STANFORD, Calif. - No. 6 Stanford (3-1) remains on the road this week, traveling to Austin to face No. 2 Texas (3-0) on Sunday at 10 a.m. PT and to No. 16 Missouri (2-0) on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. PT. Both matches will be televised on ESPN.
SERIES AGAINST THE LONGHORNS: Stanford is 23-10 all-time against Texas. Last season, Stanford swept the Longhorns at Maples Pavilion, setting a home attendance record in the Kevin Hambly era. In the most recent meeting in Austin in 2023, the Cardinal secured its first road sweep over the Longhorns in program history.
SERIES AGAINST THE TIGERS: Stanford is 2-0 overall against Missouri. The teams haven't met since the second round of the 2006 NCAA Tournament. The Cardinal earned a five-set win over the Tigers in Maples Pavilion.
2025 SEASON IN REVIEW: Stanford closed out the 2024 season with a 28-5 overall record and tied for second in its first year in the Atlantic Coast Conference with a 17-3 mark. The Cardinal made its 43rd NCAA postseason appearance in 44 seasons, advancing to its 18th regional final since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1998.
STACKED SCHEDULE: Stanford is slated to play 11 matches against teams ranked in the AVCA Preseason Poll, including five against top-5 opponents. The Cardinal will take on No. 1 Nebraska (Aug. 24), No. 5 Texas (Sept. 7), No. 16 Florida (Aug. 22), No. 17 Missouri (Sept. 9) and No. 18 UCLA (Sept. 21) in nonconference action. Stanford will meet No. 3 Pittsburgh (Nov. 14), No. 4 Louisville (Oct. 5 & Nov. 29), No. 10 SMU (Nov. 16) and No. 22 Georgia Tech (Oct. 26 & Nov. 26) in ACC play.
COACHES' PICK: In its second season in the ACC, Stanford was picked to finish third by the league's coaches. Combining with its Pac-12 history, Stanford has finished in the top 4 in league play in 39 of the past 40 seasons, and the top 3 in 37 of 40 campaigns.
BY THE NUMBERS: Stanford has won more NCAA titles (9), more NCAA Tournament matches (141), 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 43 of the 44 NCAA Tournaments all-time.
SENIOR LEADER: Outside hitter Elia Rubin is the only returning All-American on the Cardinal roster in 2025. Last season, she became the 23rd player in program history to register 1,000 career kills, accomplishing that feat against No. 12 SMU. She led the team in 2024 and ranked third in the ACC in points per set (4.54) and was fourth in the conference in kills per set (3.93).
PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Libero Spencer Etzler nabbed her first career weekly honors, collecting ACC Defensive Player and Freshman of the Week honors on Aug. 25. Combining with its Pac-12 selections, the Cardinal now boasts 188 players of the week all-time, including 31 Offensive, 42 Defensive, 6 Setter and 36 Freshman.
2025 ACC Weekly Selections
Aug. 25: Spencer Etzler (Defensive & Freshman)
HOME SWEET HOME: In eight seasons under Kevin Hambly, Stanford is 100-12 at Maples Pavilion, including 20-2 in the NCAA Tournament. The Cardinal won 32 in a row at home to begin Hambly's tenure at Stanford. In 2024, the Cardinal went 14-0 at home, dropping just three sets. It was its first undefeated season on The Farm since 2018.
PACKED THE HOUSE: A record crowd in the Kevin Hambly era of 6,894 watched No. 2 Stanford sweep No. 6 Texas at Maples Pavilion on Sept. 15, 2024. The Cardinal held the Longhorns to .125 hitting - their lowest in a match in over 11 years.
CARD IN THE CLASSROOM: Elia Rubin was tabbed the Co-ACC Scholar-Athlete of the Year, becoming the sixth Cardinal to earn conference scholar-athlete of the year honors in the past seven seasons and the eighth overall. Rubin was joined by Elena Oglivie as College Sports Communicators Academic All-District selections with Rubin going on to earn CSC Academic All-America second team honors. Stanford also produced 11 All-ACC Academic Team picks.
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 202-43 (.824) in nine seasons on The Farm, mentoring 14 AVCA All-Americans to 29 awards and seven Academic All-Americans (nine awards).
THE HAMBLY FILE: Kevin Hambly coached 12 AVCA All-Americans to 19 honors during his time at Illinois and has now mentored 26 All-Americans to 48 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.