Card, Gators Clash in KCCard, Gators Clash in KC
Karen Ambrose Hickey
Women's Volleyball

Card, Gators Clash in KC

NCAA National Semifinals

No. 3 seed Stanford (30-3, 19-1 Pac-12)
vs. No. 2 seed Florida (29-1, 17-1 SEC) | Thursday • 6 p.m. PT
Television • ESPN
Live Statistics • NCAA.com
Stanford Notes 
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TOURNEY TIME: The fourth-ranked Stanford women's volleyball team (30-3) continues its quest for a record eighth national title this week, traveling to Kansas City, Missouri for the Final Four. The tournament's No. 3 overall seed, the Cardinal will face No. 2 seed Florida (29-1) in the second national semifinal on Thursday at 6 p.m. PT on ESPN.

NATIONAL SEMIFINALS: The Cardianl has advanced to its 21st national semifinal in program history - the most in the nation. Stanford is making its third appearance in the past four seasons, and back-to-back trips since going to three straight in 2006-08.

ABOUT FLORIDA: The Gators defeated UCLA, 3-1, in the Gainesville regional semifinals and outlasted USC, 3-2, in the regional final to make it back to the national semifinals for the first time in 14 years. Florida is riding a 15-match winning streak and is seeking its first national title. The Gators are hitting .324 in the postseason with three players over a .400 clip. Senior middle blocker Rhamat Alhassan leads the nation with 1.75 blocks per set and averages 2.69 kills on a .399 attack percentage. Senior outside hitter Carli Snyder paces the team with 3.44 kills and 0.50 aces per set.

THE SERIES WITH THE GATORS: Stanford is 6-4 all-time against Florida, including 3-0 in NCAA Tournament matches. The Cardinal won the most recent meeting, a sweep in the 2014 NCAA Regional Final in Ames, Iowa. Florida last defeated the Cardinal on Sept. 7 in four sets at the Nike Volleyball Big Four Classis in Austin, Texas.

ABOUT PENN STATE: Penn State is making its 13th national semifinal appearance and first since 2014 after sweeping 12th-ranked Michigan State in the regional finals at Rec Hall. The Nittany Lions bring a 23-match winning streak to the Final Four with the only blemish on its schedule being a 3-0 loss to Nebraska on Sept. 22. Penn State and Nebraska will meet again in the first national semifinal match on Thursday. The Nittany Lions lead the nation with a .345 hitting percentage and average 3.08 blocks per set. Senior Simone Lee, the Big Ten Player of the Year, paces the team with 3.90 kills and 2.27 digs per set. Senior middle blocker Haleigh Washington is hitting .503 on the season with 3.03 kills and 1.52 blocks per set.

THE SERIES WITH THE NITTANY LIONS: One of the greatest rivalries in collegiate volleyball, Penn State holds a 12-9 advantage over Stanford in the all-time series, including two wins this season, and 5-2 in the postseason. The Cardinal was without fifth-year senior Merete Lutz in the first meeting at Texas A&M on Sept. 1. Kathryn Plummer is averaging 5.22 kills and 2.33 digs per set against Penn State this season. The Nittany Lions out hit the Cardinal .259 to .200 and held a 3.56 to 2.11 advantage in blocks per set.

ABOUT NEBRASKA: No. 5 seed Nebraska knocked off No. 4 seed Kentucky in Lexington to advance to its third straight Final Four. The Huskers boast a 17-match winning streak entering the national semifinals and their 14th appearance overall. Nebraska is hitting .310 in the NCAA Tournament and putting up 15.00 kills and 3.15 blocks per set. Junior Mikaela Foecke leads the team on the season with 3.47 kills and 2.26 digs per set, while senior setter Kelly Hunter controls the offense with 10.84 assists per set.

THE SERIES WITH THE HUSKERS: Stanford and Nebraska are an even 6-6 in the all-time series and 2-2 in the NCAA Tournament. The Cardinal swept the Huskers on their home floor in the most recent out on Aug. 31, 2014. Nebraska's last win came in the AVCA Showcase to open the 2008 season in Omaha, Nebraska.

