A Look Back on 2019A Look Back on 2019
Erin Chang
Men's Volleyball

A Look Back on 2019

STANFORD, Calif. - Stanford finished the 2019 campaign 15-11 overall and 6-6 in the MPSF. The Cardinal made its 11th postseason appearance under head coach John Kosty, who wrapped up his 13th season at the helm of the program. Earning the No. 4 seed in the conference tournament, the Cardinal hosted No. 5 seed BYU in the quarterfinals. Stanford produced five all-conference selections and four AVCA All-Americans. 

ALL-AMERICANS: Four Cardinal collected AVCA All-America honorable mention honors - seniors Kyle Dagostino and Jordan Ewert, junior Paul Bischoff and sophomore Jaylen Jasper. The selections brought Stanford's total AVCA All-America award count to 63 honors spread over 30 players.
 


ALL-MPSF: Stanford had five players recognized on the all-conference teams in 2019. Kyle Dagostino, Jordan Ewert, Jaylen Jasper and Kyler Presho collected second team accolades, while Paul Bischoff landed on the honorable mention list.

ALL-ACADEMIC: Four Cardinal were named to the MPSF All-Academic Team in 2019. Joining two-time selection Eric Beatty were Kyle Dagostino, Leo Henken and Stephen Moye. The group was recognized for their combined work athletically and in the classroom.
 


IN THE POLL: Stanford ended the season ranked No. 10 in the AVCA Division I-II Men's Coaches' Poll. The Cardinal was ranked in each and every poll through the 2019 campaign. For the 12th consecutive year, the Cardinal was ranked to start the season. Six of the seven MPSF squads were ranked in the top 15 to end the year.

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.

HOSTING AT MAPLES: Stanford hosted 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.

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING: Stanford ranked in the top 10 nationally in assists per set (6th, 12.22), hitting percentage (7th, .318) and kills per set (7th, 12.83). Individually, junior Paul Bischoff was sixth nationally in assists per set (10.32), while sophomore Jaylen Jasper was 13th in kills per set (3.70) and 18th in points per set (4.20).
 


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 had 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)

OFF THE BLOCK PRESEASON RECOGNITION: Prior to the start of the year, sophomore Jaylen Jasper landed on the Off The Block/Springbak Preseason All-America second team. Libero Kyle Dagostino received votes, which were collected from the 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.

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 only used four different starting lineups, providing more cohesion on the court.

HEAD COACH JOHN KOSTY: Stanford head coach John Kosty completed his 13th season at the helm of the Cardinal program and his 29th overall on staff. He is now 206-159 in his career. He 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 12 seasons under Kosty. Stanford has appeared in the MPSF Tournament in 11 of Kosty's 13 seasons (missing out in 2007 and 2015).