MPSF Play ResumesMPSF Play Resumes
Erin Chang
Men's Volleyball

MPSF Play Resumes


No. 6 Stanford (14-8, 5-4 MPSF) at No. 9 USC (13-8, 4-4 MPSF)
Friday • 7 p.m. 
Television • Pac-12 Networks
Live Statistics • USCTrojans.com


No. 6 Stanford (14-8, 5-4 MPSF) at Concordia (12-15, 1-7 MPSF)
Saturday • 7 p.m.
Live Stream • Eagle TV
Live Statistics • CUIEagles.com

Facebook |Twitter| Instagram
 


IN THE POLL: Stanford jumped up to No. 6 in this week's AVCA Division I-II Men's Coaches' Poll - its highest mark of the season. 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: The Trojans are coming off an upset sweep over then-No. 1 and previously undefeated Long Beach State, snapping the Beach's 23-match winning streak. No. 9 in the latest AVCA poll, USC has reached its highest ranking since 2015. The Trojans are hitting .321 as a team and are undefeated at home this season. Redshirt senior Jack Wyett is the reigning AVCA National Player of the Week. The outside hitter is averaging 3.56 kills on .320 hitting this season. Senior Ryan Moss leads USC with 3.83 kills and 1.48 digs per set on a .363 attack percentage. Stanford outlasted USC in a five-set thriller on Feb. 14. Sophomore Jaylen Jasper had a career-high 29 kills on .305 hitting, while redshirt senior Kyle Dagostino anchored the defense with 14 digs.

ABOUT CONCORDIA: Concordia is 12-15 overall and in seventh place in the MPSF at 1-7 with its lone win coming over Grand Canyon. The Eagles are hitting .258 as a team and averaging 1.30 aces per set. Redshirt junior outside hitter Jordan Hoppe paces the team with 3.16 kills and 1.18 digs per set, while redshirt junior outside hitter Raymond Barsemian adds 3.06 kills and 1.09 digs per set. Fifth-year senior setter Chandler Gibb controls the offense with 9.04 assists per set, while sophomore libero Addison Enriques leads the MPSF with 2.10 digs per set. Stanford swept Concordia in its first meeting of the season. Sophomore Jaylen Jasper led all players with 16 kills on .520 hitting, while senior Jordan Ewert added 11 kills on a .350 clip.
 


MPSF PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: Stanford was four-for-four in the month of January in player of the week recognition from the MPSF, and now has six awards for the season. 

Jan. 7 - Jaylen Jasper (Offensive)
Jan. 14 - Paul Bischoff (Defensive)
Jan. 21 - Jordan Ewert (Offensive)
Jan. 28 - Kyle Dagostino (Defensive)
Feb. 18 - Jaylen Jasper (Offensive); Kyle Dagostino (Defensive)

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING: Stanford ranks in the top 10 nationally in assists per set (4th, 12.43), hitting percentage (5th, .328) and kills per set (5th, 13.09). Individually, junior Paul Bischoff is fifth nationally in assists per set (10.44), while sophomore Jaylen Jasper is 14th in kills per set (3.74) and 20th in points per set (4.24).

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 was second. Pepperdine came in 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 just 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 seeds 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 is in his 13th season at the helm of the Cardinal program and his 29th overall on staff in 2019. He is now 205-156 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).