedule top-flight nonconference competition to help boost RPI at the end of the season. The problem, of course, is that other top conferences may have already started league play by then. And—as coaches frequently note—there are only so many RPI-attractive teams to go around. If a team like up-and-coming Pepperdine—a possible high RPI team—has the choice of scheduling either, say, Arizona or USC, it only gets RPI credit if it wins, and it wants to win against a team which might have a high RPI in late November. So, if it schedules Arizona and wins, but Arizona ends up low in the RPI, it’s a bad bet. If it schedules USC and loses, it doesn’t get a big boost. So, while both Arizona and USC might find Pepperdine attractive, the reverse may not be true.
There has been considerable conversation about arranging more Pac-12/Big-10 matchups in several sports, none more attractive than in volleyball, since a current team from one of those two conferences has been national champion 13 years in a row (and 19 times in the past 22 years). It won’t happen in 2012, but there has been talk about matchups in either midseason or just before the tournament starting in 2013. Stay tuned for those conversations.
Here, then, is the 2012 conference schedule on the table for approval next week. Teams still might have flexibility to move both matches against their geographic rival to the last week of the season, as six teams did last year: The schedule assumes mostly Friday/Saturday matches, though travel and/or football conflicts are likely to push several matches to Thursday or Sunday.
Week 1: (Sep 21/22)
  • Washington @ Washington State
  • Oregon @ Oregon State
  • California @ Stanford
  • UCLA @ USC
  • Arizona @ Arizona State
  • Colorado @ Utah
  • Washington @ Arizona
  • Washington State @ Arizona State
  • Oregon @ USC
  • Oregon State @ UCLA
  • California @ Colorado
  • Stanford @ Utah

Week 2: (Sept 28/29)
  • California @ Arizona State
  • Stanford @ Arizona
  • UCLA @ Washington
  • USC @ Washington State
  • Colorado @ Oregon State
  • Utah @ Oregon
  • California @ Arizona
  • Stanford @ Arizona State
  • UCLA @ Washington State
  • USC @ Washington
  • Colorado @ Oregon
  • Utah @ Oregon State

Week 3: (Oct 5/6)
  • Washington @ Utah
  • Washington State @ Colorado
  • Oregon @ Stanford
  • Oregon State @ California
  • Arizona @ USC
  • Arizona State @ UCLA
  • Washington @ Colorado
  • Washington State @ Utah
  • Oregon @ California
  • Oregon State @ Stanford
  • Arizona @ UCLA
  • Arizona State @ USC

Week 4: (Oct 12/13)
  • Washington @ Oregon State
  • Washington State @ Oregon
  • UCLA @ Stanford
  • USC @ California
  • Arizona @ Utah
  • Arizona State @ Colorado
  • Washington @ Oregon
  • Washington State @ Oregon State
  • UCLA @ California
  • USC @ Stanford
  • Arizona @ Colorado
  • Arizona State @ Utah

Week 5: (Oct 19/20)
  • Oregon @ Arizona State
  • Oregon State @ Arizona
  • California @ Washington State
  • Stanford @ Washington
  • Colorado @ USC
  • Utah @ UCLA
  • Oregon @ Arizona
  • Oregon State @ Arizona State
  • California @ Washington
  • Stanford @ Washington State
  • Colorado @ UCLA
  • Utah @ USC

Week 6: (Oct 26/27)
  • Washington @ UCLA
  • Washington State @ USC
  • Oregon @ Colorado
  • Oregon State @ Utah
  • Arizona @ California
  • Arizona State @ Stanford
  • Washington @ USC
  • Washington State @ UCLA
  • Oregon @ Utah
  • Oregon State @ Colorado
  • Arizona @ Stanford
  • Arizona State @ California

Week 7 (Nov 2/3)
  • California @ Oregon
  • Stanford @ Oregon State
  • UCLA @ Arizona
  • USC @ Arizona State
  • Colorado @ Washington
  • Utah @ Washington State
  • California @ Oregon State
  • Stanford @ Oregon
  • UCLA @ Arizona State
  • USC @ Arizona
  • Utah @ Washington
  • Colorado @ Washington State

Week 8 (Nov 9/10)
  • Washington @ California
  • Washington State @ Stanford
  • UCLA @ Colorado
  • USC @ Utah
  • Arizona @ Oregon
  • Arizona State @ Oregon State
  • Washington @ Stanford
  • Washington State @ California
  • UCLA @ Utah
  • USC @ Colorado
  • Arizona @ Oregon State
  • Arizona State @ Oregon

