STANFORD, Calif. – Led by Pacific North Region Player of the Year Kendall Kipp, five Stanford women's volleyball players earned all-region honors, the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) announced today.
The AVCA also named Kevin Hambly, the Montag Family Director of Women's Volleyball, the Pacific North Region Coach of the Year.
Joining Kipp on the AVCA All-Pacific North Region Team are Caitie Baird, Kami Miner and Elena Oglivie, while freshman Elia Rubin landed on the honorable mention list. Stanford has had at least four all-region players in eight of the last nine seasons. Players named to the all-region teams are now in contention to become 2022 AVCA All-Americans.
Baird, Kipp, Miner and Oglivie are being recognized for the second time in their careers. Kipp joins Kathryn Plummer (2017, 2018) as Cardinal who have been named region player of the year. Stanford now boasts 120 all-region selections all-time (including honorable mention).
An opposite from Newport Beach, Kipp leads Stanford with 4.45 kills per set on .316 hitting. She's registered double-digit kills in 29 of 30 matches this season. The senior ranks ninth nationally with 5.33 points per set and is fourth in the Pac-12 with 0.39 aces per set.
A two-time Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week, Kipp has hit .300 or better in 18 matches and has racked up 20-plus kills on eight occasions. At USC (Nov. 9), she had a career-high 24 kills, including the 1,000th of her career. She matched it with 24 kills on .667 hitting in the second round of the NCAA Tournament against LSU (Dec. 3).
This marks the second region coach of the year honor for Hambly, who was also recognized in 2018, and the seventh overall for the Cardinal. Now in his sixth season at the helm of the program, Hambly is 141-32 at Stanford, and 319-118 overall. He has twice been tabbed Pac-12 Coach of the Year (2018, 2022) during his time on The Farm.
An outside hitter from Indianapolis, Baird is second on the team with 3.37 kills and 3.97 points per set. She also averages 1.99 digs per set. The Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week on Oct. 31, she has led the team in kills five times and posted six double-doubles. Baird has produced double-digit kills in 20 matches this season and hit .300 or better 14 times.
Miner, the Pac-12 Setter of the Year, leads the conference and is seventh nationally with 11.40 assists per set. The Redondo Beach native guides the Cardinal offense to a .297 hitting percentage – second in the Pac-12 and sixth-best in the nation. She paces the team with 10 double-doubles on the year. The sophomore was named the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week and the AVCA National Player of the Week after averaging 13.50 assists per set and leading the Cardinal offense to a combined .458 hitting percentage against UCLA and USC in October. Stanford's .605 team hitting percentage against USC was the second-highest in the NCAA this season, the fifth-highest in Pac-12 history and the highest between Pac-12 opponents in the rally-scoring era (2001-present).
Oglivie, a junior from Honolulu, leads the conference with 4.40 digs per set – a mark that would be ninth-best in a single season in program history. A three-time Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week and Libero of the Year, she has registered double-digit digs in 28 consecutive matches. Oglivie has tallied 20-plus digs on seven occasions and has helped the Cardinal to a Pac-12-best .197 opponent hitting percentage. Against Arizona on Nov. 19, she became the 19th player in program history to register 1,000 career digs, and had a career-high 28 versus Oregon State (Nov. 23) to help clinch the program's 20th Pac-12 title.
Rubin, one of just two freshman on the All-Pac-12 team, is second on the team with 2.35 digs per set and third with 3.15 kills and 3.70 points per set. A native of Brentwood, California, she has seven double-doubles on the year. A five-time Pac-12 Freshman of the Week, Rubin has led the team in kills four times. She has recorded double-digit kills in 19 matches and hit .300 or better on eight occasions.
No. 1 seed Stanford will face No. 5 seed Houston on Thursday in the Stanford Regional semifinal at Maples Pavilion. The advancing team will take on the winner between No. 2 seed San Diego and No. 3 seed Kentucky on Saturday at 7 p.m.