SEATTLE – Washington Volleyball was picked as the preseason favorites atop the Pac-12 Conference today, while UW’s trio of returning All-Americans were all voted to the All-Pac-12 Preseason Team.
The results of the 2022 Preseason Coaches Poll and All-Pac-12 Team are based on voting of the Pac-12 head coaches. For the second season in a row, UW received top billing, as the Huskies have won the past two Pac-12 championships. This is the fifth time Washington has been voted preseason No. 1.
Fifth-year Huskies Marin Grote, Claire Hoffman, and Ella May Powell were all voted to the 15-player preseason squad. All three were All-Pac-12 Team members at the end of 2021, and All-Americans.
The release of the preseason voting coincided with report day for the Huskies, as the team gathered in Alaska Airlines Arena for meetings and media.
Washington received eight of a possible 11 first-place votes while second-place Stanford received two votes, third-place UCLA received one, and fourth-place Oregon received one. USC and Washington State were voted fifth and sixth to round out the top half of the coaches poll.
Washington’s season will open on the road in Fayetteville, Ark., the hometown of Powell, for two matches against Arkansas on Aug. 26 and Aug. 27. The first home week for UW will be Sept. 8-9, with three matches over two days against Northwestern, Pepperdine, and Cal Poly.
Grote, the middle blocker from Burbank, Calif., led the Pac-12 last season with a .415 attack percentage with a career-high 2.13 kills per set and 1.05 blocks per set. She hit over .400 in 17 matches last year, and made the All-America Second Team.
Hoffman led the Huskies last year with a career-high 3.75 kills per set, eighth in the Pac-12, and she hit .306, becoming the first Husky OH1 to hit over .300 and lead the team in kills since 2016. The Pleasant Hill, Ore. product also was third in the Pac-12 with 0.39 aces per set. She’s already surpassed 1,000 career kills, sitting at 1,078, and looks to add a third All-America honor.
Powell is now the two-time defending Pac-12 Setter of the Year. Last season, the Fayetteville native set UW to a Pac-12 leading .285 attack percentage, averaging 10.80 assists per set. She is close to becoming the third Husky to pass 5,000 career assists, with 4,969. Powell also is approaching the school record in aces, with 142, needing 15 more to break the record.
2022 PAC-12 WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL PRESEASON COACHES POLL
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