THIS WEEK: The sixth-ranked Stanford men’s volleyball team (8-2, 6-2 MPSF) plays host to No. 4 Hawai’i (9-2, 4-2 MPSF) on Friday, Feb. 12 in Burnham Pavilion and Saturday, Feb. 13 in Maples Pavilion. Both matches are slated for 7 p.m. PT.
CATCH THE CARDINAL: Live stat links for both matches can be found on the men’s volleyball schedule page on GoStanford.com. Saturday’s match in Maples will be streamed live via pac-12.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 HAWAII: Fourth-ranked Hawai’i enters the week with a 9-2 overall record and a 4-2 mark in the MPSF. The Rainbow Warriors are coming off a home split against then-No. 1 UCLA last week. Hawaii is second in the conference in hitting percentage (.332), kills (13.55), assists (12.82) and digs (9.21). Junior setter Jennings Franciskovic controls the offense with 10.92 assists per set, ranking second in the MPSF. Senior outside hitter Sinisa Zarkovic is second in the conference in kills (4.45), third in points (4.87) and 14th in hitting percentage (.361). Freshman opposite Stijn van Tilburg is fourth in kills 4.19 and points 4.76. Senior libero Kolby Kanetake leads the league in digs per set (2.86).
ROAD WARRIORS: Sanford played eight of its first 10 matches on the road. The Cardinal is 6-2 in its road matches in 2016 compared to a 2-10 mark in matches away from The Farm last season.
LAST TIME OUT: Stanford split its road trip in southern California last week, dropping a four-set decision at then-No. 2 Long Beach State before rebounding with a sweep over then-No. 12 CSUN. Pin hitters Madison Hayden and Gabriel Vega each notched 17 kills and combined for 17 digs in the loss to the 49ers. Against the Matadors, Vega paced the squad with 13 kills and three blocks, while Hayden finished with 10 kills on .500 hitting. Senior setter James Shaw controlled the offense with 34 assists.
IN THE POLL: Stanford remained at No. 6 in the top-15 of the AVCA Division I-II Men’s Coaches Poll again this week. It marks Stanford’s highest ranking since the 2014 season. The Cardinal is one of nine MPSF squads ranked in the top 15.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING: Stanford leads the MPSF in hitting percentage (.333), third in kills (13.29) and fourth in assists (12.18). The Cardinal is also fifth in opponent hitting percentage (.234) and ninth in aces (1.26).
SENIOR CONTRIBUTIONS: Stanford’s four seniors - Madison Hayden, Conrad Kaminski, James Shaw and Alex Stephanus - account for 55 percent of the team’s kills this season. Hayden leads the way, ranking sixth in the MPSF with 3.83 kills per set and is seventh with 4.33 points per set. Kaminski is seventh in the conference with a .452 attack percentage, while Shaw is third in assists (10.50) and seventh in aces (0.42).
DEFENSIVE-MINDED: As a team, Stanford ranks fourth in the MPSF with 2.50 blocks per set. Senior Conrad Kaminski is second in the MPSF with 1.42 blocks per set, totaling a season-high nine at BYU on Jan. 16. The Cardinal also ranks in the top half of the league with 8.71 digs per set (5th), recording a season-high 50 at IPFW on Jan. 9. Sophomore libero Evan Enriques is second in the conference with 2.55 digs per set.
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.
ALL-CENTURY TEAM: Three former Cardinal players were named to the Pac-12 All-Century Team, including middle blocker Scott Fortune (1985-87, 89), outside hitter Mike Lambert (1993-95, 97) and libero Erik Shoji (2009-12). UCLA’s Karch Kiraly and Al Scates were named the Player and Coach of the Cenutury, respectively.
ALL IN THE FAMILY: Setter James Shaw has volleyball in his genes. He is the son of former Stanford volleyball coaching great Don Shaw. His father coached the Stanford women’s team to four NCAA titles in 16 seasons (440-70, .863) and was the Cardinal men’s head coach for seven seasons. He is a member of the AVCA Hall of Fame. Shaw’s sister, Jordan, played at Saint Mary’s and is now on the Gaels’ indoor staff as an assistant coach and is the head coach of their beach volleyball team.
2015 RECAP: After losing five seniors, including three All-Americans, to graduation last season the 2015 Cardinal knew it would be a transition year with several players taking the court in new roles. Couple that with nagging injuries to All-America setter James Shaw, which kept him out more than half the season, and Stanford found itself fighting adversity and searching for its identity throughout the season. With a final record of 10-18 and 7-15 in the MPSF (9th), Stanford missed the postseason for the first time since 2007, head coach John Kosty’s inaugural year at the helm of the program.
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 163-111 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.