Finale in the DesertFinale in the Desert
Rob Ericson/Stanford Athletics
Men's Volleyball

Finale in the Desert


No. 9 Stanford (14-10, 5-6 MPSF) at Grand Canyon (12-14, 2-8 MPSF)
Saturday • 6 p.m. 
Live Stream • GCU TV
Live Statistics • GCULopes.com


Facebook |Twitter| Instagram
 


IN THE POLL: Stanford dropped to 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. Six of seven MPSF squads are ranked in the top 15 of this week's poll, while Grand Canyon is receiving votes.

ABOUT GRAND CANYON: Grand Canyon enters the week in seventh place in the MPSF at 2-8. The Lopes's two conference wins came at home over then-No. 10 USC and Concordia. GCU is hitting .210 as a team, but holding its opponents to an MPSF-low of .242. The Lopes also rank second in the league with 2.28 blocks per set. Redshirt sophomore outside hitter David Kisiel leads the team with 3.23 kills and 3.76 points per set, while freshman Christian Janke adds 2.98 kills and 1.52 digs per set. Sophomore setter Onur Cukur controls the offense with 7.60 assists per set while freshman libero Cole Udall anchors the defense with 2.06 digs per set - good for second in the MPSF.

PLAYOFF SCENARIOS: With one match remaining on its schedule, here are the MPSF seeding scenarios for the Cardinal:

Potential Two-Way Ties:
1. Win tie vs. USC (1-1 matches, 5-5 sets, 218-212 points)
2. Win tie vs. BYU (1-1 matches, 5-4 sets)
3. Win tie vs. CUI (1-1 matches, 4-3 sets)

Clinch No. 4 seed if:
1. Win at GCU, BYU loses at GCU
2. Win at GCU, BYU wins at GCU, two losses for USC

Clinch No. 5 seed if:
1. Lose at GCU
2. Win at GCU, BYU wins at GCU, AND USC wins once
 


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 (7th, 12.14), hitting percentage (7th, .317) and kills per set (8th, 12.77). Individually, junior Paul Bischoff is fifth nationally in assists per set (10.23), while sophomore Jaylen Jasper is 14th in kills per set (3.74) and 19th 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 four different starting lineups.

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).