THIS WEEK: The No. 5 Stanford men’s volleyball team (15-3, 13-3) begins a four-match homestand on Thursday, March 24 as it welcomes USC (6-14, 4-12 MPSF). The Cardinal will also face No. 15 Cal Baptist (11-13, 4-13 MPSF) on Friday, March 25. Both matches are slated for 7 p.m. in Maples Pavilion.
CATCH THE CARDINAL: Live stats for both matches can be found on the men’s volleyball schedule page on GoStanford.com. Thursday’s match will also be televised live on Pac-12 Bay Area and Pac-12 Los Angeles.
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 USC: USC, which is in 10th place in the MPSF, is coming off nonconference sweeps over Concordia and Holy Names last week. The Trojans are led by junior outside hitter Lucas Yoder and sophomore opposite Jon Rivera. Yoder is 13th in the MPSF with 3.15 kills per set and tallies 1.27 digs per set, while Rivera averages 2.80 kills and 1.24 digs per set. Sophomore setter Jack Yoder is seventh in the conference with 9.68 assists per set, while senior libero Brooks Varni is 13th with 1.86 digs per set. Stanford defeated USC, 3-1, on Jan. 31 in Los Angeles. Senior Madison Hayden led Stanford with 13 kills, six digs and three blocks, while freshman Jordan Ewert had a career-high 11 kills.
SCOUTING CAL BAPTIST: Cal Baptist has won three of its last four matches, all on the road, and enters the week 11-13 overall and 4-13 in the MPSF. The Lancers are sixth in the league in hitting percentage (.291) and eighth in aces (1.25). Senior outside hitter Rocky DeLyon paces the team with 2.66 kills and 1.24 digs per set. Junior outside hitter Roy Powell adds 2.46 kills and 1.13 digs per set, while sophomore middle blocker Enrique Garcia is fourth in the MPSF in hitting percentage (.492) and 12th in blocks (1.00). Stanford swept Cal Baptist in Riverside on Jan. 29. Senior Alex Stephanus started in the place of an injured Madison Hayden and led the Cardinal with nine kills on .438 hitting. James Shaw tallied 30 assists and was a perfect 6-for-6 offensively.
ROAD WARRIORS: Sanford played eight of its first 10 matches on the road this year. The Cardinal is 9-2 in its road matches in 2016 compared to a 2-10 mark in matches away from The Farm last season.
LAST TIME OUT: Stanford last took the court on March 12, falling to then-No. 9 Pepperdine in five sets at Maples Pavilion. The Cardinal failed to hold on to a 2-0 lead, dropping the fifth set 16-14 to the Waves. Three Stanford players notched double-digit kills - Gabriel Vega (16), Madison Hayden (15) and Conrad Kaminski (15). The loss to Pepperdine snapped a season-long eight match winning streak by the Cardinal.
IN THE POLL: Stanford fell to No. 5 in the top-15 of the AVCA Division I-II Men’s Coaches Poll last week, and remians in that spot this week with one first-place vote. The Cardinal is one of 10 MPSF squads ranked in the top 15.
WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES: Stanford (15-3) has already surpassed its win total from a season ago (10) with six regular season matches left on the schedule. Currently in a four-way tie for first place in the MPSF, the Cardinal has already clinched a MPSF postseason berth.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING: Stanford ranks second in the MPSF in hitting percentage (.353), kills (13.14) and third in aces (1.47). The Cardinal is also fourth in opponent hitting percentage (.235) and sixth in assists (12.12).
SENIOR CONTRIBUTIONS: Stanford’s four seniors - Madison Hayden, Conrad Kaminski, James Shaw and Alex Stephanus - account for 54 percent of the team’s kills this season. Hayden leads the way, ranking fifth in the MPSF with 3.54 kills per set and sixth with 4.06 points per set. Kaminski is second in the conference with a .498 attack percentage, while Shaw is third in assists (10.29) and fourth in aces (0.38).
UNDEFEATED IN THE FIRST: Stanford has won all 18 of its opening sets this season. The Cardinal is 9-1 when winning the first two sets of the match, and 13-1 when hitting above .300.
DEFENSIVE-MINDED: As a team, Stanford ranks third in the MPSF with 8.77 digs per set, recording a season-high 50 at IPFW on Jan. 9. Sophomore libero Evan Enriques is second the conference with 2.58 digs per set. The Cardinal also ranks third in blocks per set as a team (2.64). Senior Conrad Kaminski is fourth in the MPSF with 1.39 blocks per set, totaling a season-high nine at BYU on Jan. 16 and versus Hawai’i on Feb. 13.
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 Century, respectively.
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. Ewert, who was coached by Cardinal associate head coach Ken Shibuya, finished seventh at the 2015 FIVB Boys’ U19 World Championship in Argentina.
ALUMS OVERSEAS: Stanford currently has five alums playing professionally in Europe:
Brian Cook (‘14): Tonazzo Padova (Italy)
Steven Irvin (‘14): Abiant Lycurgus GRONINGEN (Netherlands)
Eric Mochalski (‘14): ACH Volley LJUBLJANA (Slovenia)
Eric Shoji (‘12): Berlin Recycling Volleys (Germany)
Kawika Shoji (‘10): Arkas Izmir (Turkey)
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 170-112 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.