STANFORD, Calif. – The Stanford men's volleyball team will host two exhibition matches on Wednesday, Oct. 19 against Shandong, a youth team from China. The action will begin at 4 p.m. and continue at 7 p.m. in Burnham Pavilion. Admission is free.
Stanford, which tied for second in the MPSF in 2016 and held a No. 6 final national ranking, returns four starters from last year's squad, including first team All-American Evan Enriques at libero. Also back from the starting lineup are middle blocker Kevin Rakestraw, an All-MPSF honorable mention pick in 2016, redshirt senior opposite Gabriel Vega and sophomore outside hitter Jordan Ewert.
Shandong is a youth men's volleyball team led by head coach Qiyong Zhang. The team consists of 19 players with an average height of 6-7. Four players are members of the Chinese Junior Team, while two are currently on the Chinese Youth National Team. The squad won the 2014 Chinese National Youth Volleyball Championship and was the runner-up in 2015. The team is now part of a special training program to prepare for the 13th Chinese national games.
"We are very excited to host Shandong at Stanford. They have been playing all around our country at great universities and we are looking forward to some exciting men's volleyball on campus next week," said head coach John Kosty.
