STANFORD, Calif. - No. 5 Stanford (22-3, 13-1 ACC) welcomes No. 3 Pittsburgh (21-3, 13-1 ACC) and No. 10 SMU (19-5, 11-3 ACC) to The Farm. The Cardinal and Panthers meet Friday at 7 p.m. on ACCNX, while Stanford faces the Mustangs on Sunday at 2 p.m. on ESPN2.
SERIES AGAINST THE PANTHERS: Stanford is 4-1 all-time against Pittsburgh. The Panthers swept the Cardinal last season in Pittsburgh. Pitt's last trip to The Farm came on Dec. 4, 1992, when the Cardinal swept the Panthers in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
SERIES AGAINST THE MUSTANGS: Stanford and SMU met for the first time last season. The Cardinal secured a sweep over the Mustangs in Dallas.
LAST TIME OUT: Stanford swept No. 15 North Carolina and Duke at home last week to remain in a tie for first in the ACC standings. The Cardinal hit a combined .362 as a team while holding its opponents to .057 hitting. Outside hitter Elia Rubin led Stanford offensively, averaging 4.33 kills on .404 hitting, 0.33 aces, 2.00 digs, 1.33 blocks and 5.33 points per set.
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. 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). Rubin is currently third on Stanford's career aces list with 137. In the rally-scoring era to 25, Rubin broke the school record for career aces on Nov. 8 against Duke.
HOME SWEET HOME: In nine seasons under Kevin Hambly, Stanford is 110-13 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. The Cardinal is 24-1 at home in the last two seasons, dropping just nine sets.
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.
STATISTICAL RANKINGS: Stanford leads the ACC and is fourth nationally with a .305 attack percentage. The Cardinal also paces the conference in assists (13.39) and kills (14.23) per set, ranking seventh and 10th in the NCAA, respectively. Stanford is fifth in the ACC in aces (1.68) and sixth in blocks (2.58) and digs (13.80).
INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS (ACC)
Hitting percentage: Lizzy Andrew - 2nd (.447); Erika Sayer - 3rd (.414)
Assists per set: Logan Parks - 3rd (9.91)
Service Aces per set: Elia Rubin - 5th (0.39)
Digs per set: Spencer Etzler -6th (3.91)
Points per set: Elia Rubin - 10th (4.02)
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: Stanford has collected seven ACC player of the week honors in 2025. Combining with its Pac-12 selections, the Cardinal now boasts 193 weekly awards all-time, including 31 Offensive, 43 Defensive, 7 Setter and 39 Freshman.
2025 ACC WEEKLY SELECTIONS
Aug. 25: Spencer Etzler (Defensive & Freshman)
Sept. 15: Logan Parks (Co-Setter); Erika Sayer (Freshman)
Sept. 22: Erika Sayer (Freshman)
Sept. 29: Logan Parks (Freshman)
Oct. 13: Spencer Etzler (Defensive)
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 221-45 (.831) 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.