Kevin HamblyKevin Hambly
David Hickey, ISI Photos
Women's Volleyball

Postseason Starts in Maples

Cardinal earns No. 5 overall seed for NCAA Tournament

STANFORD, Calif. - The Stanford women's volleyball team (25-4) will begin its quest for the program's 10th NCAA title at home this week, as the Cardinal earned the No. 5 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament.

The No. 2 seed in its quadrant, Stanford is scheduled to play its first round match at 7 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 6 at Maples Pavilion against Sacramento State (21-11). The Hornets won the Big Sky Tournament, earning the conference’s automatic berth into the postseason.

Loyola Marymount (24-5) is the No. 7 seed in the quadrant and will take on Washington (19-11) in the other first-round matchup at Maples Pavilion on Friday at 4:30 p.m. The Lions won the West Coast Conference title to earn an automatic berth into the postseason. The Huskies finished ninth in their first season in the Big Ten to secure an at-large berth.

The winners of the Stanford-Sacramento State and the LMU-Washington matches will meet in the second round on Saturday, Dec. 7 at 6 p.m.

Should the Cardinal advance past the first weekend of play, it will travel to Louisville for the regional rounds. Dates for the second weekend will be announced on Sunday, Dec. 8. The seeded teams are No. 4 Louisville, No. 5 Stanford, No. 12 Kansas and No. 13 Purdue. The Final Four will be held at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville on Dec. 19 and Dec. 22 with the final set to be televised on ABC.

Stanford is making its 43rd NCAA Tournament appearance. The Cardinal will be seeking its first national title since 2019, its 24th Final Four trip and 18th appearance in the national title match.

Stanford wrapped up the regular season on Saturday with a four-set win over No. 3 Louisville, completing the regular season undefeated at home (12-0). Stanford tied for second in the ACC with Louisville at 17-3 in conference play, ending the regular season on a nine-match winning streak. Nine ACC schools earned bids to the NCAA Tournament.

Tickets for the first and second rounds will be available online at www.GoStanford.com or by calling 1-800-STANFORD. All-session tickets will be available at 10 a.m. PT on Monday, Dec. 2. Single match tickets will be available for purchase beginning at 10 a.m. PT on Tuesday, Dec. 3.