THIS WEEK: The No. 8 Stanford men’s volleyball team (3-1, 1-1 MPSF) hosts UC San Diego (1-3, 0-2 MPSF) on Friday, Jan. 22 and No. 4 UC Irvine (2-2, 1-1 MPSF) on Saturday, Jan. 23 for its home openers. Both matches are slated for 7 p.m. PT in Burnham Pavilion.
CATCH THE CARDINAL: Live stats and Twitter links for the matches can be found on the men’s volleyball schedule page on GoStanford.com.
SOCIAL MEDIA: Fans will have access to unique behind-the-scenes content on the team this season by liking Stanford Men’s Volleyball on Facebook or following the team on Twitter (@StanfordMVB) and Instagram (@therealstanfordmvb).
SCOUTING UC SAN DIEGO: UC San Diego enters the week with a 1-3 record, picking up a win over Charleston on Jan. 8. The Tritons were swept on the road at No. 8 UC Santa Barbara and No. 2 UCLA last week. Senior outside hitter Kirill Rudenko paces the squad and ranks 14th in the MPSF with 3.00 kills per set. Junior outside hitter Ian Colbert adds 2.67 kills and 2.08 digs, which is sixth in the league. As a team, the Tritons are fifth in the MPSF with 8.33 digs per set.
SCOUTING UC IRVINE: The fourth-ranked Anteaters are 2-2 on the year with wins over No. 14 George Mason and No. 8 UC Santa Barbara and losses against No. 3 Loyola-Chicago and No. 2 UCLA. As a team, UCI is third in the MPSF in digs (8.50), fourth in assists (12.25) and fifth in kills (12.69). The Anteaters are led by junior opposite Tamir Hershko and senior outside hitter Kyle Russell. Hershko leads the team and ranks sixth in the MPSF with 4.06 kills per set and third with 2.31 digs per set, while Russell adds 3.15 kills per set. ROAD WARRIORS: Stanford is scheduled to play eight of its first 10 matches on the road. So far, the Cardinal is 3-1 in its road matches in 2016 compared to a 2-10 mark in matches away from The Farm last season.
LAST TIME OUT: Stanford opened MPSF play with a split on the road at then-No. 1 BYU. The Cardinal, which was led by senior Madison Hayden’s career-high 24 kills (.462), won the first match-up in five sets. The Cougars topped Stanford the following day in another five-set thriller. Senior setter James Shaw recorded a double-double (46 assists, career-high 16 digs) in the defeat.
IN THE POLL: Stanford jumped up to No. 8 in the top-15 of the AVCA Division I-II Men’s Coaches Poll after splitting its road matches at then-No. 1 BYU last week. The Cardinal is one of 10 MPSF squads ranked in the top 15.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING: Stanford ranks fourth in the MPSF in kills (13.12) and fifth in assists (12.18). The Cardinal is also seventh in hitting percentage (.322), opponent hitting percentage (.261) and aces (1.47). Senior Madison Hayden is sixth in the league with 4.50 points and seventh with 4.00 kills per set. Senior James Shaw ranks fourth in assists (10.53) and eighth in aces (0.53), while Kevin Rakestraw (.533) and Conrad Kaminski (.532) are sixth and seventh in hitting percentage, respectively.
RETURNING ALL-AMERICANS: Stanford has two returning All-Americans on its roster in 2016, including middle blocker Conrad Kaminski (two-time AVCA honorable mention) and setter James Shaw (AVCA Second Team in 2014, honorable mention in 2013). Kaminski entered this year hitting .453 for his career and averaging 1.63 kills and 0.97 blocks per set. Shaw, who missed half of last season due to injuries, came into the season posting 10.20 assists per set for his career, while also notching 1.55 digs and 0.93 kills per set.
DEFENSIVE-MINDED: As a team, Stanford ranks second in the MPSF with 8.82 digs per set, recording a season-high 50 at IPFW on Jan. 9. Sophomore libero Evan Enriques is fourth in the conference with 2.18 digs per set, while senior James Shaw is ninth (1.82). The Cardinal also ranks in the top half of the league with 2.35 blocks per set (5th). Senior Conrad Kaminski is third in the MPSF with 1.53 blocks per set, totaling a season-high nine at BYU on Jan. 16.
FRESH FACES: Freshmen Jordan Ewert (Antioch, Calif.) and Ryan Smith (Aledo, Texas) were named AVCA First Team High School All-Americans. Stanford was one of four teams nationally with two selections to the first team. Russell Dervay (Virginia Beach, Va.), Matt Klassen (Elm Grove, Wis.) and Chris Moore (Lake Mary, Fla.) round out the Cardinal’s freshman class.
INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION: Stanford had several players gain international experience over the summer. Redshirt sophomore Kevin Rakestraw and sophomore Kyle Dagostino were members of the United States’ World University Games roster, which competed in in Gwangju, South Korea in July. Senior Conrad Kaminski nabbed a spot on the U.S. Pan American Team, which played in Toronto, Canada, while freshman Jordan Ewert was a member of the U.S. Boys’ Youth National Team. Eweret, who was coached by Cardinal associate head coach Ken Shibuya, finished seventh at the 2015 FIVB Boys’ U19 World Championship in Argentina.
HEAD COACH JOHN KOSTY: Stanford head coach John Kosty is in his 10th season at the helm of the Cardinal program and his 26th overall on staff. He is 158-110 in his career and has guided Stanford to the 2010 NCAA national championship and the 2014 NCAA finals. The Cardinal has produced a first team AVCA All-America selection in seven of the past eight seasons under Kosty.