STANFORD, Calif. - In his 18th season at the helm of the program, The Birkhofer Family Head Men’s Volleyball Coach John Kosty guided the Cardinal to a 14-12 overall record and a 6-6 mark in the MPSF (4th).
The Cardinal advanced to the semifinals of the MPSF Tournament for a third straight season - its first time doing so in program history. Outside hitter Will Rottman was named to the MPSF All-Tournament Team for a third time. The fifth-year averaged 4.71 kills on .356 hitting, 0.43 aces, 3.00 digs and 5.36 points per set to lead Stanford in the postseason.
Rottman was named an AVCA Second Team All-American. The outside hitter is just the 10th Cardinal player to be named a first or second team AVCA All-American three or more times in his career, and the first since Erik Shoji (2009-12).
The Cardinal finished the season ranked No. 6 in the AVCA poll - marking its highest final ranking since 2016.
AVCA ALL-AMERICAN: Will Rottman was named an AVCA Second Team All-American for a second consecutive season, after being a first-team selection in 2022. The Cardinal now has 77 All-America awards all-time. A native of Santa Barbara, Rottman led the MPSF with 3.72 kills per set and was second in the league with 4.43 points per set and 0.43 aces per set - ranking in the top 15 nationally in all three categories. He led the team in kills in 14 of the 20 matches he played, and hit .300 or better in 13 matches, registering 20-plus kills on five occasions. Rottman finished his career ranked third in program history in the rally-scoring era (2001-present) with 115 career service aces and fourth with 1,362 career kills.
ALL-MPSF: Outside hitter Will Rottman was named All-MPSF first team, while setter Nathan Lietzke landed on the honorable mention list. Rottman is now a four-time All-MPSF selection. Lietzke was recognized for the first time. Stanford now has 115 all-conference selections all-time.
ACADEMIC HONORS: Stanford was the only Division I institution in the nation to have each of its programs (men’s, women’s and beach) earn the AVCA Team Academic Award in 2024. The men’s team has now earned the AVCA Team Academic Award for five consecutive seasons, and for the 13th time in program history. Stanford led the conference with 11 student-athletes selected to the MPSF All-Academic Team, while 12 Cardinal landed on the Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll.
2024 MPSF TOURNAMENT LOOK BACK: Stanford advanced to the semifinals of the MPSF Tournament with a win over No. 5 seed Pepperdine in the quarterfinals. It was the first time in program history the Cardinal has appeared in the semifinals for three consecutive seasons. Outside hitter Will Rottman led the team in kills (33), digs (21), aces (3) and points (37.5) in the two matches.
HOT START: The Cardinal started the season 7-0 for the first time since 1998. Stanford moved up to No. 4 in the AVCA poll on January 29 - its highest ranking since April 4, 2016 when it was third. Twelve of the Cardinal’s 14 wins came against ranked opponents.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: Will Rottman and Nathan Lietzke combined to win six player of the week honors in 2024. In addition to five MPSF selections, Rottman picked up his second career AVCA National Player of the Week award on Jan. 16.
2024 MPSF Weekly Selections
Jan. 15: Will Rottman (Offensive), Nathan Lietzke (Defensive)
Feb. 26: Nathan Lietzke (Defensive)
April 8: Nathan Lietzke (Defensive)
April 15: Nathan Lietzke (Defensive)
2024 MPSF STAT LEADERS: As a team, Stanford was second in the MPSF in aces (1.56) and digs (9.06). The Cardinal was fifth in assists (11.37) and kills (12.11), and sixth in hitting percentage (.287) and blocks (1.99).
INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS (MPSF)
Hitting percentage: Hill - 6th (.421); Gates - 8th (.399)
Kills per set: W. Rottman - 1st (3.72)
Assists per set: Lietzke - 4th (9.63); Turner - 9th (0.65)
Aces per set: W. Rottman - t2nd (0.43); Lamp - t2nd (0.43); Lietzke - 6th (0.39)
Digs per set: Lietzke - 3rd (1.90); Turner - 6th (1.73); W. Rottman - 9th (1.54)
Points per set: W. Rottman - 2nd (4.43)
COACHES POLL: Stanford, which earned one first-place vote, was picked to finish second in the MPSF by the league’s coaches. UCLA, which received six first-place votes, was selected to repeat as MPSF champions.
VOLLEYBALLMAG.COM COACHING HOTSHOTS: Taylor Hammond and Spencer Wickens, The Kawika and Erik Shoji Assistant Men’s Volleyball Coach and The Al Roderigues Assistant Men’s Volleyball Coach, respectively, were both named to VolleyballMag.com’s Coaching Hotshots list. The list represents coaches under 40 across collegiate men’s, women’s and beach volleyball programs.
INCOMING CLASS: In November, Stanford signed six high school standouts to National Letters of Intent. The group consists of Kaumana Carreira (Mission Viejo, Calif.), Ryan Gant (Newport Beach, Calif.), Evan Porter (Honolulu, Hawai’i), Kai Schmitt (San Clemente, Calif.), Reed Wainwright (Newport Beach, Calif.) and David Wolff (Wilmette, Ill.).
HEAD COACH JOHN KOSTY: Stanford head coach John Kosty completed his 18th season at the helm of the Cardinal program and his 34th overall on staff in 2024. He is now 260-223 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 nine of the 18 seasons under Kosty. Stanford has appeared in the MPSF Tournament in 15 of Kosty’s 18 seasons (missing out in 2007 and 2015. The tournament was canceled in 2020).