Back on The FarmBack on The Farm
Karen Ambrose Hickey/Stanford Athletics
Men's Volleyball

Back on The Farm


No. 9 Stanford (7-5, 0-2 MPSF) vs. No. 14 USC (7-4, 1-0 MPSF)
Thursday • 7 p.m. (Maples Pavilion)
Television • Pac-12 Networks
Live Statistics • GoStanford.com


No. 9 Stanford (7-5, 0-2 MPSF) vs. Concordia (5-8, 1-0 MPSF)
Saturday • 5 p.m. (Burnham Pavilion)
Live Stream • Pac-12.com
Live Statistics • GoStanford.com

Complete Release (PDF)
Facebook |Twitter| Instagram
 


IN THE POLL: Stanford remained at No. 9 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. Five MPSF squads are ranked in the top 10 of this week's poll.

ABOUT USC: No. 14 USC is 7-4 to start the season. The Trojans swept Grand Canyon last week to open MPSF play at home. USC is third in the conference with a .320 team hitting percentage and also ranks third in kills (13.08) and aces (1.67). The Trojans are led by a pair of senior outside hitters. Jack Wyett is second in the MPSF with 3.95 kills per set and fourth with 4.42 points per set, while Rylan Moss is fifth in points (4.33), sixth in kills (3.64) and eighth in hitting percentage (.350). Senior libero Matt Douglas, the reigning MPSF Defensive Player of the Week, is fourth in the conference with 2.03 digs per set. Last season, USC won both meetings against the Cardinal. Stanford's last win over the Trojans came on Jan. 26, 2017 - a 3-0 victory at Maples Pavilion.

ABOUT CONCORDIA: Concordia was 0-6 to start the season and has gone 5-2 since then. The Eagles opened MPSF play last week with a four-set win at home over Grand Canyon. Concordia is hitting .238 as a team and ranks fourth in the MPSF in blocks (2.01) and aces (1.65). Redshirt junior Jordan Hoppe leads Concordia with 3.38 kills per set, ranking ninth in the conference, and 3.75 points per set. Senior middle blocker Hunter Howell is fifth in the MPSF with 0.95 blocks per set and sixth with a .363 attack percentage. Sophomore libero Addison Enriques, the younger brother of former Cardinal All-American Evan Enriques, leads the MPSF with 2.31 digs per set. The Cardinal and Eagles split the season series last year, each winning on their home courts.

MPSF PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: Stanford was four-for-four in the month of January in player of the week recognition from the MPSF. Fifth-year senior Kyle Dagostino was the most recent recipient, collecting defensive accolades on Jan. 28. The libero led the team with 3.14 digs per set in a pair of wins over No. 15 Purdue Fort Wayne. Sophomore Jaylen Jasper and senior Jordan Ewert were named MPSF Offensive Player of the Week on Jan. 7 and Jan. 21, respectively, while setter Paul Bischoff took home defensive honors on Jan. 14.
 


STATISTICALLY SPEAKING: Stanford ranks in the top 10 nationally in assists per set (7th, 12.21), kills per set (8th, 12.86) and hitting percentage (10th, .312). Individually, junior Paul Bischoff is sixth in assists per set (10.20), while sophomore Jaylen Jasper is 11th in kills per set (3.83) and 12th in points per set (4.43).

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.
 


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. In 2019, the Cardinal has used three different starting lineups.

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 198-153 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).