April 18, 2002
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This Week's First Round Action:
Saturday, April 20 ... at No. 4 BYU (22-6) ... Smith Fieldhouse, 7 p.m.
It's Tournament Time...
The sixth-ranked Stanford men's volleyball team finished fifth in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation and received an automatic conference tournament berth. The Cardinal ended the regular season at 16-9 (15-7 MPSF) and is headed to the postseason for the third consecutive season. Stanford will travel to No. 4 BYU, who finished fourth in the conference to earn home court advantage. The Cougars, 22-6 overall and 16-6 MPSF, are the 2001 NCAA defending National Champions. Stanford will battle BYU in a first round MPSF Playoff match on Saturday, April 20 at Smith Fieldhouse.
Tournament Scoop...
The top eight finishers in the conference made the single elimination tournament to determine the MPSF Champion and the West Region's automatic qualifier to the NCAA Final Four. The top four seeds (Pepperdine, Hawai'i, UCLA and BYU) are all hosting first round matches on Saturday. The highest seed will then continue to host the semifinals on April 25 and championship match on April 27. Here's a look at the first round matches:
No. 8 CS Northridge at No. 1 Pepperdine
No. 7 Long Beach State at No. 2 Hawai'i
No. 6 UC Santa Barbara at No. 3 UCLA
No. 5 Stanford at No. 4 BYU
Four teams from across the country will participate in the 2002 NCAA Championships held May 2-4 at Penn State University. One automatic qualifier will come out of the East, Midwest and West Regions, while the NCAA selection committee will choose an at-large team. The MPSF Champion will be the West Region's automatic qualifier, while other conference teams can still be considered for one NCAA at-large berth.
The Rankings...
Stanford moved up one spot to No. 6 in the April 16th USA Today/AVCA Poll after earning a win at USC and dropping a 3-1 decision at top-ranked Pepperdine. The Waves still hold the top spot, followed by Hawai'i, UCLA, BYU and Penn State, who round out the top-five. The MPSF Conference holds ten of the 15 available spots.
Scouting BYU...
The Cougars finished fourth in the conference after compiling a 16-6 MPSF mark and concluding their regular season at 22-6. BYU All-American Mike Wall recorded his eighth 20-kill performance of the season, leading the Cougars to an upset victory over No. 2 Hawai'i on April 13. Wall, the 2001 NCAA Final Four Most Valuable Player, has registered double-digit kills in 27 of BYU's 28 matches this season. Two different BYU players are averaging over 4.1 kills per game, including Wall (4.84 k/g) and senior outside hitter Joaquin Acosta (4.15 k/g). Setter Carlos Moreno has collected 1242 assists for an average of 14.11 per game for the Cougars. BYU is coached by Carl McGown, who is in this 13th season with the program.
The Series Recaps...
Stanford and BYU met on the opening weekend of MPSF conference play in Provo, Utah on January 11 and 12. The Cardinal defeated the defending champions 3-1 (30-27, 31-29, 26-30, 30-19) the first night on their home court in front of a capacity 5,334 fans. Stanford was led by Curt Toppel, who tied BYU's Mike Wall with a match-high 22 kills on 39 attempts for a .462 clip. Marcus Skacel pounded 15 kills and nine digs, while Billy Strickland had an outstanding all-around effort with 11 kills, a .400 hitting percentage, 10 digs and five blocks. Kevin Hansen complemented his 52 assists with three kills and three service aces. The following evening BYU pulled out a 3-2 (27-30, 30-26, 29-31, 30-28, 15-13) thriller over the Cardinal. Toppel notched a match-high 32 kills and Skacel added 15 for Stanford in its first loss of the season. Strickland recorded his second double-double of the season with 12 kills and 10 digs. Hansen dished out 66 assists and also recorded eight digs. The Cougars were led by Wall with 25 kills and Joaquin Acosta and Chris Gorny added 20 and 16 kills, respectively. Jeremiah Larsen finished with a match-high 78 assists for BYU.
Postseason History...
