WCC Fall 2021 Thread

[trojansc]

Nov 23, 2021 20:51:32 GMT -5 bayarea said:

Nov 22, 2021 15:09:15 GMT -5 smartcookie said:

Coaches poll for this week is out. BYU remains ranked #4, no surprise there. Pepperdine gets the seed at #25 (no change from last week) and San Diego drops out of the top 25 (ranked #23 last week). If BYU beats San Diego (as I expect them to), and Pepperdine beats Gonzaga (as I expect them to), San Diego and Pepperdine will have the same in-conference record (14-4). Pepperdine will have a stronger overall record (22-5 to USD's 21-7) - although in my opinion San Diego scheduled a tougher pre-conference schedule...dropping to #1 Texas and #19 Utah but winning against #16 UCLA. Pepperdine's only game against a ranked opponent in the preseason was against Washington and they lost 3-1. HOWEVER, both San Diego and Pepperdine faced LBSU in the preseason and Pepperdine tied them 2-2 (it was an exhibition match where the coaches chose to play 4 sets in advance) whereas San Diego lost 3-1. Also, San Diego swept Pacific and beat Pepperdine the first time these teams played but were defeated by both in the second half of the season (indicating Pepperdine getting stronger, San Diego running out of steam?).

Interested in your thoughts on who deserves the top 25 placement and who will make/not make the tournament.

It's time to call in our resident bracketology expert to figure out Pepperdine and San Diego's chances of making the tournament.  trojansc

I've never been wrong on a WCC team, so, that bodes well!!

I don't see Pepperdine or San Diego getting left out. San Diego has the UCLA win -- Pepperdine has some RPI breathing room. Pepp's 2 T50 wins are nothing to really brag about -- but, there aren't enough quality teams below them to all collectively jump them.

Now where BYU is going to get seeded - I have absolutely no idea. Don't be surprised to see them at #16 or #10?

[bayarea]

Tonight's marquis matchup is not going well. BYU up 17-6 over San Diego in set one. Yikes.  They took it 25-10.

Santa Clara and Pacific tied at 11... then Pacific on a run to go up 22-14...took the first set at 25-17

LMU 25-20 over Portland in the first set

SMC up 20-16 over USF... and they squeaked out the first set 25-23

[bayarea]

BYU vs USD match is a complete flip in the second set with USD getting up to a 13-1 lead on the back of Katie Lukes' serving and hitting. Now 15-5

SMC running away with the second set over USF after a deuce first set. Up 15-6 now.

LMU at 17-13 over Portland after a little run to break the tie.

Pacific 6-4 over SCU in the second.

[bayarea]

USD took the second set 25-14 to tie the match at 1-1. It's a bipolar match for sure.

SCU flipped the switch and took the second set 25-14 to tie the match 1-1 at Pacific.

LMU stats got stuck at 22-21 in the second vs Portland. LMU is up 1-0

SMC is up 2-0 on SF after a close first set and a runaway second set 25-12. They are running away with the third set toward a sweep, and USF will end the season with 0 wins.

[bayarea]

SMC swept USF -23, -12, -17. SMC finishes the season at 9-9 and USF is 0-17.

LMU swept Portland -20, -23, -12. LMU finishes the season at 8-10 and Portland at 2-14.

Santa Clara (7-9) took set three 25-21 to take the 2-1 lead at Pacific (10-7).

*Portland canceled their recent matches at USF and SCU due to Covid protocols, so the W-L totals are not the same for all teams. Santa Clara would almost certainly have won that match and USF would likely have lost.


BYU took set three 25-21 over USD to lead the match 2-1.  That was, by far, the most competitive set of the match.

[bayarea]

Santa Clara won 3-1 at Pacific after taking the fourth set 25-20. SCU finishes their season 8-9 (would have been 9-9 if they had played Portland). Pacific is 10-8.

BYU won (I think...USD is having a last gasp comeback) 3-1 at San Diego in one of the strangest matches of the season. BYU finishes the season 18-0 and San Diego is 14-4, which ties Pepperdine for 2nd place in conference, with Pacific in 4th place.

Saint Mary's at 9-9 is in 5th place and Santa Clara at 8-9 in 6th place.

LMU, Gonzaga, Portland and USF round out the conference standings.

(At the beginning of the season, I thought LMU had the edge over Pepperdine as the third place team.  I don't know what happened to them in the second half of the season, even without Geissberger.)

[bbg95]

BYU just finished with a perfect conference record at 18-0. They are the first team to do that since they joined the WCC (not sure about before then). Previously, 2011 Pepperdine, 2017 BYU, 2017 San Diego, 2018 BYU, 2019 San Diego and 2020 BYU finished with just one loss in conference.

