College | Pac-12 volleyball pushed out of prime-time Friday TV spots this week

Matches moved to Thursday … and here’s why

• #2 Washington @ #22 Colorado | Thu, Nov 13 | 5PM
• #2 Washington @ Utah | Sat, Nov 15 | 6PM

Pac 12 | What we learned from Washington volleyball’s win over Utah

Red alert: Washington uses right side Nogueras/Nelson connection to great effect

• #3 Washington def. Utah 3-1 (25-16, 22-25, 26-24, 25-22)
• next: Colorado @ #3 Washington | November 3 | 3PM | Courtney Thompson jersey retirement

Pac-12 | Two good reasons to see Washington volleyball in person this weekend

Making history and getting out of the house

• next: Utah @ #3 Washington | November 1 | 7PM | no TV
• Colorado @ #3 Washington | November 3 | 3PM | Courtney Thompson jersey retirement

NCAA | Washington volleyball stays near top of weekly RPI and coaches’ rankings

Huskies benefit as teams they’ve defeated keep winning

Pac-12 | Washington volleyball bounces back, sweep Utes

Right-siders help Huskies right ship

• #1 Washington def. Utah 3-0 (25-23, 25-15, 30-28)

Pac 12 | Huskies featured on Pac-12 Networks' "Top Matches"

5-set home victories against Utah and Oregon make the networks' "12 Best of  2012" List

Pac-12 | What we learned from Washington's wins against Colorado and Utah

#8 Washington 3, Colorado 0
#8 Washington 3, Utah 2
next: #8 Washington @ California | November 7

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

#2 Washington 3, Utah 1 (25-14, 25-16, 23-25, 25-20)

next: #2 Washington @ Colorado | Sunday, October 7 | 2:00PM (Pacific)

• Pac-12 Network (Chris Marlowe, Al Scates)

Pac-12 | Washington fans get first look at Pac-12 Network volleyball coverage

Huskies attract top-line broadcast teams for Rocky Mountain Matches

• Tonight | 7:30PM (Pacific) | #2 Washington @ Utah | Pac-12 Network (Paul Sunderland and Amy Gant)
• Sunday | 2:00PM (Pacific) | #2 Washington @ Colorado | Pac-12 Network (Chris Marlow and Al Scates)

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

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

Stanford struggles, Cal escapes

The Pac-12's Bay Area behemoths, third-ranked Stanford and seventh-ranked Cal, headed for the Rocky Mountains tonight for what would have seemed a bit of a vacation. Utah is in ninth place, with just four conference wins, while Colorado sits in the cellar, still winless in Pac-12 play.

Out of the blue, however, the Buffs made the Cardinal sweat, as Stanford crawled to a 3-1 win (25-23, 22-25, 25-21, 25-15).

In Salt Lake City, it was even hairier for the Golden Bears. Utah took the first and third sets, and kept the final frame neck-in-neck until the very end. Cal's 3-2 victory was closer than it looks, 22-25, 25-19, 23-25, 25-18, 15-13). For the match, Cal hit just .200; Utah only .182. The Utes had five players with 10 or more kills.

And, in case you missed it Tuesday night, fifth-ranked Illinois lost yet again, this time 3-1 to #11 Purdue (25-21, 22-25, 24-26, 21-25). Just two weeks ago, the Fighting Illini were ranked #1; they've now lost three of their last four. The NCAA's hard-to-fathom RPI still had Illinois #1 before Tuesday's loss to the Boilermakers.

UW: Still no five-set matches

As we reported two weeks ago ("Washington's five-set curse",) matches which go the full five sets (with one team, of course, winning 3 sets to 2), have not been the Washington Huskies' friend.

During Coach Jim McLaughlin's ten-plus seasons at UW, his teams have won 85% percent of matches lasting either 3 or 4 sets. But when they play 5, they win just 47% (23 of 49) of the time.

When Washington beat Utah Saturday, it was the first time in McLaughlin's coaching career that his team had started the season without playing a single 5-set match in the first 16 matches. The previous streak was 15 in 2009, when the undefeated Huskies lost 2-3 to Stanford in Palo Alto (more on that later this week.)

The Huskies' 3-1 win at Long Beach State was the only 4-set match of 2011 so far. The other 14 Washington victories have been 3-0 sweeps; the only loss was an 0-3 sweep at the hands of USC.

Given that UW has lost seven of its past ten 5-setters, the new record streak is probably good news.

Washington setter Evan Sanders
[Volleyblog Seattle photo by Leslie Hamann]

"I don't know," says McLaughlin. "I'm not sure about the significance. I've never thought about it."

"Now you're going to make me think about it."

UW VOLLEYBALL Number of matches to start the season without a 5-set match
2011	*16
2009	15
2002	13
2010	13
2005	12
2007	11
2003	10
2004	9
2008	7
2006	1
2001	1
*active streak

Breaking Down UW’s Colorado/Utah sweep

visit Volleyblog Seattle Photos

It was getting ugly.

It was the third set; Utah’s Chelsey Schofield blocked a Bianca Rowland slide attack, knotting the score at 4. During the next rally, Barfield and setter Evan Sanders failed to connect. Barfield pushed a weak shot across the net, extending the rally.

But Utah couldn’t convert, opening the door for a Krista Vansant kill.

It was Kelcey Dunaway’s turn to serve. Last season, like this season, she was third on a middle blocker depth chart that has room for just two starters. But last season, she was a designated server, notching 25 aces, second-best (tonow-graduated Kindra Carlson) on the team. This season, she stood mostly on the sidelines, as Bianca Rowland stayed in to serve.

visit Volleyblog Seattle Photos

But the night before, against Colorado, Rowland missed three serves. And in the first two set against Utah, she missed three more.

“And Kelcey came up to me,” said Washington Coach Jim McLaughlin after the match, “and said, ‘Jim, I’m ready if you need me.’ And I love it when somebody says that.”

“I know that my serve is just as good as it was last season,” Dunaway said, “and I knew it had actually gotten better.”

From 12 feet behind the service line, Dunaway tossed the ball—not too high, no too far—and hit it squarely in the middle, with her right arm as high as it could reach. The ball sailed without any rotation, and knuckled to the upper arms of Utah’s Morgan Odale. The near-perfect float serve was almost impossible to pass, and the Utes were instantly out of system. They gift-wrapped an easy return to the Huskies, and Vansant soon had her second kill in a row. The score was 6-4 Washington.

Dunaway’s second serve was the same, and so was the result: Three in a row for Vansant. Then four in a row. Then six Vansant kills out of seven points. In all, Dunaway served nine in a row, forcing Utah to spend both of its timeouts. By the time the Utes finally scored on a tip, it was 13-5, and the match was all but over.

Kelcey Dunaway serves against Utah during a nine-point second-set run
[Volleyblog Seattle photo by Leslie Hamann]

“It was nice,” said Dunaway, “I miss serving. I really like it.”

* * *

Every team in the Pac-12 attracts top-shelf athletes … and that includes the two newcomers, Colorado and Utah. The Utes played good defense, holding the Huskies to a .183 average for the match, a number inflated by UW’s .400 clip in the third set.

Seattle Times: Rowland looking to get back in sync (Terry Wood)

NOTE: Space restrictions shortened the UW volleyball story that appears in today’s Seattle Times.  Below is the same story with some additional information.

Washington looks for volleyball sweep against visiting Colorado, Utah

Senior middle blocker Bianca Rowland and setter Evan Sanders, a transfer from Colorado State, have looked out of sync for Huskies.

BY TERRY WOOD

Special to The Seattle Times

When the third-ranked Washington volleyball team hosts two Pac-12 bottom-dwellers this weekend (Colorado on Friday, Utah on Saturday, both at Edmundson Pavilion at 7 p.m.), likely the only real drama in store will be this: Can Bianca Rowland get untracked?

