College | Three questions for Washington’s four remaining matches

Four matches in eight days will offer answers [CORRECTED VERSION]

• #13 Arizona @ #5 Washington | Fri, Nov 21 | 8PM
• #22 Arizona State @ #5 Washington | Sun, Nov 23 | 11AM

Pac-12 | Volleyball power rankings for week nine

Big Sunday showdown as conference reaches halfway marker (sort of)

• next: #3 Washington @ UCLA | 8PM |October 25 | Pac-2 Network

Pac-12 | Volleyball power rankings for week eight

Is the Pac-12 title chase now a three-way race?

• next: #7 Stanford @ #6 Washington | 4:30PM |October 20

With the fourth week of conference play now underway (Washington defeated Cal Wednesday night,) the Pac-12 race is showing signs of becoming a 3-way race.

Washington's Kaleigh Nelson (6) attacks line in Sunday's 3-0 sweep of Arizona State
-Volleyblog Seattle photo by Leslie Hamann

The six matches between USC, Washington and Stanford are always dynamite, never more so than what could be in store this season. Only one of those matches has already been played; the second is this Sunday in Seattle. The lineup:

Oct 4	@ USC def. Stanford 3-1
Oct 20	Stanford @ Washington
Oct 27	Washington @ USC
Oct 30	USC @ Stanford
Nov 15	USC @ Washington
Nov 20	Washington @ Stanford

Stanford @ Washington is clearly the biggest conference match this week. One big question will be whether the unusual start time—Sunday at 4:30PM—will damper what is traditionally one of the largest Huskies’ home crowds of the season. The other notable match could be USC @ Arizona State.

WEEK EIGHT PAC-12 POWER RANKINGS …

		CONF	ALL
1	USC	6-0	16-1	Trojans looked like the nation’s top team as they swept the Oregon schools; can either Arizona team dent SC’s armor?
2	Washington	6-1	14-1	Huskies now 3-0 at home after smart win against enigmatic Cal; Stanford on Sunday will be biggest test so far
3	Stanford	5-1	12-3	Cards’ only three losses are to the #1, #2 & #3 teams in the nation (USC, Fla, Tex). Can they prevail against #6 UW?
4	Arizona	3-3	11-4	‘Cats put up a good fight in Seattle, then get an Evergreen split in Pullman … but barely. LA schools are next and UCLA is desperate.
5	Utah	3-3	14-4	Utes recover nicely from Stanford shellacking to earn first conference road win of the season at Cal. Can they beat Ducks?
6	California	3-4	10-6	Bears suffer brutal home loss to Utah, then miss a week of class to lose @ UW and sightsee in the NW (WSU match not ‘til Sat PM)
7	Colorado	3-3	11-5	Buffs were 3-1 at home, then lost 2 straight in the Bay Area. Can they get a road win in the Willamette Valley?
8	Oregon	3-3	10-6	Ducks recovered from early Bruins trouble, but were outclassed by SC. No longer among elite without another pin hitter.
9	Arizona St	2-4	13-5	Disastrous week in Washington, especially the loss at WSU. Once a contender, trying now not to be pretenders.
10	Washington St	2-4	14-3	Cougs would love to replay the Ariz 5th set … just a few unforced errors away from what could have been a big home sweep.
11	UCLA	1-5	10-6	Bruins finally get a conference win, but it takes five to beat Beavs. A split in the desert may not be enough to save season.
12	Oregon St	0-6	9-8	Beavers battle, that’s for sure. Someone will lose to this team; might it be either Utah or Colorado?

And for those of you keeping tabs of the all-important road wins/home losses:

	ROAD WINS			HOME LOSSES
Washington	3		Washington	0
USC	3		USC	0
Stanford	2		Stanford	0
Oregon	2		Colorado	0
California	1		Arizona	0
Washington St	1		Arizona St	1
Utah	1		California	2
Arizona	1		Washington St	2
UCLA	1		Oregon	2
Arizona St	0		Utah	2
Colorado	0		UCLA	2
Oregon St	0		Oregon St	4

See also: What we learned from Washington volleyball’s win against California

NOTES:

• Despite hitting just .062, #10 Minnesota sent #5 Michigan State to only its second loss of the season Thursday night, and its first conference loss in the Big Ten. The score in Minneapolis was 3-2 (23-25, 25-21, 24-26, 25-22, 15-17) in a match that featured 32 hitting errors by Minnesota, and 40 by Michigan State. The Spartans were particularly hurt by their 15 service errors, many at crucial moments.

Pac-12 | Volleyball power rankings for week seven

Huskies complete 3-1 road trip; look to add wins at home

• next: Arizona @ #6 Washington |8PM |October 11 | Pac-12 Network

Pac-12 | Volleyball power rankings for week six

Huskies on top; #2 USC hosts Stanford on Friday

• next: #1 Washington @ Colorado | October 4 | 6:00PM (Pacific) | Pac-12 Networks

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 | 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 | 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 | Power Rankings: Week Thirteen

Yes, it’s true: Pac-12 is the nation’s toughest conference

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

Fab Five and the Seven Dwarfs

At the halfway mark, the Pac-12’s top five teams remain undefeated against the bottom seven.

That fact explains why the Fab Five remain among the top seven in the national polls (if not the head-scratching RPI).

It also may explain why the Pac-12 might pack no more than five entries into the 2012 Tournament. The team with the next-best overall record at this point is Arizona State (14-9), a team that has dropped six of its past seven matches.

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

Three big matches on this week’s calendar.

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

Pac-12 schedule features weekly showdowns between national Top Ten teams.

Washington's Krista Vansant blocks
USC's Alicia Ogoms
-Volleyblog Seattle photo
by Leslie Hamann

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

Pac-12 play begins with plenty of drama.

The conference’s top five teams are a combined 54-5, and held five of the top seven spots in last week’s national polls. Look for Ducks and/or Huskies to crack this week’s top three, and for the Bruins, Trojans and Cardinal to stick around in the top eight.

Washington fan, Alaska Airlines Arena
-Volleyblog Seattle photo by Jack Hamann

The Pac-12's biggest matches the coming week are in Seattle:

• Wednesday: UCLA @ Washington
• Friday: USC @ Washington

Here’s how we rank 'em …

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 … 

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

Pac-12 is 81-21 in nonconference play.

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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 …