Pac-12 Women’s Volleyball: Week 1 Recap

The women’s volleyball season started up last week in the Pac-12 and only one team started their season under .500.  Utah won all four of their matches last week to sit at the top of the standings.  Arizona State, Colorado, Oregon and USC all went 3-0.

The Washington Huskies currently reside in third place in the conference with a 2-0 mark.  Arizona, Oregon State and Stanford follow Washington with a 2-1 record.  California and UCLA went 2-1 last week while Washington State finished 1-2.

Oregon Duck senior Alaina Bergsma was named the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week for her performance against Toledo, Houston and Ohio State.  It was the fourth Offensive Player of the Week award for Bergsma who was also a third-team All-American last season.

Oregon’s in-state rival, the Oregon State Beavers, also picked up an individual award.  Sophomore Arica Nassar won the Defensive Player of the Week for her seventeen blocks in three matches.  The Beavers lost to #22 Kansas State but had victories over Oakland and UC Irvine.

USC’s Samantha Bricio was awarded the Pac-12 Freshman of the Week after winning the Most Valuable Player in the Texas A&M Invitational.  The freshman from Guadalajara, Mexico was instrumental in helping the team to wins over North Dakota, Texas State and Texas A&M.  Bricio’s award was the first ever for a USC freshman.

After one week, six Pac-12 teams show up in the AVCA (American Volleyball Coaches Association) Coaches poll.  The defending National Champions from UCLA are currently ranked third, USC is fifth, Stanford comes in at nine, Washington is ranked twelfth, the Oregon Ducks are seventeenth and California comes in at twenty-five.

Men’s volleyball begins their season this week.  You can check out the upcoming schedules for both the men and women here.

Check out Raymond Mencke’s blog at www.sportissue.com. Also follow him on Twitter @RaymondMenckeJr,

Follow the site on Twitter @Autzen_Zoo, and check us out on Facebook on the Autzen Zoo page.