STANFORD, Calif. - No. 17 Stanford (1-6, 0-0 MPSF) opens MPSF play on The Farm this week, hosting Jessup (2-3, 0-0 MPSF) on Friday and UC Merced (2-2, 0-0 MPSF) on Saturday. Both matches will begin at 6 p.m. in Burnham Pavilion and will be streamed on B1G+.
LAST TIME OUT: Stanford dropped a pair of close matches at No. 5 UC Irvine, falling in four on Friday and five on Saturday. Outside hitter Theo Snoey led the team with 3.22 kills per set, while outside hitter Alex Rottman added 2.78 kills on .302 hitting, 1.67 digs, 1.00 blocks and 3.39 points per set.
COACHES POLL: Stanford was picked to finish fourth in the MPSF by the league’s coaches. UCLA, which received four first-place votes, was selected to win the MPSF regular season title for a fifth straight year. Pepperdine and USC tied for second, garnering four and two first-place votes, respectively.
2026 MPSF STAT LEADERS: As a team, Stanford leads the MPSF with 8.97 digs per set and ranks sixth with 10.97 assists per set. The Cardinal is eighth in kills (11.66) and blocks (1.79), ninth in hitting percentage (.252), and 10th in aces (0.83).
INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS (MPSF)
Kills per set: Wagner - 6th (3.38); Snoey - 10th (3.11)
Blocks per set: Wainwright - 8th (1.13)
Points per set: Wagner - 5th (4.02)
PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Outside hitter Alex Rottman secured Stanford’s first MPSF weekly honor this season, earning Defensive Player of the Week on Feb. 2 after averaging 1.67 digs and 1.00 blocks per set at No. 5 UC Irvine. The redshirt junior was also perfect on serve receive with zero reception errors in 43 total attempts to pick up his first career accolade.
2026 MPSF Weekly Selections
Feb. 2: Alex Rottman (Defensive)
WELCOME BACK: After spending eight seasons as the volunteer assistant with the Cardinal (2017-24), Matt Houlihan is back on The Farm as the interim Al Roderigues Assistant Coach. He replaces Spencer Wickens, who recently left the program for an assistant women’s volleyball coaching position at the University of Minnesota.
INCOMING CLASS: In November, Stanford signed four high school standouts to join the Cardinal in the fall of 2026. The group consists of Peter Debiec (Cary, N.C.), Declan Flanagan (Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.), Aleksey Mikhailenko (Mequon, Wis.) and Lincoln Myers (Madison, Wis.).
2025 IN REVIEW: In his 19th season at the helm of the program, The Birkhofer Family Head Men’s Volleyball Coach John Kosty guided the Cardinal to a 13-15 overall record and a 4-8 mark in the MPSF (7th). The Cardinal advanced to the semifinals of the MPSF Tournament for a fourth straight season - its first time doing so in program history. Opposite Moses Wagner was named to the MPSF All-Tournament Team. The junior averaged 3.77 kills on .305 hitting, 0.92 blocks and 4.50 point per set in three postseason matches. The Cardinal, which was ranked every week during the 2025 campaign, finished the season at No. 13 in the AVCA poll.
HEAD COACH JOHN KOSTY: Stanford head coach John Kosty completed his 19th season at the helm of the Cardinal program and his 35th overall on staff in 2025. He is now 274-244 in his career. He guided Stanford to the 2010 NCAA national championship and the 2014 NCAA finals. The Cardinal has produced a first team AVCA All-America selection in nine of the 19 seasons under Kosty. Stanford has appeared in the MPSF Tournament in 16 of Kosty’s 19 seasons (missing out in 2007 and 2015. The tournament was canceled in 2020).