STANFORD, Calif. - No. 6 Stanford (17-4, 9-3 ACC) begins a four-match homestand on Friday, hosting Clemson (8-15, 0-12 ACC) at 7 p.m. followed by a Saturday showdown against No. 16 Georgia Tech (17-4, 9-3 ACC) at 7 p.m. Both matches will be streamed on ACCNX.
THE SERIES AGAINST THE TIGERS: Friday marks the first meeting between Stanford and Clemson.
THE SERIES AGAINST THE YELLOW JACKETS: Stanford is 2-0 all-time versus Georgia Tech. The most recent meeting came on Sept. 9, 1995 in Chicago - a five-set victory for the Cardinal. Saturday is the first meeting between the teams on The Farm.
LAST TIME OUT: Stanford split its road trip last week, falling in five to Miami before taking down No. 23 Florida State in four. Senior Kami Miner guided the Cardinal offense to a combined .361 clip, averaging 10.22 assists per set. Outside hitter Ipar Kurt led the team offensively, averaging 3.78 kills on .357 hitting. The loss at Miami was the first five-set loss by the Cardinal since 2022 and its first loss against an unranked opponent since 2021.
COACHES' PICK: In its inaugural ACC season, Stanford was picked to finish second by the league's coaches. The Cardinal captured three first-place votes and placed four on the Preseason All-ACC squad - middle blocker Sami Francis, setter Kami Miner, libero Elena Oglivie and outside hitter Elia Rubin.
HOME SWEET HOME: In eight seasons under Kevin Hambly, Stanford is 92-12 at Maples Pavilion, including 18-2 in the NCAA Tournament. The Cardinal won 32 in a row at home to begin Hambly's tenure at Stanford.
STACKED SCHEDULE: Stanford is slated to play 12 matches against teams ranked in the AVCA Preseason Poll, including seven against top-10 opponents. The Cardinal faced No. 1 Texas (W, 3-0), No. 2 Nebraska (L, 3-0), No. 3 Wisconsin (W, 3-1), No. 9 Kentucky (W, 3-1), No. 18 Minnesota (W, 3-2) and No. 24 Marquette (W, 3-0) in the nonconference. Stanford will meet No. 4 Pittsburgh (Oct. 20), No. 6 Louisville (Sept. 29 & Nov. 30), No. 14 Georgia Tech (Nov. 9 & Nov. 27) and No. 20 Florida State (Nov. 3) in ACC play.
MILESTONE UNLOCKED: Kami Miner recorded her 4,000th career assist on Sept. 2 in a four-set win over No. 6 Wisconsin. She became the seventh player in school history to reach the milestone. In the rally-scoring era to 25, Miner is third behind Jenna Gray (5,485) and Madi Bugg (5,014) with 4,684 assists. Her 11.37 career assists per set mark would be a program record in the rally-scoring era to 25.
MORE MILESTONES: Outside hitter Elia Rubin became the 23rd player in program history to register 1,000 career kills, accomplishing that feat on Oct. 16 at No. 12 SMU. Libero Elena Oglivie is 85 digs away from 2,000 for her career. She would be just the fourth player in school history to reach that milestone.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: Kami Miner became the first Stanford player to be recognized by the ACC with a weekly honor, earning Setter of the Week. Combining with its Pac-12 selections, the Cardinal now boasts 181 players of the week all-time, including 31 Offensive, 38 Defensive, 4 Setter and 35 Freshman.
2024 ACC Weekly Selections
Sept. 9: Kami Miner (Setter)
Sept. 16: Sami Francis (Co-Defensive)
Oct. 7: Kami Miner (Setter)
Oct. 14: Kami Miner (Setter), Ipar Kurt (Freshman)
Oct. 28: Kami Miner (Co-Setter)
PACKED THE HOUSE: A record crowd in the Kevin Hambly era of 6,894 watched No. 2 Stanford sweep No. 6 Texas at Maples Pavilion on Sept. 15. The Cardinal held the Longhorns to .125 hitting - their lowest in a match in over 11 years.
BY THE NUMBERS: Stanford has won more NCAA titles (9), more NCAA Tournament matches (138), made more Final Four appearances (23) and been in the national championship match (17) more times than any other program in the nation. The Cardinal has qualified for 42 of the 43 NCAA Tournaments all-time.
COACHING EXCELLENCE: Kevin Hambly became the seventh head coach in Division I women’s volleyball to lead a school to back-to-back NCAA titles. Hambly is now 188-41 (.821) in eight seasons on The Farm, mentoring 13 AVCA All-Americans to 26 awards and six Academic All-Americans (eight awards).
THE HAMBLY FILE: Kevin Hambly coached 12 AVCA All-Americans to 19 honors during his time at Illinois and has now mentored 25 All-Americans to 45 awards. He is the third head coach to lead Stanford to a national championship. The two-time Pac-12 Coach of the Year became the first Cardinal head coach (any sport) to win an NCAA title in one of his first two seasons on The Farm since 2005.