[bbg95]

[nickvb]

Nov 26, 2021 17:43:44 GMT -5 bbg95 said:

Basically a preview of the WCC end of season awards- both would be well deserved 

[bbg95]

Nov 26, 2021 19:12:16 GMT -5 nickvb said:

Nov 26, 2021 17:43:44 GMT -5 bbg95 said:

Basically a preview of the WCC end of season awards- both would be well deserved 

Yeah, I haven't looked that closely at it yet, but I have to imagine the Player of the Year will be either Bower or Koerber, and Shields is probably the most likely winner for Defensive Player of the Year. I think Olmstead has to be a lock for Coach of the Year--BYU went undefeated in conference--and I can't imagine Bower not winning Setter of the Year. I'm not sure on Freshman of the Year.

[smartcookie]

Nov 26, 2021 19:16:31 GMT -5 bbg95 said:

Nov 26, 2021 19:12:16 GMT -5 nickvb said:

Basically a preview of the WCC end of season awards- both would be well deserved 

Yeah, I haven't looked that closely at it yet, but I have to imagine the Player of the Year will be either Bower or Koerber, and Shields is probably the most likely winner for Defensive Player of the Year, though I want to check he . I think Olmstead has to be a lock for Coach of the Year--BYU went undefeated in conference--and I can't imagine Bower not winning Setter of the Year. I'm not sure on Freshman of the Year.

I think Grace Chillingworth may be a contender for freshman of the year. I think Koerber will take the cake for player of the year...she's the only one in the WCC who's won both offensive and defensive player of the week awards. If Bower isn't setter of the year I'll be shocked. I also think Ahrens might be considered for offensive player of the year and Blackwell might be considered for defensive player of the year. 

[smartcookie]

WCC teams in the tournament:

San Diego has the toughest path in my opinion. They get Texas again if they beat Rice in the 1st round...the bottom right is a very tough bracket. The winner of San Diego/Texas will likely face Washington, and then the winner of Nebraska/Kentucky (this also means we might have a national championship rematch a bit early if both Kentucky and Texas win their first 3 games).

Pepperdine is the underdog but they're in with a fighting chance of making the Sweet 16. They get UCLA if they beat UCF in their first round. San Diego defeated UCLA in the preseason and Pepperdine has defeated San Diego in the regular season, so this should be an exciting matchup - one Pepperdine could win if everything clicks for them. The winner of Pepperdine/UCLA will likely get Wisconsin (UCLA and Pepperdine both likely to exit here), and then the winner of Baylor/Minnesota.

There are mixed opinions about whether BYU deserved to be seeded higher. I think BYU will be in the sweet 16 (they've proven that they can win against Utah) and could make the elite 8. Purdue has been really hot and cold this year...they have some big wins (vs. Ohio State 3-2, vs. Tennessee 3-0, vs. Penn State 3-2, vs. Wisconsin 3-1 twice) but they have also lost to Nebraska (3-1) twice, Ohio State (3-1), Illinois (3-2) and Michigan State (3-2). We also see Purdue splitting with Illinois and Ohio State...some inconsistency there. In my opinion, BYU is a better team than Illinois and Michigan State. They are in with a chance of upsetting Purdue, but Purdue is so unpredictable that you never know whether they're going to crush a top 4 team (like Wisconsin) or crumble at the hands of an unseeded team. If BYU pulls off the Purdue upset, they get the winner of Creighton/Pitt which means another rematch may be on the horizon in BYU/Pitt.

[Zazu]

Don't see this published yet on the WCC website, but WCC twitter reporting that Kenzie Koerber is WCC Player of the Year, Jadyn Tubbs as Libero of the Year (over Madison Shields--did not see that coming--though she's certainly deserving), Whitney Bower Setter of the Year, Grace Chillingworth Freshman of the Year, and Heather Olmstead Coach of the Year.

Rather dismayed about the selection of Annie Benbow to the 1st team and Madison Shields to the 2nd team. Shaking my head on that one.

I'm a little surprised to see Ballard-Nixon on the 1st team as well. She's been rather up and down this season and her last three matches to end the season were not so good.

[Zazu]

[Zazu]

2021 WCC Volleyball Awards Announced

Women's Volleyball 11/29/2021 6:09:22 PM

SAN MATEO, Calif. – BYU head coach Heather Olmstead captured her fourth West Coast Conference Volleyball Coach of the Year award, as the Conference announced its major award winners and all-conference teams.

Olmstead was one of three BYU representatives earning special recognition by the Conference. Junior Whitney Bower was named the WCC Setter of the Year for a second consecutive season, and senior Kenzie Koerber was voted the WCC Player of the Year. The Cougars, ranked No. 4 nationally, completed the WCC season a perfect 18-0 and enter the NCAA Tournament on a 20-match winning streak.

Pacific’s Jadyn Tubbs was voted the WCC Libero of the Year and Pepperdine’s Grace Chillingworth was selected as the WCC Freshman of the Year.

