No. 13 Stanford (0-0) vs. Menlo College (0-0)
Friday • 7 p.m.
Live Stream • Pac-12.com
Live Statistics • GoStanford.com
No. 13 Stanford (0-0) vs. UC Santa Cruz (0-0)
Saturday • 7 p.m.
Live Stream • Pac-12.com
Live Statistics • GoStanford.com
Complete Release (PDF)
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THIS WEEK: Stanford opens the 2019 season at home against a pair of northern California opponents beginning with Menlo College on Friday in Burnham Pavilion and UC Santa Cruz on Saturday at 7 p.m. in Maples Pavilion. Admission is free to all regular season home matches.
IN THE POLL: Stanford begins the 2019 campaign ranked No. 13 in the preseason AVCA Division I-II Men's Coaches' Poll. The Cardinal has been ranked to start the season for the 12th consecutive season. Six MPSF squads are in the top 15 to start the year.
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 picked to win the MPSF, while BYU collected the remaining first-place votes 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.
ALL-AMERICANS: Senior Evan Enriques was tabbed a second team All-American by the AVCA in 2018, while then-freshman Jaylen Jasper collected honorable mention accolades. The selections brought Stanford's total AVCA All-America award count to 59 honors spread over 27 players.
ALL-MPSF: Led by first-team selection Jaylen Jasper, Stanford placed four players on the all-conference teams in 2018. Seniors Evan Enriques and Kevin Rakestraw earned second-team honors, while freshman Kyler Presho was honorable mention. Jasper and Presho were also selected to the seven-member all-freshman team.
ALL-ACADEMIC: Five Cardinal were named to the MPSF All-Academic Team in 2018. Joining four-time selection Kevin Rakestraw were Eric Beatty, Russell Dervay, Evan Enriques and Jacob Thoenen. The group was recognized for their combined work athletically and in the classroom.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING: Jaylen Jasper was second in the MPSF and seventh nationally with 3.92 kills per set and ranked third in the conference with 4.32 points per set as a freshman. Senior libero Evan Enriques was second in the conference with 2.20 digs per set, while Kyler Presho (.410) and Kevin Rakestraw (.398) were sixth and seventh, respectively, in hitting percentage last season.
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.
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 193-148 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).