Maples_HGM_11242018118Maples_HGM_11242018118
Hector Garcia-Molina/Stanford Athletics
Women's Volleyball

Postseason Starts in Maples

NCAA First and Second Rounds

Duke (16-11, 10-8 ACC) vs. Loyola Marymount (20-9, 10-8 WCC)
Friday • 4:30 p.m.
Live Stream • Pac-12.com
Live Statistics • NCAA.com
LMU Notes • Duke Notes
LMU Interview • Duke Interview
 
No. 1 Stanford (28-1, 20-0 Pac-12) vs. Alabama State (23-17, 16-2 SWAC)
Friday • 7 p.m.
Live Stream • Pac-12.com
Live Statistics • NCAA.com
Stanford Notes • Alabama State Notes
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TOURNEY TIME: No. 1 seed Stanford (28-1) begins its quest for a record eighth national title this week, hosting the NCAA First and Second Rounds at Maples Pavilion. The tournament's top seed will face SWAC champion Alabama State (23-17) in the opening round on Friday night.

LOOKING AHEAD: Should Stanford advance past this week, the team will also host NCAA Regional matches, Dec. 7-8. The Final Four will be held Dec. 13-15 at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

CATCH THE CARDINAL: Live stat links for the first and second rounds can be found on the women's volleyball schedule page on GoStanford.com. Friday's match will be live streamed on pac-12.com. If the Cardinal advances past the first round, the Pac-12 Networks will televise its second round match against either Duke or Loyola Marymount.

SCOUTING ALABAMA STATE: For the third-straight season and the fifth time in the past six years, Alabama State (23-17) earned  postseason berth. The Lady Hornets won their third straight SWAC championship with a four-set victory over Alabama A&M. Bayle' Bennett was named SWAC Tournament MVP, while Kori Kutsch, Krysta Medearis and Candace Martin earned all-tournament honors.

THE SERIES WITH THE LADY HORNETS: Friday will be the first meeting between Stanford and Alabama State.

SCOUTING DUKE: Duke went 16-11 in the regular season and finished 10-8 in the ACC. The Blue Devils received an at-large berth into the NCAA Tournament, their 20th appearance all-time. Duke last made the postseason in 2014 and holds a 13-19 record in the tournament. Redshirt junior middle blocker Leah Meyer and graduate student setter/hitter Andie Shelton garnered first team All-ACC honors, while outside hitter Ade Owokoniran found a spot on the ACC All-Freshman Team.

THE SERIES WITH THE BLUE DEVILS: Stanford is a perfect 5-0 all-time against Duke. The Cardinal's most recent win came in five sets on Sept. 11, 2015 at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham. 

SCOUTING LOYOLA MARYMOUNT: Loyola Marymount was 20-9 in the regular season and handed then-No. 1 BYU its only loss of the season last week. The Lions are making their 14th postseason appearance and their first since 2015. 

THE SERIES WITH THE LIONS: Stanford is 3-1 overall against Loyola Marymount. The Lions are the last team to sweep the Cardinal, doing so in the second round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament at Maples Pavilion. Senior Sara Kovac and junior Tess Reid were both named to the All-WCC Team. Kovac's 3.94 kills per set ranks second in the WCC, while Reid led the conference in assists.

BY THE NUMBERS: The 2018 season marks Stanford's 38th 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.

CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS: The Cardinal won its 18th Pac-12 title outright on Nov. 9 with a 3-0 win over Oregon State. It was the program's 21st conference championship overall and second straight. It marked the 30th top-2 standing in Pac-10/12 play in the past 33 seasons. Stanford has claimed nine of the past 13 Pac-12 titles.
 


HOME SWEET HOME: Dating back to 2016, Stanford's 32-match home winning streak is the longest in the nation. The Cardinal went a perfect 11-0 in its regular season home matches in 2017, and is 13-0 in 2018. Under head coach Kevin Hambly, Stanford has only dropped 10 sets at Maples Pavilion. Over the past six seasons, the Cardinal is 84-8 (.913) at home. 

NATIONAL POLL: Stanford, which began the season at No. 1 for the first time since 2002, found its way back into the top spot of the AVCA poll this week. The Cardinal collected 63 of a possible 64 first-place votes. Minnesota and Illinois both moved up a spot, while BYU dropped to No. 4 and Texas rounded out the top 5.
 


TOP 25 WINS: Stanford is the only Division I women's volleyball program to have 15 wins against teams ranked in the AVCA top 25 this season. Stanford is 15-1 against ranked opponents in 2018.
 


PAC-12'S TOP HONOR: For the 16th time, a Cardinal was named Pac-12 Player of the Year. Junior Kathryn Plummer is Stanford's firs repeat honoree since Foluke Akinradewo (2007-08). The outside hitter ranks in the top-10 in the nation in kills per set (4.78) and points per set (5.48), and has produced 30 percent of the team's kills this season.
 


SETTER OF THE YEAR: Jenna Gray is the second Stanford player to earn consecutive 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 second nationally with 12.43 assists per set. She is also tied for the conference lead with 0.39 aces per set this season. As a team, the Cardinal is the only Pac-12 squad hitting over .300 on the year at .305 – the second-best mark in the nation. 
 


LIBERO OF THE YEAR: A repeat Libero of the Year winner, Morgan Hentz was the first Cardinal to earn the honor since the award's inception in 2011. The junior leads the team with 4.79 digs per set and has just 12 reception errors on the season. Her 4.79 digs per set would be the fourth-best single season mark in school history. She has been named the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week five times this season. The Lakeside Park, Kentucky, native has registered double-digit digs in all 29 matches this season, reaching the 20-dig plateau on seven occasions.
 


COACH OF THE YEAR: Kevin Hambly, now in his second season on The Farm, was tabbed the Pac-12 Coach of the Year - the first for the Cardinal since 2012. He led Stanford to its second consecutive conference title and is now 39-1 in Pac-12 play. The 2018 Cardinal became the first Pac-12 team to go undefeated in conference play since 2003.
 


PAC-12 HONORS: Seven Cardinal players have been recognized by the conference this season. Juniors Kathryn Plummer (three-time), Audriana Fitzmorris (two-time), Jenna Gray (two-time) and Morgan Hentz (two-time) are repeat honorees, while senior Tami Alade and sophomore Meghan McClure joined them on the 18-player All-Pac-12 Team. Middle blocker Holly Campbell landed on the All-Pac-12 Freshman Team.
 


PAC-12 IN THE TOURNEY: The Pac-12 led the nation with eight berths into the NCAA Tournament. It marks the 19th consecutive year in which the Pac-12 has sent at least six teams into the postseason, and the 27th overall. 

STANFORD VS. THE FIELD: The Cardinal has played 19 matches against this year's NCAA field, posting an 18-1 record. Stanford was 13-0 against Pac-12 teams in the tournament, and picked up nonconference wins over Howard, No. 8 seed Penn State, No. 2 seed Minnesota and No. 5 seed Texas (twice).
 


SENIOR CLASS FINALIST: Middle blocker Tami Alade is one of 10 finalists for the Senior CLASS Award. The award recognizes student-athletes who have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition.
 


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.