WSU volleyball is going dancing. Yet again, the Cougs will play in the NCAA Tournament for a shot at becoming national champions. To prep for the Cougs postseason run, let’s look back at the 2023 season, by the numbers.
24
The number of wins the Cougs have had this season so far. It is the highest mark under head coach Jen Greeny, the tenured coach who has had a storied career for the Cougs, from playing to leading the program.
WSU secured their 24th win in the regular season finale, a 3-0 sweep over the Huskies in Seattle. With the win, they tied for the seventh-most all-time wins in program history and tied for most since the rally-scoring era (2001) began.
14
A major reason the Cougs were able to get to 24 wins was their 14-match win streak early in the season. It started with a 3-0 sweep of Troy in the third match of the season, way back on Aug. 27.
Win No. 14 came with the 3-0 sweep of Cal in Bohler Gym Oct. 6, with the team to snap it being the then-No. 3 Stanford Cardinal on the road.
.286
Offense has been the Cougs’ calling card in 2023. Their mark of .286% is the third-best in the Pac-12, highlighted by Magda Jehlárová’s mark of .416%. It has also been a testament to setter Argentina Ung’s improvement, both with her own individual attack prowess as well as her passing.
24,694
Oh, so close to 25,000. The Cougs hosted 24,694 fans in Bohler Gym during the regular season over their 16 home matches. That averaged out to 1,543 fans per match, but several matches breached the 2,000 fan mark.
With the Cougs set to be one of the hosting locations for the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament, fan engagement and home-court advantage are major factors to the Cougs’ success.
753
Jehlárová has already broken the NCAA and WSU program history records for career blocks, leaving just the Pac-12 record left to grab. She finished the regular season with 753 for her career, just four blocks away from holding sole possession of the Pac-12 record.
1.37
This number is how she got there. Her 1.37 blocks per set in 2023 led the Conference, just barely edging out several other talented middle blockers from other NCAA Tournament-bound teams.
450
The point total for Pia Timmer in 2023. This mark was the catalyst for her fourth All-Pac-12 First Team honor, making her another one of the most decorated players in program history.
Timmer finished the 2023 season with 387 kills, 36 service aces and 46 total blocks, one of the most efficient seasons of her storied career. Timmer and Jehlárová playing up to their best is vital for a deep postseason run.
5
Nearly half of the Pac-12 teams made the NCAA Tournament in 2023, with Arizona State, Oregon, Stanford and USC joining the Cougs. UCLA was a part of the first eight teams out of the Tournament, meaning the Conference in its final year was very close to getting half of its team in the field.
WSU has already defeated Oregon once in two tries, same with USC and they beat Arizona State in the two programs only bout during the regular season.
5
Another five, this time it is the number of players that the Cougs had honored in the Pac-12 postseason honors. Two players, Jehlárová and Timmer, finished on the All-Pac-12 First Team, while three players, Iman Isanovic, Katy Ryan and Argentina Ung, were honorable mentions.
4
WSU, for the first time since 2018, earned a high enough seed to be a host site for the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament. In 2023, they earned a No. 4 seed, meaning they were ranked as a 13–16 team by the Tournament Committee.
It is the seventh time in program history that the Cougs will host Tournament matches, with the Cougs starting out against Grand Canyon University in 2023.
7
There are 64 teams in the NCAA Tournament and the Cougs have played 12 matches against Tournament teams during their 2023 regular season. In those 12 matches, the Cougs have picked up seven wins.
Defeating Wright State, BYU, Baylor, Texas, Oregon, USC and Arizona State, the Cougs have already been battle-tested this season.
8
The 2023 season is the eighth consecutive season the Cougs find themselves with an NCAA Tournament bid, the longest streak in program history.
2
It is nearly time, just two nights rest until the opening-round matchup for the Cougs.
6
If the Cougs want to be national champions, it will take six more wins.
