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9 PREVIEW // 2015 PAC-12 VOLLEYBALL MEDIA GUIDE PRESEASON NOTEBOOK Madi Bugg, Stanford Samantha Bricio, USC Mary-Kate Marshall, Oregon State OREGON STATE The Beavers are coming off a historic season that saw them earn a NCAA Tournament berth for the first time since 2001 - advancing to the second round, win 21 games - the most since 1990, and post its best finish in 13 years. OSU made a 12-match turn- around, as well. And the majority of last year's squad returns, including five starters. Mary-Kate Marshall had an impressive freshman campaign that earned her third team AVCA All-America honors after she ranked second in the nation in attacks per set. She will be looking to on those successes and lead her squad back to the postseason. The biggest question for OSU will be at the setter position, however, after the graduation of last year's starter Tayla Woods. Heading into the regular season, there is no true setter listed on the roster. If the Beavs are going to improve upon last year's historic campaign, head coach Taras Liskevich is going to have to quickly figure out who will direct the offense and also be the one consistently feeding the ball to Marshall so that she can carry the team. STANFORD Stanford enters the season as the defending Pac-12 Champion for the 16th time in the history of the pro- gram. Ranked No. 2 in the country in the preseason, the Cardinal looks to be in the drivers seat again with the return of 10 letterwinners, including four starters. Head coach John Dunning has an arsenal that is tough to match and the Cardinal is the favorite to win the crown again. Three All-Americans return to help the team get back to the NCAA semifinals, including two-time Pac-12 Setter of the Year Madi Bugg, who led the nation in assists per set, Jordan Burgess and sophomore Merete Lutz, who had an immediate impact as a freshman. But Stanford has already suffered a big setback with the loss of na- tional player of the year candidate Inky Ajanaku who suffering a season-ending injury over the summer while with the U.S. National team. While Ajanaku is not an easy player to replace, the Cardinal has a good candidate that could help to fill that void in freshman Hayley Hodson. An outside hitter, Hodson was tabbed the No. 1 recruit in the country last year, having trained with the U.S. National team already. UCLA The Bruins bounced back in 2014 after an unchar- acteristic .500 season in 2013. After missing the postseason for just the second time in the program's history two years ago, UCLA was back in it last year, advancing to the regional semifinal. The team will be without Karsta Lowe, who led the nation in kills and points per set. But the Bruins have plenty of experience to rely on with the core of the team re- turning, including 12 letterwinners and four starters. Reiley Buechler was another freshman of impact in the Pac-12 last season who will be relied upon on offense after she was the team's second-leading scorer last year. Head coach Michael Sealy will also have to contend with the loss of setter Julie Consani who ranked 12th in the country in assists per set last year. The leading candidate based on experience is Michaela Leonard, who saw action in just nine matches last year. Challenging for the starting set- ter spot is talented freshman Zana Muno. Whoever it is that wins the starting position, UCLA will have inexperience directing the offense and each will have to learn the system quickly. USC The Trojans nearly missed out on their 24th-straight NCAA berth last year, after going .500 on the season. USC's 16 victories was its fewest since 1990 and its 10th-place showing was its worse since the league began sponsoring women's sports in 1986. But the Trojans are poised to make a comeback and bounce back up into the top half of the Conference stand- ings. Three-time All-Pac-12 performer Samantha Bricio is looking to close out her collegiate career with another strong performance. The Conference's all-time leader in services aces, she was the team's scoring and kills leader last year. Five starters are back to redeem themselves for last year, including libero Taylor Whittingham, who had tough shoes to fill last year, taking over the starting job from Natalie Hagglund, the three-time Pac-12 Libero of the Year and All-American graduated. Whittingham still led the Conference in digs and was an honorable mention All-American. Head coach Mick Haley will expect the same kind of performance from both leaders if the Trojans are going to avoid a repeat outing from 2014. UTAH The Utes seem to have found their stride in the fourth year of being a Pac-12 Conference member, earning a second-straight NCAA Tournament bid as well as finishing inside the top-25 of the final AVCA Coaches poll since 2008. Head coach Beth Launiere relied heavily on her freshman class last year and now, with a year of experience under their belt, she will look to them, once again. And she will have to with the departures of her top-two scorers from a year ago. Utah had a balanced attack last year with four players averaging between 2.00-3.00 kills per set. While the top-two scorers have graduated, sopho- 2015 PRESEASON ALL-PAC-12 Adora Anae, Utah Alexis Austin, Colorado Amanda Benson, Oregon Martenne Bettendorf, Oregon Samantha Bricio, USC Madi Bugg, Stanford Jordan Burgess, Stanford Macey Gardner, Arizona State Merete Lutz, Stanford Mary-Kate Marshall, Oregon State Lillian Schonewise, California Penina Snuka, Arizona Cassie Strickland, Washington Lianna Sybeldon, Washington