STANFORD, Calif. - Stanford closed out the 2021 season with a 19-11 overall record and a 13-7 mark in the Pac-12, tying for fourth in the conference. The Cardinal qualified for its 40th NCAA Tournament in 41 seasons, advancing to the second round in Minneapolis. Stanford was on the road to start the postseason for the first time since 2004.
Stanford produced two AVCA All-Americans as both Caitie Baird and Kendall Kipp were selected to the second team. Rookie setter Kami Miner led the Pac-12 and was seventh nationally with 11.45 assists per set, earning her Pac-12 and AVCA Pacific North Region Freshman of the Year honors.
Head coach Kevin Hambly is now 115-28 (.804) in five seasons on The Farm, mentoring 10 AVCA All-Americans to 18 awards and three CoSIDA Academic All-Americans.
LAST TIME OUT: Stanford was sent to Minneapolis to open the NCAA Tournament. The Cardinal defeated Iowa State in the first round, 3-1, and is now 40-0 all-time in opening round matches. Stanford's season ended in a 3-0 loss to No. 12 seed Minnesota. Opposite Kendall Kipp paced the team with 5.00 kills o .362 hitting and 2.43 digs per set in the two postseason matches.
PAC-12 IN THE TOURNEY: Six Pac-12 teams qualified for the NCAA Tournament. It was the 27th time in the 41-season history of championship tournament that the Pac-12 has sent at least six of its teams to the postseason, including the 21st time in the past 22 seasons.
STANFORD VS. THE FIELD: The Cardinal played 17 matches against the 2021 NCAA field, posting an 8-9 mark against the competition. Stanford was 4-5 against Pac-12 teams in the tournament, and picked up nonconference wins over No. 10 seed Nebraska, No. 16 seed Florida, Penn State and Iowa State.
AVCA ALL-AMERICANS: Outside hitter Caitie Baird and opposite Kendall Kipp were tabbed Second Team All-Americans by the AVCA in 2021. It was the first recognition for both players. Stanford's total AVCA All-America award count is now 107 honors spread among 44 players.
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Stanford setter Kami Miner became the 13th Cardinal to be named Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, and the first since Kathryn Plummer in 2016. Miner led the conference with 11.45 assists per set, ranking seventh nationally, and had a team-best nine double-doubles on the season.
COMPLETE PACKAGE: Stanford middle blocker Holly Campbell was named the Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year for women's volleyball. The Austin, Texas, native graduated with a 3.91 GPA in economics. Campbell was Stanford's fourth straight winner following Meghan McClure (2020), Morgan Hentz (2019) and Tami Alade (2018), and the sixth Cardinal overall. The award was first established during the 2008-09 academic year.
AVCA ALL-REGION: Headlined by Kami Miner, the Pacific North Region Freshman of the Year, four Cardinal earned all-region honors in 2021. Joining Miner on the all-region team were Caitie Baird, Kendall Kipp and Elena Oglivie. Stanford has had at least four all-region players in seven of the last eight seasons. All four players were recognized for the first time in their careers. Miner becomes the eighth Cardinal to be named region freshman of the year and Stanford now boasts 115 all-region selections all-time (including honorable mention).
ALL-CONFERENCE HONORS: Four Cardinal were recognized by the Pac-12 when the conference released its annual awards. Caitie Baird and Kendall Kipp were selected to the 18-member all-conference team, while Kami Miner landed on the honorable mention list. Miner was joined on the Pac-12 All-Freshman Team by Sami Francis.
PAC-12 WEEKLY AWARDS: Stanford won eight Pac-12 weekly honors in 2021. The Cardinal now boasts 125 players of the week (the most all-time, which includes offensive and defensive beginning in 2011), 23 Offensive, 28 Defensive and 30 Freshman.
2021 Pac-12 Weekly Selections
Aug. 30: Elena Oglivie (Defensive), Kami Miner (Freshman)
Sept. 13: Kami Miner (Freshman)
Oct. 4: Kami Miner (Freshman)
Oct. 18: Caitie Baird (Offensive)
Nov. 15: Caitie Baird (Offensive)
Nov. 22: McKenna Vicini (Defensive)
Nov. 29: Kami Miner (Freshman)
IN THE CLASSROOM: Led by first team selection Kendall Kipp, three Cardinal players were selected to the CoSIDA Academic All-District 8 teams. Senior Holly Campbell and redshirt sophomore Caitie Baird landed on the second team. Additionally, all 12 eligible student-athletes were named to the Pac-12's Academic Honor Roll (minimum 3.30 cumulative GPA).
CARD IN THE RANKINGS: As a team, Stanford led the Pac-12 in assists per set (13.11) and blocks per set (2.54), while ranking second in kills per set (14.07) and hitting percentage (.281). The Cardinal was also eighth in aces per set (1.26) and ninth in digs per set (13.85).
