THIS WEEK: The sixth-ranked Stanford men’s volleyball team (7-1, 5-1 MPSF) wraps-up its four-match road swing at No. 2 Long Beach State (7-2, 4-2 MPSF) on Friday, Feb. 5 and at No. 12 CSUN (7-2, 2-2 MPSF) on Saturday, Feb. 6. Both matches are slated for 7 p.m. PT.
CATCH THE CARDINAL: Live stats, Twitter links and live stream links for both 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 LONG BEACH STATE: Long Beach State enters the week ranked No. 2 nationally with a 7-2 overall record and a 4-2 mark in the MPSF. A strong team defensively, the 49ers lead the MPSF in digs (10.80) and opponent hitting percentage (.189). Offensively, Long Beach State is second in the conference in kills (13.60) and assists (13.09), and fourth in hitting percentage (.319). Freshman outside hitter TJ DeFalco leads the MPSF in points (5.25) and is second in kills (4.56), seventh in digs (2.24) and ninth in aces (0.41). Taylor Gregory paces the conference with a .638 hitting percentage, while Bryce Yould is second (.600) and ranks 14th in blocks (0.95).
SCOUTING CSUN: The Matadors began the 2016 campaign with seven stragith wins, but have since lost three in a row. No. 12 CSUN (7-3, 2-3 MPSF) is coming off a 3-0 loss to Pepperdine Wednesday evening. CSUN is third in the MPSF with a .323 attack percentage and 1.87 aces per set. The Matadors are holding opponents to a .216 hitting percentage, good for fourth in the conference. A young squad, CSUN is led by freshman outside hitter Dimitar Kalchev (3.46 kps, 1.18 dps) and freshman setter Sam Porter (10.48 aps). Redshirt freshman middle blocker Eric Chance is fifth in the MPSF in hitting percentage (.494) and 10th in blocks (1.00), while junior outside hitter Jakub Ciesla adds 3.48 kills and 3.98 points per set.
ROAD WARRIORS: After this weekend, Stanford will have played eight of its first 10 matches on the road. So far, the Cardinal is 5-1 in its road matches in 2016 compared to a 2-10 mark in matches away from The Farm last season.
LAST TIME OUT: Stanford continued its success on the road this season, picking up conference wins at Cal Baptist (3-0) and USC (3-1) last weekend. Starting in place of an injured Madison Hayden, senior Alex Stephanus led the team and tied his career-high with nine kills on .438 hitting against the Lancers. At USC, three Cardinal notched double-digit kills (Madison Hayden - 13, Jordan Ewert - 11, Conrad Kaminski - 10). Senior setter James Shaw tallied 46 assists and was 7-0-8 (.875) when swinging.
IN THE POLL: Stanford remained No. 6 in the top-15 of the AVCA Division I-II Men’s Coaches Poll after picking up two road wins last 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 ranks second in the MPSF in hitting percentage (.342), third in kills (13.29) and fifth in assists (12.16). The Cardinal is also sixth in aces (1.42) and opponent hitting percentage (.236).
SENIOR CONTRIBUTIONS: Stanford’s four seniors - Madison Hayden, Conrad Kaminski, James Shaw and Alex Stephanus - account for 56 percent of the team’s kills this season. Hayden leads the way, ranking sixth in the MPSF with 3.82 kills per set and is seventh with 4.36 points per set. Kaminski is fourth in the conference with a .521 attack percentage, while Shaw is fourth in assists (10.45) and sixth in aces (0.48).
DEFENSIVE-MINDED: As a team, Stanford ranks third in the MPSF with 2.55 blocks per set. Senior Conrad Kaminski is second in the MPSF with 1.52 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 8.68 digs per set (5th), recording a season-high 50 at IPFW on Jan. 9. Sophomore libero Evan Enriques is fourth in the conference with 2.35 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’ staff as an assistant coach.
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 162-110 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.