Pivotal Weekend for No. 1 Stanford

April 9, 2010

STANFORD, Calif. -

Complete Release in PDF Format

This Week
The No. 1 Stanford men’s volleyball team faces its most crucial weekend of the season, with showdowns against No. 3 Pepperdine and No. 6 USC in the Cardinal’s final home regular-season matches. Despite five teams entering the week within one game of first place in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, Stanford and Pepperdine are the only ones that can control their own destiny in an effort to earn the top seed in the MPSF Tournament. Stanford (16-5, 13-5) holds the MPSF lead by percentage points over Cal State Northridge and BYU and has only a game advantage over fourth-place Pepperdine (14-7, 12-6). USC (13-9, 10-8), an NCAA finalist last year, needs one more victory this weekend to clinch a berth in the MPSF Tournament.

Follow the Action
Live stats and streaming video can be found at gostanford.com. Look for the All-Access links to find the premium webcast, with Kevin Danna on the call. The Gametracker live stats can be found in the Calendar of Events on the main page, or the men’s volleyball schedule page.

What’s at Stake?
• First place. Here’s why: A loss for either Stanford or Pepperdine would jeopardize either team’s chance of winning the MPSF regular-season title. Five teams enter the weekend within one game of first. Of those, Stanford (13-5) and Pepperdine (12-6) have four matches remaining, while Cal State Northridge (14-6), BYU (14-6), and Hawai’i (13-7) have only two left.

• Tiebreaker edge. Here’s why: A Pepperdine victory would give the Waves a season sweep of Stanford and the tiebreaking edge should the teams tie in the standings. Stanford already has surrendered the tiebreaker to Cal State Northridge and BYU, meaning it must finish with a better record than both teams to gain a higher seed. A loss to Pepperdine and Stanford would fall from first to fourth for MPSF Tournament seeding purposes. Pepperdine would be all but eliminated from top-seed contention with a loss.

• Top seed. Here’s why: The top seed in the eight-team MPSF Tournament would need only to win its first-round match to play host to the semifinals and final of the conference tournament.

Why is First Place so Important?
Only the MPSF Tournament champion qualifies automatically for the four-team NCAA Tournament, which will be held May 6 and 8 and Stanford’s Maples Pavilion. First place is important not only because of the homecourt advantages the top seed receives in the connference tournament, but because it would guarantee that it will receive serious consideration for the single NCAA at-large berth should it fail to win the conference tournament. The top eight teams in the national rankings are from the MPSF, virtually assuring that the at-large berth will come from the conference.

No. 1
Stanford has been ranked No. 1 for five weeks, since March 8. It’s Stanford first No. 1 ranking since 2001, and latest such ranking since 1997.

Stanford’s Recent Play
The Cardinal began the MPSF season 3-3, but has won 13 of its past 15 matches, including nine of its past 10. Stanford’s eight-match winning streak -- its longest in 13 years -- was snapped April 2 at Cal State Northridge, but the Cardinal rebounded with a sweep at UC Santa Barbara the next night.

• Brad Lawson, a two-time AVCA National Player of the Week this season and Stanford’s season kill leader, has hit at least .300 in his past 14 matches and is hitting .409 this season. He also is No. 2 in the nation in kills per game, at 5.14.

• Stanford senior All-American Kawika Shoji (13.93) is second in the nation only to Pepperdine’s Kasey Crider (14.20) in assists per set. However, Stanford leads the nation in team assists per set, at 15.66.

• Stanford leads the nation in hitting percentage, at .357. The margin is large, with second-place Mount Olive at .342.

Friday’s Opponent: Pepperdine
If Pepperdine beats Stanford, the Waves would hold tiebreaker advantages over every MPSF contender except Hawai’i. In other words, Pepperdine can control its own destiny by winning its final four remaining matches: against Pacific, Stanford, Long Beach State and UC San Diego -- all on the road. Pepperdine could have swung into the MPSF lead had it not become an upset victim to UC Irvine on Saturday, in a 19-30, 30-24, 30-28, 26-30, 19-17, home finale loss.

The Pepperdine Series
Stanford snapped a 16-match losing streak to Pepperdine the last time they played at Maples Pavilion, when the Cardinal beat the No. 2 Waves, 30-18, 28-30, 30-25, 30-24, on Feb. 13, 2009. This year, on Feb. 19 in Malibu, Pepperdine handled Stanford, 30-28, 30-27, 30-27, with Cory Riecks hitting .800, with 17 kills. Pepperdine leads the series, 48-15.

Saturday’s Opponent: USC
The Trojans are out of the running for an MPSF No. 1 seed, but are attempting to clinch a spot in the MPSF this weekend. One victory, either at Pacific on Friday or at Stanford on Saturday, would do it. The Trojans were the fifth seed in 2009 and went on to win the MPSF Tournament and advance to the NCAA final, where they lost to UC Irvine. The key players from that team -- hitters Murphy Troy and Tony Ciarelli, and setter Riley McKibben -- are all back for essentially the same team.

The USC Series
The Trojans rallied past Stanford 20-30, 27-30, 30-27, 30-24, 15-11, in the first round of the 2009 MPSF Tournament, but lost to the Cardinal in Los Angeles this season, by a 30-16, 30-28, 28-30, 30-23 score on Feb. 20.