After winning the National Championship in 1997, Stanford has advanced to the postseason MPSF Tournament three of the last four seasons. The Cardinal have had bad luck in each of their first round playoff matches the past four years, never advancing to the next round. Stanford lost to Pepperdine 3-1 in 1998 in Malibu. Following a year off from the tournament, the Cardinal were defeated again by the Waves in 2000 and by UCLA last year. Both contests in 2000 and 2001 were five game matches that ended with a 15-13 Stanford loss.
Last Time Out...
Stanford split its final regular season weekend with a 3-1 win at USC and a 3-1 loss at top-ranked Pepperdine. Curt Toppel posted a match-high 25 kills to lead the Cardinal to a 30-18, 30-25, 29-31, 30-23 victory over the Trojans. Toppel hit .449 and had a match-best five aces. Teammate Paul Bocage added 10 kills while hitting .471. Stanford got 24 kills from Toppel the next night but it was not enough as No. 1 Pepperdine outlasted the Cardinal by scores of 30-28, 23-30, 30-28, 30-21. Billy Strickland collected 15 kills for Stanford, while Marcus Skacel added 10 more. Seth Ring finished with a match-high 14 digs and Kevin Hansen dished out 54 assists.
Toppel That...
Junior opposite hitter Curt Toppel has had a tremendous 2002 season. The Pacific Palisades, Calif., native has led the Cardinal attack in 21 of the 25 Stanford matches, including a season-high 34 kills at Long Beach State on Friday, a 32-kill effort at BYU on Jan. 12 and recorded 31 kills against Pepperdine on Feb. 22. For the year, Toppel has recorded 495 kills and is hitting a .376 clip. He is also averaging 5.44 kills per game, posting double-kill figures in 23 of the 24 matches he played in. In the final MPSF statistics, Toppel finished second in the conference averaging 5.47 kills per game only behind Hawai'i's Costas Theocharidies with 5.51. Nationally, Toppel stands fifth with his 5.44 kill per game average.
Set Me Up...
Redshirt freshman Kevin Hansen has made the most of his first year as Stanford's starting setter. Hansen has dished out 1246 assists, good for a 13.69 assists per game average. Against Pepperdine on Feb. 22, Hansen dished out a career-high 76 assists and vs. Hawai'i on Jan. 29 he recorded 73. He finished fifth in conference with a 13.81 assist average. Hansen was named Molten MPSF Player of the Week on Feb. 19th for his efforts against Pacific and UCLA. The Newport Beach, Calif., native set Stanford to a .316 hitting percentage against the Bruins and .333 clip against the Tigers.
Playing Tough "D"...
Paul Bocage and Seth Ring are leading the Cardinal defense in 2002. In 79 games, Bocage is averaging 1.05 blocks per game and has a team-high 83 total blocks. Ring has recorded 158 digs this season, averaging a team-leading 2.00 per game in 79 games. Seth also completed the MPSF season with a 1.99 dig average that ranked him seventh in the conference. Nationally, he checks in at No. 17 (2.00 d/g).
Double Vision...
Senior Marcus Skacel and junior Billy Strickland have each recorded three double-doubles (kills and digs) this season. Skacel registered 10-plus kills in 16 matches and Strickland reached double figures in 13 contests. The duo has also combine for 35 percent of Stanford's total digs. Strickland put up consecutive double-doubles against BYU on January 11 and 12, while Skacel has collected doubles in two of the last four Stanford matches.
Rankings From The MPSF And Division I...
Despite its 15-7 conference mark, Stanford finished the MPSF season first in kill average (16.65) and assist average (15.67). The Cardinal were rewarded for their accuracy, hitting a .360 clip in conference play. Stanford trailed only Pepperdine (.373) in team hitting percentage. On the national scene, the Cardinal's .362 clip ranks them as the third best in Division I and II.
Don Shaw Named Head Coach...
On June 22 Don Shaw, who established himself as one of the top coaches in collegiate volleyball history during his illustrious 16-year tenure as Stanford's women's head volleyball coach, was named Stanford's men's volleyball coach. Shaw captured four NCAA Championships and eight Pacific-10 Conference Championships with the Stanford women. He also holds the top winning percentage in women's college volleyball history with his 440-70 (.863) record. As a player, Shaw was a member of the United States National Team and was one of the top beach players in the country during his playing career.