Stanford (1-7) at No. 4 UC Irvine (9-1) | Friday • 7 p.m. PT
Live Stream • BigWest.TV
Live Statistics • GoStanford.com
Stanford (1-7) at UC San Diego (6-2) | Saturday • 7 p.m. PT
Live Stream • UCSDtritons.tv
Live Statistics • GoStanford.com
Complete Release (PDF)
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THIS WEEK: Stanford (1-7) continues a seven-match road trip at No. 4 UC Irvine (9-1) on Friday at 7 p.m. and at UC San Diego (6-2) on Saturday at 7 p.m.
ABOUT UC IRVINE: UC Irvine moved up to No. 4 in the AVCA poll this week, having won seven straight including a pair of victories over then-No. 5 BYU last week. The Anteaters are hitting .338 as a team and posting 2.42 blocks per set. Junior opposite Karl Apfelbach leads the squad with 3.95 kills per set on .318 hitting, while freshman outside hitter Joel Schneidmiller adds 2.78 kills per set on a .436 attack percentage. Junior setter Dante Chakravorti controls the offense with 10.24 assists per set, while sophomore middle blocker Scott Stadick is third in the nation with 1.35 blocks per set. UC Irvine assistant coach Mark Presho, who is in his 14th season with the Anteaters, is the father of Stanford freshman middle blocker Kyler Presho.
ABOUT UC SAN DIEGO: UC San Diego has started the season 6-2 overall with both losses coming at the hands of ranked opponents. The Tritons are hitting .300 as a team and are led by redshirt senior Tanner Syftestad. The opposite paces the country with 5.39 kills per set on a .363 hitting and 1.07 blocks per set. Senior setter Milosh Stojcic runs the offense with 9.73 assists per set, while senior middle blocker Alec Flowers is ninth nationally with 1.19 blocks per set.
IN THE POLL: Stanford entered the 2018 campaign ranked No. 8 in the preseason AVCA Division I-II Men's Coaches Poll. After starting 0-3, Stanford dropped out of the poll for the first time since March 2, 2015. Five MPSF squads are ranked in the top 15.
LAST TIME OUT: Stanford fell 3-0 at No. 1 Long Beach State last week, falling to 1-7 overall. Freshman Jaylen Jasper led all players with 12 kills, while sophomore Eric Beatty returned to the lineup with six kills and two digs. The Beach out hit the Cardinal .500 to .060, holding Stanford to its lowest output of the season.
DEFENSIVE HONOR: Senior Evan Enriques was voted the MPSF Defensive Player of the Week for the first time in his career on Jan. 15 for his efforts at Ohio State and Ball State. The libero averaged 3.14 digs per set and did not commit a reception error in the two matches. He tied his season-high with 15 digs against the Buckeyes and followed up with seven digs and a season-best six assists versus the Cardinals.
Well-deserved honor for senior Evan Enriques ?? #GoStanfordhttps://t.co/1RVr0Q7BAw
— Stanford Men's Volleyball (@StanfordMVB) January 16, 2018
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING: Stanford ranks 18th as a team nationally with 8.54 digs per set (2nd - MPSF) and 22nd with 11.64 kills per set. Individually, senior Evan Enriques is eighth in the nation with 2.57 digs per set, while Kevin Rakestraw is 12th with a .413 attack percentage.
ALL IN THE FAMILY: Senior libero Evan Enriques is one of four in his immediate family to currently be playing collegiate men's volleyball. His younger brother, Emmett, is a junior libero at CSUN, while twins Addison and Avery are freshmen at Concordia and Grand Canyon, respectively.
Enriques Family Faceoffs Begin Tonight with @StanfordMVB vs. @CSUNMensVB https://t.co/bKoo9PH3uS pic.twitter.com/Rk7UJDFAKi
— VolleyMob (@VolleyMob) January 17, 2018
COACHES POLL: Stanford, along with Pepperdine, was picked to finish third in the MPSF by the league's coaches. BYU, which received four first-place votes, was picked to win the MPSF for the third straight season, while UCLA collected two first-place votes and came in second.
HEAD COACH JOHN KOSTY: Stanford head coach John Kosty is in his 12th season at the helm of the Cardinal program and his 28th overall on staff. He is 188-135 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 eight of the past 10 seasons under Kosty. Stanford has appeared in the MPSF Tournament in nine of Kosty's 11 seasons (missing out in 2007 and 2015).