STANFORD, Calif. - No. 2 Stanford (7-0) hits the road again, traveling to Lincoln to face No. 5 Nebraska (8-1) on Wednesday. First serve is scheduled for 5 p.m. PT on Big Ten Network.
SERIES AGAINST THE CORNHUSKERS: Stanford is 10-7 all-time against Nebraska. Last season at Maples Pavilion, the Huskers snapped a five-match winning streak by the Cardinal dating back to 2014. Stanford defeated Nebraska in four sets in its last trip to Lincoln in 2022.
LAST TIME OUT: Stanford swept No. 6 Texas in its home opener in front of a record crowd in the Kevin Hambly era of 6,894 at Maples Pavilion. The Cardinal held the Longhorns to .125 hitting - their lowest in a match in over 11 years. Elia Rubin paced the team with 12 kills, while Jordyn Harvey added 10 kills on .400 hitting. Setter Kami Miner guided the Stanford offense to a .340 clip, and posted her sixth consecutive double-double (35 assists, 10 digs).
STACKED SCHEDULE: Stanford is slated to play 12 matches against teams ranked in the AVCA Preseason Poll, including seven against top-10 opponents. The Cardinal will take on No. 1 Texas (W, 3-0), No. 2 Nebraska (Sept. 18), No. 3 Wisconsin (W, 3-1), No. 9 Kentucky (Sept. 21), No. 18 Minnesota (W, 3-2) and No. 24 Marquette (W, 3-0) in the nonconference. Stanford will meet No. 4 Pittsburgh (Oct. 20), No. 6 Louisville (Sept. 29 & Nov. 30), No. 14 Georgia Tech (Nov. 9 & Nov. 27) and No. 20 Florida State (Nov. 3) in ACC play.
COACHES' PICK: In its inaugural ACC season, Stanford was picked to finish second by the league's coaches. The Cardinal captured three first-place votes and placed four on the Preseason All-ACC squad - middle blocker Sami Francis, setter Kami Miner, libero Elena Oglivie and outside hitter Elia Rubin.
MILESTONE UNLOCKED: Kami Miner recorded her 4,000th career assist on Sept. 2 in a four-set win over No. 6 Wisconsin. She became the seventh player in school history to reach the milestone. In the rally-scoring era to 25, Miner is third behind Jenna Gray (5,485) and Madi Bugg (5,014) with 4,179 assists. Her 11.48 career assists per set mark would be a program record in the rally-scoring era to 25.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: Kami Miner became the first Stanford player to be recognized by the ACC with a weekly honor, earning Setter of the Week on Sept. 9. Sami Francis followed up with her first career weekly honor, earning Co-Defensive Player of the Week alongside Elena Scott of Louisville on Sept. 16. Combining with its Pac-12 selections, the Cardinal now boasts 177 players of the week, including 31 Offensive, 38 Defensive, 1 Setter and 34 Freshman.
2024 ACC Weekly Selections
Sept. 9: Kami Miner (Setter)
Sept. 16: Sami Francis (Co-Defensive)
OLYMPIC TRADITION: Stanford alumna Kathryn Plummer ('20) captured a silver medal with the United States at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. Plummer, who won three national titles on The Farm (2016, 2018, 2019), is the 11th Olympian in program history. Her spot on the roster extended Stanford’s streak of having at least one former Cardinal player on each indoor U.S. Olympic Team since 1988. A school-record 59 Stanford-affiliated athletes qualified to compete in Paris, capturing a combined 39 medals (also a record). For the third consecutive edition of the Games, Stanford boasted more Team USA selections (37) than any other school.
BY THE NUMBERS: Stanford has won more NCAA titles (9), more NCAA Tournament matches (138), 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 42 of the 43 NCAA Tournaments all-time.
2023 SEASON IN REVIEW: Stanford closed out the 2023 season with a 29-4 overall record and a 24th conference championship with a 19-1 mark in the Pac-12. The Cardinal made its 42nd NCAA postseason appearance in 43 seasons, advancing to its 17th regional final since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1998.
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 178-37 (.828) in eight seasons on The Farm, mentoring 13 AVCA All-Americans to 26 awards and six Academic All-Americans (eight awards).
THE HAMBLY FILE: Kevin Hambly coached 12 AVCA All-Americans to 19 honors during his time at Illinois and has now mentored 25 All-Americans to 45 awards. He is the third head coach to lead Stanford to a national championship. The two-time 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.