PULLMAN, Wash. — No. 10 Washington State volleyball (24-7) will host its first NCAA Tournament match in Bohler Gym since 2018 Friday as it gets set to play Grand Canyon (23-7) beginning at 7 p.m. in the opening round of the 2023 NCAA Tournament. Friday's first round match will be streamed live on ESPN+ and will also be available for listeners on Pullman Radio KQQQ.
The Cougars own the 10th-best hitting percentage in the nation and a program record at .286 (1551k-497e-3681a) heading into this year's postseason. WSU is a perfect 13-0 this season when hitting .300 or better as a team including a .326 hitting percentage in a sweep on the road at Washington in last week's Pac-12 finale.
Match Info:
>> vs Grand Canyon (23-7, 13-3 WAC) | Opp Streak: Won 4
>> OPP LAST THREE: W 3-0 vs CBU // W 3-0 vs UT-Rio Grande Valley // W 3-1 vs SFA
>> DATE: Fri., Dec. 1, 2023 // First serve: 7:05 p.m.
>> LOCATION: Pullman, Wash. // Bohler Gym
>> TV: ESPN+, PxP: Trevor Williams
>> RADIO: Pullman Radio KQQQ
>> WSU Match Notes (PDF)
WSU POSTSEASON NOTES
>> Washington State is
one of only 11 power-five programs and
the lone Pac-12 program to reach each of
the last eight NCAA Tournaments (2016-23).
>> 2023 marks the
seventh time Washington State has hosted the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Pullman and the
first time since a 2018 run that saw the Cougars defeat Northern Iowa and Tennessee, respectively, to advance to the
Sweet 16.
>> WSU has won its last two opening round matches in the NCAA Tournament, both without dropping a set. The Cougars swept Northern Colorado in 2021 in Waco, Texas, and posted a 3-0 win over UNLV to open the tournament last season in San Diego Calif.
>> Head Coach
Jen Greeny has been a part of 14 postseason trips for WSU, having played for the Cougars in the NCAA Tournament (1995, '96, '97)
before returning as an assistant coach for WSU's postseason runs in 2000, 2001 and 2002 as well.
WSU MATCH NOTES
>> Washington State had five players recognized on the 2023 All-Pac-12 team as Magda Jehlářová and Pia Timmer each earned first team honors, while Iman Isanovic, Katy Ryan, and Argentina Ung were each named as honorable mention selections in Tuesday's all-conference release.
>> Jehlářová's first team selection makes her the first athlete in the conference's history to achieve five career first team honors.
>> Magda Jehlářová had three blocks against Arizona State to become the NCAA rally-scoring career leader with No. 752 during the fifth set of a 3-2 win last week. She heads into Friday's first round only three shy of the all-time Pac-12 record.
>> Head coach Jen Greeny became only the second coach at Washington State to reach three-consecutive 20-win seasons, having played on the most recent team to achieve the feat back in 1995-98. The Cougars have already reached their highest win total (24) during Greeny's tenure as head coach.
>> The Cougars own the 10th-best hitting percentage in the nation going into the NCAA Tournament at .286, a WSU single-season program record.
>> WSU is a perfect 13-0 this season when hitting .300 or better as a team including a .326 hitting percentage in a sweep on the road at Washington in last week's Pac-12 finale. On the flip side, its defense has held teams to .200 hitting or lower 17 times with a perfect 17-0 record including Friday's Apple Cup in which Washington was held to just .176.
>> Pia Timmer (149) and Julia Norville (134) each rank in the top-10 all-time at WSU in career aces heading into the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
RECORD WATCH
>> Magda Jehlářová goes into the weekend only four blocks shy of setting the all-time Pac-12 record for career blocks.
>> Pia Timmer is second all-time at WSU in career aces (149) and is just two shy of setting the all-time WSU career record.
WASHINGTON STATE IN THE POLLS
>> Washington State moved up one spot to No. 10 in this week's AVCA Top-25 Coaches' Poll, its ninth week inside the top-10 this season.
>> Washington State set a program record with eight-consecutive week inside the top-25 earlier this season. WSU has spent a total of 39 weeks all-time ranked inside the nation's top-10.
>> Washington State has appeared in 191 AVCA Top-25 polls — No. 20 all-time among Power Five schools — while finishing 13 seasons in the final top-25 poll — also ranked No. 20 all-time among Power Five schools.
SIX ROTATIONS: EIGHT NATIONS
>> The makeup of the 2023 WSU roster is split down the middle with eight international players and eight United States natives. Current and past Cougs have consistently seen the court at the highest levels of international volleyball.
>> Magda Jehlářová (Czech Republic), Iman Isanovic (Bosnia & Herzegovina), and Argentina Ung (Mexico) have each played major impact roles on their respective senior national teams in recent years.
>> Ung has spent the past three years as a starting setter for Mexico and won the 2022 NORCECA Final Four Tournament MVP and Best Setter awards.
>> Jehlářová and Isanovic each competed in the opening round of the 2023 CEV Women's EuroVolley Championships (Aug. 15-23) earlier this season.
>> Former Washington State volleyball players Jocelyn Urias ('15, '17-'18) and Taylor Mims ('15, '18) have also represented Mexico and the United States, respectively, on their senior national teams earlier this year.
>> Mims recently helped Team USA win a Gold Medal in the 2023 Pan American Games earlier this summer.
>> Katy Ryan was a 2022 U.S. Collegiate National Team selection while head coach Jen Greeny has also spent time as a USA Volleyball Assistant Coach.
>> Freshman Emma Barbero was a starting libero for an Italian Junior National Team that won a Junior World Championship. She also brings playing experience from the top Italian club volleyball league, Serie A, one of the top club volleyball leagues in the world.
Up Next
The winner of Friday's nightcap will play the winner of the days opening match, fifth-seeded Dayton (31-2) vs Pepperdine (19-8). The second round match in Bohler Gym will be played on Saturday beginning at 7 p.m.
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