BY THE NUMBERS: The 2017 season marks Stanford's 37th consecutive NCAA postseason appearance. The Cardinal is one of only two programs in the nation to have appeared in every NCAA Tournament since the NCAA Championship began in 1981 (Penn State is the other). Stanford has won more NCAA Tournament matches (119), made more Final Four appearances (21) and been in the national championship match (15) more times than any other program in the nation. Its seventh NCAA title also tied Penn State for the most by a Division I team.

STANFORD REGIONAL: Stanford defeated 11th-ranked Wisconsin in the regional semifinals, 3-1, before sweeping No. 6 seed Texas in the finals. Kathryn Plummer was named the Stanford Regional Most Outstanding Player and was joined on the all-tournament team by Jenna Gray and Morgan Hentz. Plummer hit .360 and tallied 5.86 kills, 2.00 digs and 1.00 blocks per set in the two matches. Gray dished out 13.14 assists per set as the Cardinal hit .368 as a team, while Hentz collected 4.71 digs per set.

AVCA ALL-REGION: Sophomore Kathryn Plummer was tabbed the AVCA Pacific North Region Player of the Year and was joined on the all-region team by redshirt senior Merete Lutz and sophomores Audriana Fitzmorris, Jenna Gray and Morgan Hentz. Additionally, junior Tami Alade earned all-region honorable mention. All six are now in contention to become 2017 AVCA All-Americans.

PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Sophomore Kathryn Plummer became the 15th Cardinal player and first since Alix Klineman in 2010 to be named the Pac-12 Player of the Year after leading the conference in kills (4.73) and points per set (5.48). The outside hitter is the first conference player to win Freshman of the Year and Player of the Year in back-to-back seasons since Stanford's Bev Oden in 1989 and 1990.
  


SETTER OF THE YEAR: Sophomore Jenna Gray is the second Stanford player to earn Pac-12 Setter of the Year honors since the award began in 2011, joining Madi Bugg who took home the honor three times (2013, 2014, 2015). The Shawnee, Kansas native paces the league and is fourth nationally with 12.14 assists per set, and has the Cardinal hitting .318 as a team - the fourth-best mark in the nation.
  

 


LIBERO OF THE YEAR: Sophomore Morgan Hentz is the first Cardinal to be named the Pac-12 Libero of the Year since the award's inception in 2011. She leads the team with 4.04 digs per set, upping that mark to 4.15 digs per set in NCAA Tournament matches, and has just 11 reception errors on the season.
  

 


PAC-12 HONORS: Seven Cardinal players have been recognized by the conference this season. Redshirt senior Merete Lutz (four-time) and sophomore Kathryn Plummer (two-time) are repeat honorees, while sophomores Audriana Fitzmorris, Jenna Gray and Morgan Hentz joined them on the 18-player All-Pac-12 team. Junior Tami Alade was an All-Pac-12 honorable mention selection for the first time in her career, while outside hitter Meghan McClure landed on the All-Pac-12 Freshman Team.
 


PAC-12 IN THE TOURNEY: The Pac-12 led the nation with nine berths into the 2017 NCAA Tournament. It marks the 18th straight year in which the Pac-12 has sent at leads six teams into the postseason, and the 26th overall. Pac-12 teams posted a 105-21 (.833) record versus other conferences during the regular season. Five Pac-12 teams advanced to the Sweet 16 - No. 3 Stanford, No. 10 USC, No. 11 Utah, No. 15 UCLA and Colorado.

STANFORD VS. THE FIELD: The Cardinal has played 21 matches against the 2017 NCAA field, posting an 18-3 record. Stanford was 13-1 against Pac-12 teams in the tournament, and picked up a non-conference win over Illinois, CSU Bakersfield, Colorado State, Wisconsin and Texas. Stanford's losses came to No. 1 seed Penn State (twice) and No. 8 seed Washington.

CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS: The Cardinal clinched its 17th Pac-12 title on Nov. 15 with a 3-0 win over USC. It is the program's 20th conference championship overall and first since 2014. It marked the 29th top-2 standing in Pac-10/12 play in the past 32 seasons. Stanford has claimed eight of the past 12 Pac-12 titles.
 


SINGLE SEASON MARKS: Four Stanford players have made their way into Cardinal's single season record books in 2017:
Tami Alade - .427 hitting percentage (8th)
Jenna Gray - 1,384 assists (10th); 44 service aces (10th)
Morgan Hentz - 461 digs (10th); 4.04 digs per set (8th)
Kathryn Plummer - 539 kills (8th); 4.73 kills per set (10th)

NO. 115: It's official. No school has won more NCAA team championships than Stanford, which secured its 115th title on Sunday as the men's soccer team claimed its third consecutive crown. The championship broke a tie the Cardinal held with UCLA, which has 114 team championships.

IN THE CLASSROOM: Led by first team selection Michaela Keefe, seven Cardinal earned Pac-12 All-Academic honors. Four-time honoree Merete Lutz was joined by junior Tami Alade and sophomores Audriana Fitzmorris, Jenna Gray, Morgan Hentz and Kathryn Plummer on the honorable mention list.

CLIMBING THE CHARTS: Redshirt senior Merete Lutz missed the Cardinal's first five matches due to an ankle injury suffered in the team's last preseason practice. The three-time All-American is seventh all-time at Stanford with a .348 career hitting percentage and moved past Kerri Walsh in career blocks with 503 (7th).

LEADING THE PAC: Sophomore Kathryn Plummer leads the Pac-12 with 4.73 kills per set, ranking sixth in the nation, and is the conference leader and sixth nationally with 5.48 points per set. Sophomore Jenna Gray paces the conference and is fourth nationally with 12.14 assists per set, while junior Tami Alade is the only Pac-12 player hitting over .400 on the season (.427). Sophomore Audriana Fitzmorris is the conference's blocks leader, averaging 1.51 per set (10th nationally).
 


GETTING DEFENSIVE: Sophomore libero Morgan Hentz set a single season Stanford record as a rookie with 630 total digs (4.88 dps) in 2016. She leads the Cardinal this season and is fourth in the Pac-12, averaging 4.04 digs per set, and has tallied double-digit digs in 26 of the team's 33 matches.

1,000 KILLS CLUB: Redshirt senior Merete Lutz recorded her 1,000th career kill on Sept. 27 against Arizona State. She became just the 18th Cardinal player since 1986 to accomplish that feat. Kathryn Plummer is just 30 kills away from the milestone as a sophomore.
 


1,000 DIGS CLUB: Sophomore Morgan Hentz became the 18th Stanford player since 1986 to register 1,000 digs, doing so against No. 18 UCLA on Nov. 16. Gabi Ailes (2007-10) holds the career record at Stanford with 2,147 digs, the fifth-most in Pac-12 history.

ALL IN THE FAMILY: Twins Caitlin and Michaela Keefe are the daughters of Stanford Hall of Famers Adam Keefe and Kristin (Klein) Keefe. Their father played basketball (1988-1991) and volleyball (1988-1990), and was the 10th overall pick by the Atlanta Hawks in the 1992 NBA draft, playing professionally for the Hawks, Jazz, Warriors and overseas in Spain. Their mother was a four-time AVCA All-American (1988-1992) and a member of the 1996 U.S. Olympic Team.

HEAD COACH KEVIN HAMBLY: Kevin Hambly was named the head coach of the Cardinal on Jan. 30, 2017 after spending eight seasons at the helm at Illinois. The 2011 Volleyball Magazine National Coach of the Year, Hambly led the Illini to six NCAA regional appearances and the 2011 national title match. He coached 12 AVCA All-Americans to 19 honors during his time at Illinois.