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Big Ten/Pac-12 Challenge

No. 18 Oregon (3-2) vs. No. 1 Minnesota (5-0) | Friday • 5 p.m. PT
Television • Pac-12 Network
Live Statistics • GoStanford.com


No. 4 Stanford (4-1) vs. No. 5 Penn State (5-0) | Friday • 8 p.m. PT
Television • Pac-12 Network
Live Statistics • GoStanford.com
Complete Release (PDF)
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No. 5 Penn State (5-0) vs. No. 18 Oregon (3-2) | Saturday • 2 p.m. PT
Live Stream • Pac-12.com
Live Statistics • GoStanford.com


No. 4 Stanford (4-1) vs. No. 1 Minnesota (5-0) | Sunday • 12 p.m. PT
Television • Pac-12 Network
Live Statistics • GoStanford.com


PROMOTIONS: Prior to Friday's Stanford match, head coach Kevin Hambly will host a chalk talk open to all fans at 7:30 p.m. in Kissick Auditorium. Fans will also be able to pick up 2018 collateral and have access to a poster-making station. Sunday's match is Cardinal Kids Day. Fans can receive up to two free youth tickets with the purchase of one paid adult ticket. Both matches will feature postmatch autographs with the team. For this season's women's volleyball promotions, click here.

LAST WEEK: Stanford wrapped-up a nine-day road trip with a 2-1 record at the BYU Nike Invitational. Playing three matches within 24 hours, the Cardinal dropped a five-set thriller at then-No. 9 BYU in front of a sold-out crowd before sweeping Wichita State and West Virginia the next day. Audriana Fitzmorris (.425, 2.64 kps, 1.00 bps) and Jenna Gray (11.79 aps, 1.07 bps) were named to the all-tournament team.

DEFENSIVE-MINDED: Stanford held West Virginia to just 30 total points, defeating the Mountaineers 25-9, 25-9, 25-12 on Sept. 1 in Provo, Utah. It was the lowest combined point total by a Cardinal opponent in the rally-scoring era to 25 (since 2008).

SCOUTING PENN STATE: Led by head coach Russ Rose, who is in his 40th season at the helm of the program, Penn State enters the weekend undefeated at 5-0 and has not lost a set. The Nittany Lions are averaging 3.23 blocks and hitting .309 as a team, ranking fourth and fifth in the nation, respectively. Penn State is holding its opponents to a .067 attack percentage - lowest in the country. 

THE SERIES WITH THE NITTANY LIONS: Penn State holds a 9-12 advantage in the all-time series against Stanford. The Nittany Lions won both meetings last season - in four sets in College Station, Texas and five sets in Champaign, Illinois. Stanford's most recent in was a sweep in 2016 at the Big Ten/Pac-12 Challenge in Boulder, Colo.

SCOUTING MINNESOTA: The new No. 1 team in the nation, Minnesota is 5-0 to start the season and will be on the road for the first time in 2018. The Golden Gophers are second in the nation with 3.41 blocks per set and fourth with a .310 team hitting percentage. Opponents are hitting just .115 against Minnesota, which has only lost one set (vs. North Carolina). 

THE SERIES WITH THE GOLDEN GOPHERS: Stanford is a perfect 8-0 all-time against Minnesota. The Cardinal's last win came during the 2016 NCAA semifinals in Columbus, Ohio. A four-set victory, Stanford went on to win the national championship. The Cardinal's most recent win in Maples Pavilion came on August 28, 2016, also in four sets.

BY THE NUMBERS: The 2017 season marked 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 seven NCAA titles also ties Penn State for the most by a Division I team.

NATIONAL POLL: Stanford dropped to No. 4 in the AVCA Coaches Poll, still garnering eight first-place votes. The Cardinal began the season at No. 1 for the first time since 2002. Minnesota took over the top spot, followed by Wisconsin and BYU. Eight Pac-12 squads are ranked, the most by any conference.

PRESEASON ALL-PAC-12: Stanford led the conference with four Preseason All-Pac-12 selections - Audriana Fitzmorris, Jenna Gray, Morgan Hentz and Kathryn Plummer. Fitzmorris, Hentz and Plummer are repeat honorees, while Gray earns the nod for the first time.

ALL-AMERICANS: The Cardinal returns five AVCA All-Americans to its 2018 roster. Jenna Gray, Morgan Hentz and Kathryn Plummer were all first team picks as sophomores, while Audriana Fitzmorris earned a spot on the second team. Senior Tami Alade landed on the honorable mention list. Stanford's five players on the first and second teams in 2017 were a program-best. The selections brought Stanford's total AVCA All-America award count to 95 honors spread over 40 players. It marked the fifth straight season in which the Cardinal had produced at least four All-Americans.
 


PAC-12'S TOP HONOR: In 2017, 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 (4.66) and points per set (5.39). She was also 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: Jenna Gray was 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 paced the league and was fourth nationally in 2017 with 12.04 assists per set, and had the Cardinal hitting .319 as a team - the third-best mark in the nation.
 


LIBERO OF THE YEAR: Morgan Hentz was the first Cardinal player to be named the Pac-12 Libero of the Year since the award's inception in 2011. She led the team with 4.08 digs per set in 2017, upping that mark to 4.39 digs per set in NCAA Tournament matches, and had just 15 reception errors on the season.
 


CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS: The Cardinal clinched its 17th Pac-12 title on Nov. 15 with a 3-0 win over USC. It was 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.

1,000 KILLS CLUB: At Howard on Aug. 27, junior Kathryn Plummer became the 19th Stanford player to register 1,000 career kills just half way through her collegiate career. Only two Cardinal players have reached the 2,000 career kills milestone - Ogonna Nnamani (2,450) and Alix Klineman (2,008).
 


1,000 DIGS CLUB: JuniorMorgan Hentz became the 18th Stanford player since 1986 to register 1,000 career 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.
 


CARD IN EUROPE: In June, the Cardinal embarked on a 12-day European Tour, including stops in Slovenia, Croatia and Italy. The Cardinal played matches versus the Slovenia National Team, twice, the Slovenia U19 National Team and the Serbian U19 Team while in Slovenia. Stanford also played the Croatian Federation Team and Italy's Menca's U17 National Team. Freshmen Holly Campbell and Mackenzie Fidelak, and outgoing senior Merete Lutz joined the team on the tour. The trip was the Cardinal's first international journey since visiting China in 2011.
 


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, and has added six more at Stanford.