Coaches Pick Card Seventh

STANFORD, Calif. – The Stanford men's volleyball team has been chosen by the conference coaches to finish seventh in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation this season, the league announced today.

BYU, which garnered nine first-place votes and totaled 119 points overall, was picked to win the MPSF. UCLA (111) collected the other three first-place votes to come in second. Long Beach State (103), UC Irvine (79), Pepperdine (73) and Hawai'i (63) rounded out the first half of the poll.

Coming in behind Stanford (61) were No. 8 UC Santa Barbara (58), No. 9 CSUN (53), No. 10 USC (36), No. 11 Cal Baptist (24) and No. 12 UC San Diego (12).

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.

Enriques was the first winner of the Erik Shoji Award, given to the nation's top libero by Off The Block. The junior was named a first team preseason All-American by the site, which collects votes from head coaches around the nation. Ewert, Rakestraw, Vega and freshman Paul Bischoff all received votes.

The Cardinal will open the season on Friday, Jan. 6 at the UCSB ASICS Invitational in Santa Barbara, California. Stanford will face Mount Olive and Quincy on Friday and McKendree on Saturday, Jan. 7.  

Stanford's home opener, Friday, Jan. 13 in Maples Pavilion, features defending national champion and top-ranked Ohio State. The Cardinal and Buckeyes will also square off on Saturday, Jan. 14 in Burnham Pavilion. Admission to all regular season home matches is free.
 

MPSF Coaches' Poll