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

Secret revealed: How to be named Pac-12 Player of the Week

[11.01.12 | CORRECTED VERSION: Correcting name in photo caption to Lianna Sybeldon]

NCAA | Washington Volleyball 8th in media poll, 14th in RPI

Five Pac-12 teams in top eight

Reporters mirrored coaches in the October 30, 2012 Volleyball Magazine media poll. Both placed the same schools in their respective Top 20s, and the top 13 were identical.

Meanwhile, the NCAA’s RPI continues to baffle. The top five teams in the Pac12 are a collective 84-3 against all other opponents (not counting, of course, when they play each other. (Early in the season, UCLA barely lost in 5 at Nebraska, Stanford barely lost in 5 at Penn State, and Stanford lost in 4 at Hawai’i.)

84-3. They pretty much only lose to each other. 

NCAA | Pac-12 continues to dominate week 10 coaches’ poll

Washington (17-4) hangs in at eighth

Washington's Cassie Strickland
-courtesy Shutter Geeks Photography

For the fifth week in a row, five Pac-12 teams are among the top seven in the weekly coaches’ poll is conducted by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA).

The Pac-12 takes over the top two spots this week, and deservedly so. That said, Stanford still has to play Oregon (this week), UCLA and USC on the road, plus Washington at home. The imbalanced Pac-12 schedule means that Oregon meets UCLA and USC only once each this season and next.

Nebraska beats Penn State and is ranked lower than the Nittany Lions? Yes, the Huskers also lost to Ohio State, but still …

Most under-rated this week: BYU and Miami (FL)

Most over-rated: Hawai’i (still no road matches against a top team), Dayton (two biggest wins are against unranked teams), and Ohio State (7 losses is too many for the Top 20)

Pac-12 | What we learned from Washington’s loss to UCLA

#6 UCLA 3, #5 Washington 1 (25-18, 25-22, 22-25, 28-26)

next: Colorado @ Washington | November 2 | 6PM

[10.29.12 | 10:00PM | CORRECTION to number of sets lost by just two points (5 not 4)]

Yes, Washington has now lost 4 of 5 after winning its first 16 in a row.

But all four losses were (a) crazy close; and (b) to the other four members of the Pac-12’s Fab Five (Stanford, Oregon, UCLA, USC, Washington).

Amanda Gil and Kelcey Dunaway
-courtesy Shutter Geeks Photography

Before we move on, consider:

Pac-12 | What we learned from Washington’s loss to USC

#7 USC 3, #5 Washington 2 (23-25, 25-22, 22-25, 25-23, 15-10)

next: #5 Washington @ #6 UCLA | October 28 | 12PM | Pac12 Networks

The stat sheet is a mess.

Washington's Amanda Gil had 15 block assists
and 6 kills against USC
-courtesy Shutter Geeks Photograpahy

If you look only at USC’s side of the ledger, you might assume the Trojans won in a rout.

• USC, ranked #7, was 19-3 and playing at home.
• Freshman sensation Samantha Bricio had 30 kills, a career high.
• Sara Shaw (15) and Katie Fuller (12) combined for another 27 kills.
• USC had a whopping 107 digs, led by Natalie Hagglund’s 34, a career high.
• Shaw added 30 digs, a career high (previous: 19).
• USC held Washington star Krista Vansant to a .150 hitting average; for the season, she hits .329.
• Vansant was forced to take 80 swings, a career high (previous: 59).
• Washington’s usually-powerful right-side attack was shut down; Kylin Muñoz had 4 kills and 4 errors on 26 swings (.000), and Kaleigh Nelson had 8 kills, 3 errors on 29 attacks (.172).
• The Huskies had 14 service errors against just 3 aces. Vansant (4) and Muñoz (3) led the way in errors.

Add it up, and you have all the ingredients of a 3-0 USC win.

Except that didn’t happen. Washington won two of the first three sets, and was down just 21-22 in the second. The Huskies led the fourth set 20-18, and trailed in the fifth just 10-11.

NCAA | Washington Volleyball 5th in media poll, 8th in RPI

Five Pac-12 teams in top seven; most polls starting to track closely

Pac-12 | #1, #2 & #3 all lose … but #5 Huskies not on TV

#5 Washington @ Arizona | Saturday, September 22 | 5pm

no TV, no radio

Under the glare of television cameras, the nation’s top three teams all lost this weekend:

• #1 UCLA lost to #2 USC
• #2 USC lost to #7 Oregon
• #3 Nebraska lost to #4 Penn St

 And so … on the one hand, it might not be such bad news for #5 Washington that its 5pm (Pacific) match against Arizona will not be televised.

Washington's Lianna Sybeldon
-courtesy Shutter Geeks Photography

On the other hand, it really is not good news, because great volleyball teams should not be overlooked by the networks. If Washington can beat Arizona, the Huskies could be ranked anywhere from #2 to #4 … and there’s no way a team ranked that high—one of only three unbeaten teams in Division I!—should be left off the schedule.

With the launch of the Pac-12 Networks (P12Ns), most conference matches are now available (even as most nonconference matches were disappointingly not.) And, during this first week, the P12Ns impressively upgraded their coverage with the addition of three volleyball broadcast veterans (and former Olympians):

• Paul Sunderland’s play-by-play of the marquee USC/Oregon match was smooth and professional.
• Chris Marlowe handled Stanford’s struggle to beat Utah in Salt Lake City. Marlowe—who has called thousands of matches—knows the sport, even if he doesn’t always avoid clichés.
• Another experienced broadcaster, Holly McPeak, was part of the UCLA/Oregon State telecast. She is often a lightning rod for volleyball fans; they either love or decidedly don’t love her analysis of indoor volleyball.

Pac-12 | What we learned from Washington’s win over Washington State

#5 Washington 3, Washington State 0 (25-20, 27-29, 25-14, 27-25)

next: Saturday, September 22 | #5 Washington @ Arizona

SEATTLE—Jenni Nogueras grew up in Puerto Rico, speaking Spanish. At the University of Washington, her major is English.

So what language does she speak at home?

“She speaks Spanish,” says teammate—and roommate—Kaleigh Nelson. “And I love how it sounds.”

Last night, however, it was Nogueras who loved how Nelson sounded. In Washington’s often-tense 3-1 victory over Washington State, it was the communication between roommates that made the difference.

Amanda Gil (1), Jenni Nogueras (9), Kaleigh Nelson (6) and teammates celebrate match point
-photo courtesy of Shutter Geeks Photography

Nelson finished the night with 16 kills and 4 errors on just 24 swings, a sizzling .500 average. Her big performance was never more evident than in the waning moments of the match.

With the fourth set score tied at 22, Washington’s star hitter Krista Vansant (16 kills/3 errors/45 attempts/.289) got a big kill, then moved off the front line and back to serve. On the ensuing rally, Gabbi Parker hit the ball long; on the next rally, Nelson did the same. Suddenly, the Cougars had set point.