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Around the League: Pac-12 teams stiff competition for women’s volleyball, men’s soccer

Washington State’s size, strength and power were too much for UCLA when the Huskies played the Bruins on Sept. 23. UCLA isn’t alone, as Wazzu has rolled through several top Pac-12 teams. (Jennifer Hu/Daily Bruin)

By David Gottlieb, Michael Hull, Grant Sugimura, and Hanson Wang

Oct. 4, 2016 11:33 p.m.

While Bruin athletes continue competing in Westwood, here’s a look at some of the biggest news from the rest of the Pac-12.

Women’s volleyball
David Gottlieb, assistant Sports editor

Three teams dominated the preseason landscape in the Pac-12: Stanford, UCLA and Washington.

This made Washington State’s schedule going into conference play look terrifying. The Cougars entered the season unranked, and their first three games would be played against the Huskies, Bruins and Cardinal.

So how’d they do? 3-0.

[Related: Bruin women’s volleyball falls to Cougars after tough battle on court]

No. 10 Washington State only broke into the AVCA coaches top-25 poll in its fifth week, but after taking down all three of the highly touted teams, the Cougars currently sit atop the Pac-12 standings with a 4-0 conference record, tied with No. 20 Oregon.

Wazzu has also hurdled over the Bruins – who have dropped down to No. 18 – in the rankings.

UCLA and No. 8 Washington are now two of the teams in a six-way tie for fourth place, while No. 7 Stanford is the only team in third place with its 3-1 conference record.

The season is still young, as all 12 teams have only played four of their 20 scheduled conference games.

So, whether or not Washington State will be able to turn its early hot streak of upsets into a Pac-12 championship run remains to be seen.

Men’s water polo
Michael Hull, assistant Sports editor

Much like UCLA’s even-scoring effort over UC Irvine and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps on Saturday, the arch rival from just across town did the same – but against No. 4 Pacific.

Ten different Trojans put up one or more goals as No. 3 USC convincingly moved past Pacific 15-7. Junior center Lachlan Edwards had a team-high three goals, and was awarded his second Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Player of the Week honor.

After the first quarter of the early-season top-five showdown, the Trojans were leading the Tigers 5-0 – by half it was 8-2.

USC goalie McQuin Baron had 14 saves in the game and he’s now two saves away from being second on the all-time list for his school.

The game was away from home in Los Angeles for the Tigers, but they will be in Stockton, California, the next time they face a top-five team, and they’ll have redemption on their minds. Their opponent? No. 1 UCLA.

Men’s soccer
Grant Sugimura, assistant Sports editor

Within the past week and a half, UCLA men’s soccer has won one game and lost two. And while the Bruins have been slumping, the top teams of the Pac-12 have maintained their top-tier status.

In the NSCAA top 25, the Pac-12 has three teams ranked with San Diego State at No. 13, Washington at No. 16 and UCLA at No. 19. Stanford also received votes but did not place.

UCLA enters a tough stretch of its season, stepping into the Pac-12 portion of the year. Its first match comes against San Diego State.

SDSU’s redshirt senior forward Travis Nicklaw was recently named the Conference’s Player of the Week for the second consecutive week. The shining moment for Nicklaw came against Washington on Sunday as he scored the game-winning goal to down the Huskies 1-0 for the first time since 2010.

Twenty-eight players from NCAA Division I schools have been marked as potential 2016 Missouri Athletic Club’s Hermann Trophy winners. The honor is the most prestigious individual award in college soccer and the Pac-12 has two representatives on the list. Both are from UCLA – sophomore midfielder Jose Hernandez and junior forward Abu Danladi.

Women’s soccer
Hanson Wang, assistant Sports editor

Last year’s Pac-12 champions are back at it again.

No. 1 Stanford (10-0-1, 3-0-0 Pac-12) defeated Washington 3-0 Sunday despite playing almost 80 minutes with only 10 players on the field following senior goalkeeper Jane Campbell’s red card.

[Related: Despite injury, UCLA women’s soccer edges out a victory over Oregon]

Led by 2015 MAC Hermann Trophy Semifinalist Andi Sullivan’s four goals and four assists so far this year, the Cardinal boast two top-10 victories against then-No. 6 Florida and then-No. 10 Minnesota. They will have the opportunity to add two more to their resume this weekend, with road games against No. 7 USC and No. 10 UCLA. The Pac-12’s lone other representative in the NSCAA top-25 poll is No. 14 Cal, which plays at UCLA Thursday night.

All four ranked teams are tied for first place in the conference with identical 3-0-0 Pac-12 records, although this weekend’s series will likely offer some separation in the standings. Five teams, on the other hand, remain winless in Pac-12 play – Oregon, Arizona, Oregon State, Washington State and Washington.

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David Gottlieb | Alumnus
Gottlieb joined the Bruin as a freshman in 2014 and contributed until he graduated in 2018. He was the Sports editor for the 2017-2018 academic year, an assistant Sports editor for the 2016-2017 academic year and spent time on the football, men's basketball, baseball, softball, women's volleyball, men's golf and women's golf beats.
Gottlieb joined the Bruin as a freshman in 2014 and contributed until he graduated in 2018. He was the Sports editor for the 2017-2018 academic year, an assistant Sports editor for the 2016-2017 academic year and spent time on the football, men's basketball, baseball, softball, women's volleyball, men's golf and women's golf beats.
Michael Hull | Alumnus
Hull joined the Bruin as a freshman in 2015 and contributed until 2017. He was an assistant Sports editor for the 2016-2017 academic year and spent time on the men's water polo, women's water polo, women's soccer, track and field and rowing beats.
Hull joined the Bruin as a freshman in 2015 and contributed until 2017. He was an assistant Sports editor for the 2016-2017 academic year and spent time on the men's water polo, women's water polo, women's soccer, track and field and rowing beats.
Grant Sugimura | Alumnus
Sugimura joined the Bruin as a freshman in 2015 and contributed until 2017. He was an assistant Sports editor for the 2016-2017 academic year and spent time on the women's basketball, men's volleyball, women's volleyball, beach volleyball, men's soccer and swim and dive beats.
Sugimura joined the Bruin as a freshman in 2015 and contributed until 2017. He was an assistant Sports editor for the 2016-2017 academic year and spent time on the women's basketball, men's volleyball, women's volleyball, beach volleyball, men's soccer and swim and dive beats.
Hanson Wang | Alumnus
Wang joined the Bruin as a freshman in 2015 and contributed until he graduated in 2019. He was an assistant Sports editor for the 2016-2017 academic year and spent time on the football, men's basketball, women's soccer, men's tennis and women's tennis beats.
Wang joined the Bruin as a freshman in 2015 and contributed until he graduated in 2019. He was an assistant Sports editor for the 2016-2017 academic year and spent time on the football, men's basketball, women's soccer, men's tennis and women's tennis beats.
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