All five individual awards as well as the all-conference teams were voted on solely by the WCC's 10 head coaches.

Koerber, who was named the WCC Player of the Week four times during the regular season, averaged 3.64 kills per set and 2.43 digs per set with a .385 hitting percentage during conference play. She registered seven double-doubles as the Cougars completed the conference schedule 18-0.

Bower is the WCC Setter of the Year for the second consecutive year. The junior, who also collected WCC Player of the Year honors in the 2020-21 season, averaged 10.34 assists per set. Bower played a large role as the Cougars ranked second nationally in hitting percentage at .339. Bower also collected First Team All-WCC honors for the third year in a row. Bower, who also averaged 2.66 digs per set, recorded six double-doubles in conference play.

Tubbs was voted the WCC Libero of the Year, after averaging a conference-best 4.20 digs per set in the WCC. She posted at least 20 digs in three conference matches, including 25 against Pepperdine, and 23 and 22 in two matches against Saint Mary’s. She tied for fourth in the WCC in service aces with 25. Tubbs, who was also a First Team All-WCC selection, helped guide the Tigers to 10 wins in conference play this season.

Chillingworth is the second Pepperdine player to garner WCC Freshman of the Year honors in as many years, after Meg Brown was recognized during the 2020-21 season. She was first among freshmen in the WCC and ninth overall with 3.02 kills per set. Chillingworth was eighth overall with 199 total kills in 18 WCC matches. The freshman helped guide the Waves to a 14-4 conference record.

Olmstead was voted the WCC Coach of the Year for the fourth time in her career, also earning the honor during the 2020-21, 2018 and 2015 seasons. She led BYU to the 13th undefeated conference season in WCC volleyball history and the first since the conference expanded to 10 members. The last team to finish the WCC regular season undefeated was San Diego, who completed the 2004 conference season 14-0.

Seven from last season’s All-WCC First Team were selected to the 16-member First Team again this season, including Rachel Ahrens (Pepperdine), Taylen Ballard-Nixon (BYU), Whitney Bower (BYU), Kennedy Eschenberg (BYU), Grace Frohling (San Diego), Julia Sangiacomo (Santa Clara) and Isabel Zelaya (Pepeprdine). Bower, Eschenberg and Frohling are three-time First Team All-WCC selections.

BYU, Pepperdine and San Diego each earned a bid to the NCAA Tournament. This is the 11th consecutive season that at least two WCC programs have received a bid to the NCAA Tournament. Pacific was selected to play in the National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC), which begins Thursday.

WCC Coach of the Year

Heather Olmstead, BYU

WCC Player of the Year

Kenzie Koerber, BYU, SR, OPP

WCC Setter of the Year

Whitney Bower, BYU, JR

WCC Libero of the Year

Jadyn Tubbs, Pacific, SR

WCC Freshman of the Year

Grace Chillingworth, Pepperdine, FR, OH

1st Team
Rachel Ahrens, Pepperdine, SR, OH
Taylen Ballard-Nixon, BYU, SR, OH
Annie Benbow, San Diego, SR, L
Leyla Blackwell, San Diego, SO, MB
Whitney Bower, BYU, JR, S
Alexa Edwards, Pacific, SO, OH
Kennedy Eschenberg, BYU, SR, MB
Grace Frohling, San Diego, JR, OPP
Heather Gneiting, BYU, JR, MB
Kenzie Koerber, BYU, SR, OPP
Jennifer "Boo" Laird, Saint Mary's, SR, MB
Katie Lukes, San Diego, SR, OH
Megan Rice, LMU, SR, OH
Julia Sangiacomo, Santa Clara, JR, OH
Jadyn Tubbs, Pacific, SR, L
Isabel Zelaya, Pepperdine, JR, S

2nd Team
Isabella Bareford, LMU, FR, S
Meg Brown, Pepperdine, SO, MB
Kari Geissberger, LMU, FR, OH
Erin Livingston, BYU, SO, OH
Michelle Shaffer, Santa Clara, SR, S/OPP
Madison Shields, Pepperdine, SR, L

Honorable Mention

Madi Allen, BYU, SO, L

Grace Chillingworth, Pepperdine, FR, OH

Ramonni Cook, Pacific, SO, OPP

Kennedy Croft, Gonzaga, JR, OH

Jayde Harris, Portland, JR, OH

Audrey Klemp, LMU, FR, OPP

Kelsey Knudsen, Saint Mary's, SR, L

Darina Kumanova, Pacific, SO, OH

Cara McKenzie, Gonzaga, SR, MB

Kylie Pries, San Diego, SO, OH

Freshman Team

Grace Chillingworth, Pepperdine, OH
Kristen Erland, Saint Mary's, MB

Jacquelyn Moore, LMU, MB

Haylee Stoner, San Diego, MB

Nive Tuileta, Santa Clara, S

Emily Wilson, San Diego, OH