Individual Rankings (Pac-12)
Hitting Percentage: Kendall Kipp - 10th (.339)
Kills per set: Caitie Baird - 3rd (4.24); Kendall Kipp - 6th (3.85)
Assists per set: Kami Miner - 1st (11.45)
Blocks per set: McKenna Vicini - 2nd (1.30)
Digs per set: Elena Oglivie - 3rd (4.38)
Points per set: Caitie Baird - 3rd (4.83); Kendall Kipp - 4th (4.66)
HOME SWEET HOME: In five seasons under Kevin Hambly, Stanford is 57-6 at Maples Pavilion. The Cardinal won 32 in a row at home to begin Hambly's tenure at Stanford.
100 AT STANFORD: Stanford's win over Penn State on Sept. 11 marked the 100th win for head coach Kevin Hambly at Stanford. He was the second-fastest Cardinal head coach to get to 100, doing so in 119 matches. John Dunning (2001-16) accomplished the feat in 118 matches.
BY THE NUMBERS: Stanford has won more NCAA titles (9), more NCAA Tournament matches (132), made more Final Four appearances (23) and been in the national championship match (17) more times than any other program in the nation. The Cardinal has qualified for 40 of the 41 NCAA Tournaments.
STELLAR CLASSES: Stanford's junior class - Caitie Baird, Natalie Berty, Kendall Kipp, McKenna Vicini and Selina Xu - was rated the No. 1 overall recruiting class in 2019. The group is joined by the 2020 class, which was tabbed No. 5 nationally, and includes Alex Lougeay, Elena Oglivie, Annabelle Smith, Leilah Smith and Malia Tufuga. True freshmen Sami Francis and Kami Miner were rated as the No. 2 and No. 5 overall recruits in the nation by VolleyballMag.com in 2021, respectively.
ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICANS: Meghan McClure (first team) was tabbed the CoSIDA Academic All-America of the Year in 2020-21, bringing Stanford's total award count to 22. Head coach Kevin Hambly has mentored three Academic All-Americans at Stanford to a total of four awards (McClure twice, Tami Alade and Audriana Fitzmorris).
CARDINAL IN TOKYO: Two former Cardinal won medals in Tokyo at the 2020 Olympic Games. Foluke Akinradewo ('09) completed her medal set by helping the United States win its first gold medal in indoor volleyball after earning silver in London (2012) and bronze in Rio (2016). First-time Olympian Alix Klineman ('11) won gold on the beach with partner April Ross. Klineman was one of eight Cardinal inducted into the Stanford Athletics Hall of Fame on Nov. 6.
COACHING EXCELLENCE: Kevin Hambly became the seventh head coach in Division I women's volleyball to lead a school to back-to-back NCAA titles. Hambly is now 115-28 (.804) in five seasons on The Farm, mentoring 10 AVCA All-Americans to 18 awards and three Academic All-Americans (four awards).
THE HAMBLY FILE: Kevin Hambly coached 12 AVCA All-Americans to 19 honors during his time at Illinois and has now mentored 22 All-Americans to 37 awards. He is the third head coach to lead Stanford to a national championship. The 2018 Pac-12 Coach of the Year became the first Cardinal head coach (any sport) to win an NCAA title in one of his first two seasons on The Farm since 2005.
2021 INDIVIDUAL AWARDS:
Caitie Baird
• AVCA All-America Second Team
• VolleyballMag.com All-America Second Team
• AVCA All-Pacific North Region
• All-Pac-12 Conference
• Two-time Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week (Oct. 18, Nov. 15)
• CoSIDA Academic All-District Second Team
• Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll
Natalie Berty
• Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll
Holly Campbell
• Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year
• CoSIDA Academic All-District Second Team
• Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll
Mackenzie Fidelak
• Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll
Sami Francis
• All-Pac-12 Freshman Team
Kendall Kipp
• AVCA All-America Second Team
• VolleyballMag.com All-America Second Team
• AVCA All-Pacific North Region
• All-Pac-12 Conference
• Preseason All-Pac-12 Conference
• CoSIDA Academic All-District First Team
• Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll
Alex Lougeay
• Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll
Kami Miner
• VolleyballMag.com All-America Fourth Team
• VolleyballMag.com Freshman of the Year finalist
• AVCA Pacific North Region Freshman of the Year
• Pac-12 Freshman of the Year
• AVCA All-Pacific North Region
• All-Pac-12 Conference honorable mention
• All-Pac-12 Freshman Team
• Four-time Pac-12 Freshman of the Week (Aug. 30, Sept. 13, Oct. 4, Nov. 29)
Elena Oglivie
• AVCA All-Pacific North Region
• Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week (Aug. 30)
• Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll
Annabelle Smith
• Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll
Leilah Smith
• Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll
Malia Tufuga
• Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll
McKenna Vicini
• Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week (Nov. 22)
• Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll
Selina Xu
• Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll