Pac-12 Rankings Roundup

(Photo: Steve Rodriguez/ASU Athletics)

No. 1: Stanford (last week: No. 1), 7-0

Topping the rankings once again is the Stanford Cardinal. They handled then-No. 22 Duke in four sets before sweeping Penn and Santa Clara. Against Santa Clara, Stanford put up a season-best 15 blocks. The Cardinal travel to San Diego, California to participate in the USD Invitational where they will play No. 19 San Diego on September 18.

No. 5: Washington (last week: No. 5), 9-0

The Huskies had a fairly easy weekend as the swept Seattle, UC Davis and UNLV in Seattle. Senior outside hitter Krista Vansant continued to dominate, posting 13 kills at a .429 hitting percentage. She will look to lead her team in their toughest contest of the season when they host No. 4 Wisconsin on Friday, September 19.

No. 10: Southern California (last week: 6), 6-2

The Women of Troy had the roughest weekend of the Pac-12 schools as they dropped both of their matches last weekend against then-unranked Texas A&M and then-No. 10 Florida in five and three sets respectively. USC had previously gone without back-to-back losses since the Galen Center opened in 2006. Nonetheless, USC’s junior outside hitter Samantha Bricio continued to perform well as she got named to the USC Classic all-tournament team. USC will have an opportunity to bounce back when they travel to Seattle, Washington to play No. 4 Wisconsin on September 18.

No. 14: Oregon (last week: 18), 9-0

The Ducks continued to roll through their daunting preseason schedule unblemished as they defeated then-No. 23 Michigan State in four sets and swept their way past Michigan. Freshman outside hitter Frankie Shebby also continued her impressive campaign, garnering Pac-12 Freshman of the Week honors for the second week in a row after tallying 13 kills over Michigan State and a career-high 15 kills against Michigan. Oregon stayed perfect on Monday night with a four-set victory over Portland State.

No. 18: Arizona State (last week: 15), 8-1

ASU faced some adversity during their tour in Morehead, Kentucky, as they were swept by unranked Louisville. The Sun Devils hit just .089 as a team in the match and committed 18 attacking errors. The struggles continued in their second match on Friday against Northern Illinois as they dropped the first two sets. However, ASU got back on track behind junior setter Bianca Arellano’s strong 57-assists – a career-high – and they stormed back to take the match in five sets. ASU rolled past Morehead State, sweeping the hosts. They look to stay on track as they host Colorado State, North Carolina Central and Pepperdine in Tempe, Arizona this weekend.

No. 20: Arizona (last week: 21), 8-1

Despite being handed their first loss of the season by No. 2 Texas, the Wildcats bounced back to come away with victories over Florida A&M and Central Florida to conclude their weekend, including a career-best 42 assist performance by sophomore setter Penina Snuka in their match against UCF. Arizona will conclude their non-conference schedule this weekend against Coppin State, Tulane and University of Maryland, Baltimore County in Tucson.

No. 22: UCLA (last week: 25), 6-2

UCLA continued to roll as they travelled to Hawaii, outdueling Utah State, San Francisco and then-No. 22 Hawaii. It was also a historic weekend for the school. The Bruins’ victory over San Francisco was the 1,200th in school history, and senior outside hitter Karsta Lowe was named Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week for the second-consecutive week, the first time a Bruin has been named for that honor for two-straight weeks. Lowe averaged 5.50 kills per set over the weeknd. She will look to lead her team in Fullerton, California, this weekend against Yale, Georgetown and Cal State Fullerton.

Unranked:

California (7-2)

Colorado (8-1)

Oregon State (7-1)

Utah (9-0)

Washington State (7-2)

You can reach Zac Pacleb on Twitter @ZacPacleb or via email at zacpacleb@gmail.com

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