Week 9: (Nov 16/17)
  • Oregon @ Washington
  • Oregon State @ Washington State
  • California @ UCLA
  • Stanford @ USC
  • Colorado @ Arizona
  • Utah @ Arizona State
  • Oregon @ Washington State
  • Oregon State @ Washington
  • California @ USC
  • Stanford @ UCLA
  • Colorado @ Arizona State
  • Utah @ Arizona

Week 10: (Nov 23/24)
  • UCLA @ Oregon
  • USC @ Oregon State
  • Arizona @ Washington State
  • Arizona State @ Washington
  • Colorado @ Stanford
  • Utah @ California
  • Washington State @ Washington
  • Oregon State @ Oregon
  • Stanford @ California
  • USC @ UCLA
  • Arizona State @ Arizona
  • Utah @ Colorado

Friday, October 21, 2011

How did Washington beat Oregon State?


CORVALLIS—The third set score was 12-2, in favor of Oregon State. Although the Washington Huskies were down, they weren’t really down. They know down.
Down is when a teammate loses a loved one. It happened last season to Becky Perry. And it happened earlier this week to setter Jenni Nogueras.
“Her dad had been sick,” said Washington coach Jim McLaughlin. “Last weekend, he took a turn for the worse. She needed to be home (in Puerto Rico) for her family.”
Just before Jenni’s plane touched down in San Juan, pancreatic cancer claimed the life of her father, Juan Nogueras.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with her and her family,” McLaughlin said.
“We met as a team to talk about it,” said junior Kelcey Dunaway. “We want her to know we’re here whenever she needs us.”
Washington's Gabbi Parker cheers a kill against Oregon State
[Volleyblog Seattle photo by Leslie Hamann]
Nogueras’ absence removed any mystery about whether McLaughlin would continue using the surprising two-setter system he inserted last week in the Bay Area. The 6/2, as it is known, was not a huge success against either Cal or Stanford.
Against Oregon State, the old 5/1 lineup worked to near-perfection in the first set, as the Huskies tallied 12 kills and just one error (.367) en route to a 25-14 cakewalk.
But the second set was tighter, as OSU libero Becky Defoe (24 digs on the night) shut down the cross-court attacks by Kylin Muñoz and Krista Vansant.
Krista Vansant (16) and Kelcey Dunaway (2)
[Volleyblog Seattle photo by Leslie Hamann]
“A lot of Pac-12 liberos play in the left back corner,” said Vansant. “I just have to learn to adjust.”
With OSU trailing just 15-16, Vansant’s adjustments paid off. She aimed several kills down the line and toward middle back. At 19-15, she made a big time dig, scrambled to transition, and was thrilled to get an Evan Sanders set for a powerful kill.
“It’s good that Evan has that confidence in me,” Vansant said. “I really yelled for that ball.”
On the very next play, Vansant and Lauren Barfield put up a big termination block. But as Barfield came down, her left ankle landed awkwardly. She grabbed her shin, spat out a few choice words, and waited for the trainer to help her hobble of the court.
It could have been a big blow. Barfield had been a blocking machine; she had nine block assists when she went down. But Dunaway stepped in, eager to play.
“Our team believes in our depth,” Dunaway said. “All week in practice, we (middle blockers) have been competing in a quick hitting drill.”
Sure enough, after another Vansant kill, the next two Washington points were Dunaway kills, both on quick hits. The Huskies went into the break up 2-0.
But the third set started ugly. Spurred by Camille Saxton’s powerful jump serve, the Beavers went on that 21-2 tear.
“We didn’t stay on task,” said McLaughlin. “We drifted away from out routines; we have to have the ability to stay the course no matter what the score.”
Lauren Barfield goes down after injuring her ankle; teammate Evan Sanders checks her condition
[Volleyblog Seattle photo by Leslie Hamann]
In attempt to shake things up, McLaughlin inserted Oregon native Gabbi Parker for Vansant, much to the delight of Parker’s sizeable cheering section. Then Muñoz found a rhythm that had been missing most of the night.
“Kylin started hitting shots,” said McLaughlin, “but she’s got to hit them start to finish.
The Huskies began to roll. Bianca Rowland—still out of sync with Sanders—hit a slide. Parker hit a strong kill down the line, prompting an angry outburst from OSU coach Terry Liskevych, who drew a yellow card (for complaining that the Huskies had four touches on the play.) With Washington still trailing 9-14, Vansant was reinserted.

"Krista doesn't like sitting on the bench," McLaughlin said.

"No, I don't," Vansant agreed.

Vansant was unstoppable. She hit line for a kill, cross for a kill, then straight down from the right side for another kill. Washington scored six consecutive points on her serve, and the Huskies never looked back. UW scored 23 of the match’s final 29 points.
Afterwards, Barfield insisted she’ll be fine. And the team insisted that when Nogueras returns, they’ll do all they can to help her heal, too. 

Monday, October 3, 2011

Washington's Bianca Rowland named Pac-12 Player of the Week

For the second time this season, Washington’s Bianca Rowland has been named Pac-12 defensive Player of the Week.

During home matches against Oregon and Oregon State, the senior middle blocker had one solo block, and a hand in 14 team (shared) blocks. Her teammate, Lauren Barfield, wasn’t far behind, with 10 team blocks in the two matches. As a team, the Huskies outblocked the Ducks 14-3, and the Beavers 12-7.

Barfield, with 15 kills/3 errors/29 attacks for the weekend (.414) was among those nominated for conference offensive player of the week. That award was given to Stanford’s Carly Wopat, who hit .502 in wins against Arizona and Arizona State. Earlier this season, Wopat, a sophomore middle blocker, was named defensive player of the week.

Washington freshman Summer Ross was among those nominated as freshman of the week. Against UO and OSU, Ross had 11 kills/1 error/30 attempts (.333), and added 10 team blocks and 16 digs, many of them spectacular. This week’s freshman award went to Cal’s Christina Higgins, who had 27 kills and hit .345 against UA and ASU.
PAC-12 PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

OFFENSE
DEFENSE
FRESHMAN
Aug. 29
Alaina Bergsma
ORE
Bianca Rowland
WASH
Krista Vansant
WASH
Sept. 5
Rachael Kidder
UCLA
Karissa Cook
STAN
Krista Vansant
WASH
Sept. 12
Rachel Williams
STAN
Carly Wopat
STAN
Arica Nassar
OSU
Sept. 19
Alaina Bergsma
ORE
Robin Rostratter
CAL
Chloe Mathis
ARIZ
Sept. 26
Kendall Bateman
USC
Kelly Reeve
UCLA
Zoe Nightingale
UCLA
Oct. 3
Carly Wopat
STAN
Bianca Rowland
WASH
Christina Higgins
CAL
Washington's Bianca Rowland (15) attacks against Oregon State
[Volleyblog Seattle photo by Leslie Hamann]

Sunday, October 2, 2011

How did Washington beat Oregon State?

The Oregon State Beavers headed north with a 3-1 record in the Pac-12 and 11-3 overall. It was an impressive record, especially considering they were without one of their best players from 2010 (6-5 Mona Kressl, out for the season with a knee injury) and without their second-best hitter of 2011 (6-0 Dre Shaw, high ankle sprain since Sep. 17).
Washington's Krista Vansant (16) attacks against Oregon State's Arica Nassar (40) and Allie Rogers (20)
[Volleyblog Seattle photo by Leslie Hamann]
The Beavers lost Friday night in Pullman, but seemed energized in Edmunson Pavilion. They brought a vocal fan section, thanks largely to the families of two Seattle-area players, setter Megan McBride (Auburn-Mountainview HS) and outside hitter Ashley Eneliko (Kennedy HS). And though their offense was weak against the Huskies (they hit just .071), their defense was among the better Washington has faced this season.
So, how did Washington win?

Friday, September 30, 2011

National marquee matchup: Oregon @ Washington


#15 Oregon visits #3 Washington tonight, and there’s a good argument that it’s the marquee matchup of the weekend.
  • Both teams are 11-1; both losses were to Top Ten teams (Oregon to #10 Minnesota; Washington to #5 USC)
  • Both teams have wins against top ten teams (Oregon over #9 Penn St.; Washington over #2 UCLA)
  • If Oregon wins, it will retain undisputed first place in the Pac-12; If Washington wins, there will likely be a four way tie at the top between Washington, Oregon, UCLA and USC (with Cal and Stanford likely one game back.) Oregon State is still hanging around, too.

My pick: Washington over Oregon, 3-1.

Other Pac-12 matchups:

#6 Stanford and #4 Cal should cruise against Arizona and Arizona State. Ditto for #2 UCLA and #5 USC as they travel to Utah and Colorado. Anything other than 3-0 for all these matches will be a surprise, unless Arizona steals a set from Stanford.

The contest to watch is Oregon State at Washington State. The Beavers are 11-3 overall and 3-1 in conference play, though their league wins are against teams at the bottom of the standings. WSU is 9-5 overall and 1-3 in the Pac-12, but could match up well at home with the Beavers. I’m guessing OSU over WSU, 3-2.

In the Top 20:

The other argument for national marquee match is Saturday’s contest between #1 Illinois at #12 Purdue. Illinois is ranked too high, and neither team has played Penn State or Nebraska. A toss-up.

