No. 8 Stanford (5-1) vs. No. 15 Purdue Fort Wayne (4-2)
Friday • 6 p.m. (Maples)
Live Stream • Pac-12.com
Live Statistics • GoStanford.com
No. 8 Stanford (5-1) vs. No. 15 Purdue Fort Wayne (4-2)
Saturday • 7 p.m. (Burnham)
Live Stream • Pac-12.com
Live Statistics • GoStanford.com
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THIS WEEK: No. 8 Stanford (5-1) wraps up its eight match homestand this week, playing host to No. 15 Purdue Fort Wayne (4-2) for a pair of matches. Friday's contest is set for 6 p.m. in Maples Pavilion, while Saturday's match will begin at 7 p.m. in Burnham Pavilion. Admission is free to all regular season home matches.
IN THE POLL: Stanford moved up a spot to No. 8 in this week's AVCA Division I-II Men's Coaches' Poll. For the 12th consecutive year, the Cardinal was ranked to start the season. Four MPSF squads are ranked in the top 10 of this week's poll.
ABOUT PURDUE FORT WAYNE: Purdue Fort Wayne, who plays in the MIVA, is 4-2 to start the season. The Mastodons own wins over NJIT, Princeton, Lees-McRae and Queens (N.C.). Purdue Fort Wayne dropped a pair of top 15 contests last week at home, falling in five to No. 10 CSUN and four to No. 12 UC Santa Barbara. The Mastodons are hitting .296 as a a team and led by junior outside hitter Pelegrin Vargas's 3.80 kills per set on .346 hitting.
MPSF PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: Stanford is three-for-three this season in player of the week recognition from the MPSF. Senior Jordan Ewert is the most recent recipient, collecting offensive accolades on Jan. 21. The outside hitter led the team with 4.88 kills on .318 hitting, 2.75 digs and 5.25 points per set as the Cardinal split a pair of matches with No. 2 UC Irvine. Sophomore Jaylen Jasper was named the MPSF Offensive Player of the Week for the second time in his career on Jan. 7, while setter Paul Bischoff took home MPSF Defensive Player of the Week honors on Jan. 14.
Jordan Ewert is the third ?? to earn player of the week honors this season ??.
— Stanford Men's Volleyball (@StanfordMVB) January 22, 2019
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STATISTICALLY SPEAKING: Stanford ranks in the top 10 nationally in hitting percentage (3rd, .364), assists per set (3rd, 12.86), kills per set (4th, 13.71) and aces per set (8th, 1.81). Individually, junior Paul Bischoff is second in assists per set (10.90), while sophomore Jaylen Jasper is eighth in points per set (4.81) and 10th in kills per set (4.05). Senior Jordan Ewert is 23rd in digs per set at 2.05.
COACHES POLL: Stanford was picked to finish fourth in the MPSF by the league's coaches prior to the start of the 2019 season. UCLA, which received six first-place votes, was selected to win the MPSF, while BYU collected the remaining first-place vote and came in second and Pepperdine was third.
OFF THE BLOCK PRESEASON RECOGNITION: Sophomore Jaylen Jasper landed on the Off The Block/Springbak Preseason All-America second team. Libero Kyle Dagostino received votes, which were collected from coaches around the nation. Additionally, several Cardinal were named to preseason watch lists:
Paul Bischoff, Jr. (Lloy Ball Award - best setter)
Jaylen Jasper, So. (Bryan Ivie Award - best opposite)
Jordan Ewert, Sr. (Karch Kiraly Award - best outside hitter)
Kyler Presho, So. (Ryan Millar Award - best middle blocker)
Kyle Dagostino, RS Sr. (Erik Shoji Award - best libero)
INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE: Kyle Dagostino represented the U.S. in its seventh-place finish at the Pan American Cup in Mexico over the summer. Jaylen Jasper, Kyler Presho and JP Reilly all competed on the U.S. Junior National Team, which took fourth at the NORCECA U21 Continental Championship in Cuba. Freshman Justin Lui, who hails from Pickering, Ontario, played for Canada at the U21 Continental Championship.
.@JamesWalkerShaw led the U.S. ???? to a 7th-place finish at the Pan Am Cup in Mexico, while Jaylen Jasper was named the 'Best Server' for the Junior National Team in Cuba. #GoStanfordhttps://t.co/R4SjK45QYQ
— Stanford Men's Volleyball (@StanfordMVB) September 3, 2018
2018 RECAP: Stanford finished the 2018 campaign 6-20 overall and 3-9 in the MPSF. The Cardinal did not have one single match where all 18 players on the roster were available. Stanford made its 10th postseason appearance under head coach John Kosty, who completed his 12th season at the helm of the program. The Cardinal produced four all-conference selections and two AVCA All-Americans.
WHO'S IN?: With injuries and a young roster, Stanford struggled to find a consistent lineup in 2018. The Cardinal utilized 12 different starting lineups during the season. Middle blocker Kyler Presho was the only Cardinal to start all 26 matches at the same position last year. It has been the complete opposite in 2019, the Cardinal has used the same starting lineup in all six matches.
NEW-LOOK MPSF: Last season, each MPSF team played 12 conference matches, featuring a home and away against each opponent. The 2019 MPSF Tournament will begin with seed two, three and four hosting a quarterfinal match on April 13. The conference semifinals will be played at the No. 1 seed. The MPSF Tournament winner will earn an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament.
HEAD COACH JOHN KOSTY: Stanford head coach John Kosty enters his 13th season at the helm of the Cardinal program and his 29th overall on staff in 2019. He is now 196-149 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 11 seasons under Kosty. Stanford has appeared in the MPSF Tournament in 10 of Kosty's 12 seasons (missing out in 2007 and 2015).