Quarterfinal in MaplesQuarterfinal in Maples
Al Chang/Stanford Athletics
Men's Volleyball

Quarterfinal in Maples


MPSF Quarterfinal
No. 8 Stanford (15-10, 6-6 MPSF) vs. No. 12 BYU (12-11, 6-6 MPSF)
Saturday • 7 p.m. 
Live Stream • mpsports.org
Live Statistics • GoStanford.com
Tickets • GoStanford.com


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IN THE POLL: Stanford moved up 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. All seven MPSF squads are ranked in the top 15 of this week's poll.

ABOUT BYU: BYU enters the week 12-11 overall, but has dropped its last five matches. The Cougars are just 2-8 away from Smith Fieldhouse and finished 6-6 in the MPSF. BYU leads the conference in blocks per set (2.53) and is fifth in hitting percentage (.303). Sophomore opposite Gabi Garcia Fernandez leads the league with 4.36 kills and 5.13 points per set, and is third with 0.36 aces per set. Freshman Davide Gardini adds 3.40 kills on .329 hitting and 4.06 points per set. Stanford and BYU split the regular season with each winning their home contest. The last time the teams met in the postseason was in 2017 in an MPSF Quarterfinal match in Provo (BYU won 3-0).

HOSTING AT MAPLES: Stanford is hosting a postseason match at Maples Pavilion for the first time since 2016. That year, the Cardinal dropped a five-set match to No. 5 seed UC Santa Barbara. Stanford's last home win in postseason play came during the 2014 campaign in a five-set victory against UC Irvine. The Cardinal went on to finish as the runners-up in both the MPSF and NCAA Tournaments that season.
 


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 (6th, 12.14), hitting percentage (7th, .316) and kills per set (7th, 12.77). Individually, junior Paul Bischoff is sixth nationally in assists per set (10.27), while sophomore Jaylen Jasper is 13th in kills per set (3.73) and 16th in points per set (4.25).

COACHES POLL: Stanford was correctly 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 206-156 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).