Earlier this week, #25 Oklahoma beat #8 Texas; the Longhorns already have four losses this season.

Saturday, September 24, 2011

SoCal teams dominate NorCal


Cal and Stanford marched into the weekend rated the nation’s top two Division 1 women’s volleyball teams. #1 Cal—last season’s national runner-up—was undefeated; #2 Stanford’s only loss was to Cal.

#7 UCLA and (ridiculously under-ranked) #12 USC were the host schools. Earlier today, USC blanked Stanford 3-0, by the barest of margins (25-23, 26-24, 25-23), less than 24 hours after sweeping Cal 3-0.

UCLA took five sets Friday night to defeat Stanford, then won the first two sets tonight against Cal (25-17, 25-20).Cal came storming back to take the third set, 25-19, but the Bruins rolled in the decisive fourth and final set, jumping to a 16-4 lead before winning 25-15. UCLA’s Rachel Kidder did not match her Stanford match numbers … she had 12 kills and 8 errors on 45 swings (.089). As usual, Tarah Murrey carried the load for Cal with 18 kills, 5 errors (.210).

#15 Oregon remains the only undefeated Pac-12 team after sweeping Utah tonight. The Ducks have just one loss (Minnesota) on the season, but have yet to play UCLA, USC, Cal, Stanford or Washington. They’ll be in Seattle this Friday.


Oregon State also continues its dominance over the lower half of the league with a 3-0 shellacking of Colorado.

On Sunday, Washington visits Arizona State, and WSU plays at Arizona.

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Pac-12 Preview

Every preseason, Pac-12 volleyball coaches belly up to a buffet of potential nonconference opponents. The available competition ranges from pitiful to powerful, and each coach faces a choice: Pad your record and build confidence? Or toss the team in the fire to harden it for grueling conference play?

Cupcakes or cuisine?

Most seasons, including this one, Washington coach Jim McLaughlin turns down invitations to compete early on against national powers. Figuring his players will get plenty of tough competition from the likes of Stanford, Cal, UCLA and USC, he tends to treat the preseason as a time for teaching and tinkering. UW’s eight nonconference matches featured just one ranked opponent, #22 Long Beach State (a 3-1 UW victory in the 49ers’ gym.)

Other Pac-12 teams took a similar path, including Cal, Utah, Colorado, WSU, Oregon State and Arizona State. Arizona’s only loss was against its only top opponent (swept by Hawai’i in Honolulu.)

Three conference teams took on at least two national powers:
·         USC—ranked #2 in the initial national poll—started by barely beating current #9 Minnesota. The Trojans then dropped a squeaker to previously top-ranked Penn State before being whipped 3-0 by UCF (Central Florida.)

·         Oregon shocked the volleyball world by demolishing four-time defending national champion Penn State, snapping the Nittany Lions’ monumental home court win streak at 94. The next night, the Ducks lost to Minnesota in five sets.

·         Undefeated Stanford dropped several sets, but secured home victories over both Penn State and #7 Florida.

Overall, the Pac-12 won 80 percent of its nonconference matches (79-20, with one left to be played, Cal Poly @ Oregon tonight) and 70 percent of its sets (252-104). Four of this week’s top six teams in the AVCA national poll—#1 Cal, #2 Stanford, #4 Washington, #6 Stanford—are from the Pac-12, and there is a good argument that #3 Illinois and #5 Penn State are both ranked too high.

So what have we learned?
The conference championship is up for grabs, perhaps as never before, and as many as 7 or 8 teams might have a reasonable shot at a tournament bid.

TITLE CONTENDERS: CALIFORNIA, STANFORD, WASHINGTON, UCLA
In head-to-head meetings among these four, the home team should be a slight favorite. The team that wins the most road matches against the other three may win the conference.

POSTSEASON PROBABLES: OREGON, USC, ARIZONA
The Ducks have an outside chance to compete for the league title, but need to shake a history of near-misses. USC has stumbled early, losing at home to UCLA last Friday, and playing the season without academically ineligible Falyn Fonoimoana, the 2010 Freshman of the Year. Arizona should get an upset or two plus enough wins from the also-rans to slip into the NCAA tournament.

WORKING TO REMAIN RELEVANT: WSU, OREGON STATE, ARIZONA STATE, UTAH, COLORADO
WSU and Oregon State each had good preseasons against fair competition (OSU beat Long Beach State in Long Beach.) ASU will struggle, as will the two newest entries in the league, Utah and Colorado.

Have your friends discovered Volleyblog Seattle? Number of unique visits: