STANFORD, Calif. - No. 5 Stanford (20-3, 11-1 ACC) returns to The Farm to begin a five-match homestand on Friday against No. 15 North Carolina (17-4, 10-2 ACC) at 7 p.m. The Cardinal will also take on Duke (5-18, 3-8 ACC) on Saturday at 7 p.m. Both matches will be streamed on ACCNX.
SERIES AGAINST THE TAR HEELS: The Cardinal is 3-1 overall against North Carolina. Stanford swept the Tar Heels last season in Chapel Hill. North Carolina's lone win over Stanford was a sweep on Sept. 10, 2015, in Chapel Hill. Friday marks the Tar Heels' first trip to The Farm.
SERIES AGAINST THE BLUE DEVILS: Stanford is 7-0 all-time versus Duke. The Cardinal swept the Blue Devils last season in Durham. Duke's most recent trip to The Farm was Sept. 12, 2014. The Cardinal defeated the Blue Devils, 3-1, as part of the Stanford Invitational.
LAST TIME OUT: Stanford won a pair of road matches, defeating NC State in four sets on Friday before sweeping Wake Forest on Sunday. The Cardinal hit a combined .299 as a team and averaged 3.14 blocks per set. Middle blocker Lizzy Andrew led Stanford offensively, averaging 3.00 kills per set on .528 hitting, 1.14 blocks and 3.64 points per set.
HOME SWEET HOME: In nine seasons under Kevin Hambly, Stanford is 108-13 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 22-1 at home in the last two seasons, dropping just nine sets.
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 tied for fourth on Stanford's career aces list with 135. In the rally-scoring era to 25, Rubin is one ace from tying Jenna Gray (2016-19) for the school record.
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 fifth nationally with a .302 attack percentage. The Cardinal also paces the conference in assists (13.42) and kills (14.26) per set, ranking seventh and 10th in the NCAA, respectively. Stanford is third in the ACC in aces (1.68) and seventh in digs (13.69).
INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS (ACC)
Hitting percentage: Lizzy Andrew - 2nd (.445); Erika Sayer - 4th (.405)
Assists per set: Logan Parks - 3rd (9.95)
Service Aces per set: Elia Rubin - 4th (0.39)
Digs per set: Spencer Etzler -5th (3.94)
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 191 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 219-45 (.830) 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.