UW’s senior middle blocker and co-captain, who in 2010 ranked eighth nationally in hitting percentage (.409) and was named an honorable mention All-American for the second straight year, is hitting a modest .287 this year and is not in the top 100.

“We’ve got to fix Bianca’s deal,” coach Jim McLaughlin said after last Saturday’s sweep of Oregon State, when Rowland hit just .083 (seven kills and five errors on 24 attacks). In six conference matches, she has hit above .200 just twice.

Rowland and setter Evan Sanders, a senior transfer from Colorado State playing her first season at UW, at times look out of sync. Rowland seems to reach Sanders’ sets early or late and often resorts to tipping balls rather than hammering them.

Solving the issue “is a dual responsibility,” McLaughlin says.

Bianca Rowland (15) and Evan Sanders (10) celebrate a Rowland kill against Oregon State
[Volleyblog Seattle photo by Leslie Hamann]

“Bianca has got to be in the right place at the right time, and Evan has got to set the ball with great consistency,” he said “She almost has to institutionalize the set. Then they can connect on the thing.

“Every play has a different rhythm,” he said, “so you’ve got to adjust to the rhythm of the play and be in the right place relative to the contact point. I don’t think B (Rowland) was doing that, and Evan wasn’t giving her the same set all the time.



“It’s like an end running a pattern that the quarterback doesn’t know about, so it influences the throw. You can’t have that. It’s got to be very deliberate. They both have got to do their jobs. Together they can make the thing work.”

Meanwhile, fellow middle blocker Lauren Barfield is hitting .345 and having her best year since she became a regular in 2009. Barfield’s rotation, McLaughlin explains, usually positions her in front of Sanders.

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.

#1 Cal tops #2 Stanford; Utah wins

The Cal Bears, playing at home, won the final three sets to defeat Stanford 3-1. Cal's big hitter, Tarah Murrey, had 18 kills but hit just .157; the Bears hit just .264 for the match.

Stanford committed an astonishing 31 hitting errors to hit just .103 over four sets; Rachel Williams had 12 of those errors to go with her team-leading 15 kills. Undefeated Cal has now won 5 of its previous 7 matches against Stanford. It was Stanford's first loss of the season.

In Boulder, Utah swept Colorado in three sets. The Utes hit .275 to the Buffs' .161.

And in Eugene, the Ducks beat Cal Poly 3-0, in the league's final nonconference match of the preseason. The Pac-12 went 80-20 against nonleague competition.

Pac-12 staggered start

#1 faces #2 tonight in Berkeley, as top-ranked Cal hosts rival Stanford.

For some in Pac-12, rivalry week comes early. For others, including Washington, it comes very late. What’s going on?

When the first-ever Pac-12 schedule was released in spring, every team was to face its rival first and last in conference play. But several schools objected, since it meant playing three Pac-12 matches in just five days, with half the teams facing travel during that span.

The league agreed to let Washington and WSU move their series to the end of the season, meeting in Seattle the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, and in Pullman three days later. The Oregon and Arizona schools followed suit.

USC's Galen Center

UCLA and USC played the first-ever Pac-12 match last Friday; UCLA steamrolled to a 3-0 win. One bright note in an otherwise troubled USC early season: 5,385 fans filled Galen Center, a USC home record.

Cal is hoping for similar support when it hosts what is known as the “Big Spike” series. For most of the past decade, Cal/Stanford has taken a back seat to the UW/Stanford series, as that duo finished in the top two every season between 2004-09. Stanford leads the Cal series 62-10, including a winning streak that spanned twenty seasons. Since breaking that streak, however, the Bears have won 4 of the past six matches, including a season sweep last season. Cal graduated national Player of the Year setter Carli Lloyd, but returns powerful outside hitter Tarah Murrey. Stanford graduated All-American Alix Klineman, but junior Karissa Cook is a big-time setter.

And in Boulder, Colorado and Utah go at it in their first-ever Pac-12 “rivalry” contest.

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.