STANFORD, Calif. - No. 2 seed Stanford (29-4) began its quest for a 10th national title last week, defeating Utah Valley and Arizona at home. The tournament's No. 6 overall seed, Stanford has advanced to its 22nd NCAA regional semifinal since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1998.
Friday, Dec. 12
Match #1 - 9 a.m. PT | ESPN
(4) Indiana (23-7) vs. (1) Texas (25-3)
Gregory Gymnasium • Austin, Texas
Match #2 - 30 minutes following Match #1 | ESPN
(3) Wisconsin (26-4) vs. (2) Stanford (29-4)
Gregory Gymnasium • Austin, Texas
Sundy, Dec. 14
Match #3 - TBD | TBD
Winner Match #1 vs. Winner Match #2
Gregory Gymnasium • Austin, Texas
LOOKING AHEAD: Should Stanford advance past this week, the team will travel to Kansas City for the Final Four, being held Dec. 18 and 21 at the T-Mobile Center.
LAST TIME OUT: Stanford opened the NCAA Tournament with a pair of four-set wins over Utah Valley and Arizona. The Cardinal averaged a combined 14.50 kills, 2.00 aces and 2.63 blocks per set. Sophomore Taylor Yu controlled the offense with 12.13 assists per set, while freshman libero Spencer Etzler anchored the defense with 4.50 digs and 0.88 aces per set. Outside hitter Elia Rubin and Julia Blyashov each averaged 3.00 kills per set, while middle blocker Erika Sayer put up 2.13 blocks per set.
CONFERENCE CHAMPS: Stanford claimed a share of its first ACC title, and its 25th conference championship overall in 2025. The Cardinal has finished in the top 4 in conference play in 40 of the past 41 seasons, and the top 3 in 38 of 41 campaigns. Stanford was picked to finish third by the ACC coaches in 2025.
PREVIEWING WISCONSIN: Wisconsin has reached the NCAA regional semifinals for a 13th consecutive season, sweeping Eastern Illinois and North Carolina last weekend. Stanford is 6-0 all-time versus Wisconsin. The Cardinal most recently defeated the Badger, 3-1, at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee on Sept. 2, 2024. The teams last met in the postseason in the 2019 national title match where Stanford won in straight sets.
PREVIEWING TEXAS: Texas has advanced to its 20th straight NCAA regional semifinal after sweeping Florida A&M and Penn State last weekend. Stanford is 23-11 all-time against Texas, falling in five to the Longhorns earlier this season at the Moody Center. Last season, Stanford swept the Longhorns at Maples Pavilion, setting a home attendance record in the Kevin Hambly era. The teams last met in the postseason in the 2023 Stanford Regional final, where the Longhorns earned a 3-1 decision over the Cardinal.
PREVIEWING INDIANA: Indiana is making its second NCAA regional semifinal appearance in school history. The Hoosiers advanced to the second weekend of the tournament by sweeping Toledo and Colorado. Stanford is 1-0 all-time against Indiana. The Cardinal defeated the Hoosiers in four sets in Bloomington on Sept. 4, 1988.
STANFORD VS. THE FIELD: The Cardinal has played 15 matches against this year's NCAA field, posting an 11-4 record. Stanford was 6-2 against ACC teams in the tournament and picked up nonconference wins over Arizona, Florida, UCLA, Utah State and Utah Valley.
BY THE NUMBERS: Stanford has won more NCAA titles (9), more NCAA Tournament matches (143), 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 44 of the 45 NCAA Tournaments all-time.
ALL-REGION HONORS: Led by AVCA Pacific Region Player of the Year Elia Rubin and AVCA Pacific Region Freshman of the Year Logan Parks, six Cardinal were selected to the all-region team. Joining Rubin and Parks were Lizzy Andrew, Julia Blyashov and Jordyn Harvey. Freshman Erika Sayer landed on the honorable mention list, while Kevin Hambly was tabbed AVCA Pacific Region Coach of the Year. Stanford has had at least four all-region players in 11 of the last 12 seasons. Stanford now boasts 137 all-region selections all-time (including honorable mention).
ACC COACH OF THE YEAR: Kevin Hambly, The Montag Family Director of Women's Volleyball, was tabbed the ACC Coach of the Year in 2025. It marks the third conference coach of the year honors for Hambly, who is 226-46 overall and 145-25 in conference play in nine seasons at the helm of the Cardinal program. In two seasons as a member of the ACC, Stanford is 55-9 overall and 35-5 in league play. Hambly now has six conference titles as the head coach of the Cardinal (2017, 2018, 2019, 2022, 2023, 2025).
ALL-CONFERENCE HONORS: Seven Cardinal were recognized with all-conference honors by the ACC. Lizzy Andrew, Spencer Etzler and Elia Rubin were named to the first team, while Julia Blyashov, Jordyn Harvey, Logan Parks and Erika Sayer landed on the second team. Etzler, Parks and Sayer were also selected to the ACC All-Freshman Team. Stanford now has 178 all-conference selections all-time, including honorable mention, and 51 all-freshman picks, including honorable mention.
SENIOR LEADER: Outside hitter Elia Rubin is the only returning All-American on the Cardinal roster in 2025. She is just the 11th player in program history to register both 1,000 career kills and digs. Rubin is currently third on Stanford's career aces list with 150. In the rally-scoring era to 25, Rubin broke the school record for career aces on Nov. 8 against Duke.
STATISTICAL RANKINGS: The Cardinal paces the conference in assists (13.39) and kills (14.14) per set, ranking eighth and 12th in the NCAA, respectively. Stanford is third in the ACC in aces (1.68) and hitting percentage (.297), and sixth in blocks (2.54) and eighth in digs (13.64).
INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS (ACC)
Hitting percentage: Lizzy Andrew - 2nd (.441); Erika Sayer - 7th (.374)
Assists per set: Logan Parks - 3rd (9.99)
Service Aces per set: Elia Rubin - 4th (0.39)
Blocks per set: Erika Sayer - 10th (1.23)
Digs per set: Spencer Etzler - 6th (3.75)
Points per set: Elia Rubin - 9th (3.98)
HOME SWEET HOME: In nine seasons under Kevin Hambly, Stanford is 115-14 at Maples Pavilion, including 22-2 in the NCAA Tournament. The Cardinal won 32 in a row at home to begin Hambly's tenure at Stanford. The Cardinal is 29-2 at home in the last two seasons.
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 228-45 (.832) 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 three-time conference 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.