Stanford (2-8) at No. 14 USC (3-7) | Thursday • 7 p.m. PT
Television • Pac-12 Networks
Live Statistics • GoStanford.com
Stanford (2-8) at No. 12 CSUN (6-3) | Saturday • 6 p.m. PT
Live Stream • BigWest.TV
Live Statistics • GoStanford.com
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THIS WEEK: Stanford (2-8) returns to southern California this week to continue it seven-match road swing at No. 14 USC (3-7) Thursday at 7 p.m. and at No. 12 CSUN (6-3) on Saturday at 6 p.m.
ABOUT USC: USC (3-7) is tied for 14th with Fort Wayne in this week's AVCA Coaches' Poll. After opening the season 3-0, the Trojans have faltered in their last seven matches. USC is hitting .267 as a team and rank ninth in the nation with 12.53 kills per set. Redshirt junior outside hitter Jack Wyett paces the MPSF and is fifth nationally with 3.77 kills per set, while junior Gianluca Grasso adds 3.12 kills, 1.19 digs and 0.41 aces per set. Last season, Stanford and USC split the season series as each posted a sweep on its home court.
ABOUT CSUN: CSUN (6-3) opened the season with five straight wins before dropping three in a row. The Matadors are coming off a sweep over UC Santa Cruz last week. Hitting .313, CSUN averages 12.42 kills and 2.53 blocks while leading the nation with 2.26 aces per set. Senior Arvis Greene, who missed the first meeting of the season between the Cardinal and Matadors, paces the squad with 4.52 kills (2nd nationally) and 0.71 aces per set (1st nationally). CSUN swept the Cardinal on Jan. 17 at Burnham Pavilion. Stanford's Jaylen Jasper had a match-high 14 kills, while Kevin Rakestraw hit .800 (8-0-10). Sophomore Ksawery Tomsia led CSUN with 12 kills.
LAST TIME OUT: Stanford halted a four-match losing skid at UC San Diego on Saturday. The Cardinal hit a season-high .339 as a team, led by sophomore Eric Beatty's career-high 18 kills and seven digs. Freshman opposite Jaylen Jasper added 14 kills on .333 hitting for Stanford.
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 23rd as a team nationally with 8.31 digs per set (3rd - MPSF) and 11.71 kills per set. Individually, senior Evan Enriques is 12th in the nation with 2.40 digs per set, while Kevin Rakestraw is 14th with a .390 attack percentage.
WHO'S IN?: With injuries and a young roster, Stanford has struggled to find a consistent lineup. The Cardinal has utilized seven different starting lineups in its first 10 matches. Most recently, senior libero Evan Enriques has transitioned to the outside hitter position with fellow senior Jake Stuebner taking his place on the back line. Freshman middle blocker Kyler Presho is the only Cardinal to start all 10 matches at the same position this season.
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.
NEW-LOOK MPSF: Each MPSF team will play 12 conference matches this season, featuring a home and away against each opponent. The 2018 MPSF Tournament begins with seed two, three and four hosting a quarterfinal match on April 14. The conference semifinals will be played on April 19 at the No. 1 seed. Semifinal winners will meet on April 21 for the championship with an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament on the line.
NEWCOMERS: Freshmen JP Reilly (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) and Leo Henken (Webster Grove, Mo.) were named AVCA First and Second Team High School All-Americans, respectively. Jaylen Jasper (Annapolis, Md.), whose high school did not offer boys' volleyball, was the No. 1 recruit in the class of 2017, as voted on for VolleyballMag.com, while Kyler Presho (San Clemente, Calif.) rounds out the Cardinal's freshman class.
2017 RECAP: Stanford finished the 2017 campaign 13-13 overall and 8-10 in the MPSF. After being picked to finish seventh by the MPSF coaches, Stanford tied for sixth and secured its ninth postseason appearance under head coach John Kosty. The Cardinal produced four all-conference selections and two AVCA All-Americans.
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 189-136 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).