STANFORD, Calif. - No. 5 Stanford (0-0) beings the 2026 season on Friday at the Opening Spike Classic in Pittsburgh. The Cardinal will face No. 6 Wisconsin (1-1) on Friday, Aug. 28 at 6 p.m. PT on ESPN2 before taking on No. 15 Kansas (0-0) on Sunday, Aug. 30 at 11:30 a.m. PT on ESPN.
SERIES AGASINT THE BADGERS: Stanford is 6-1 all-time versus Wisconsin. The Badgers won the most recent meeting, ending Stanford's 2025 NCAA Tournament with a four-set win in the regional semifinal in Austin, Texas. The Cardinal most recently defeated the Badger, 3-1, at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee on Sept. 2, 2024.
SERIES AGAINST THE JAYHAWKS: Sunday marks the first meeting between Stanford and Kansas.
2025 SEASON IN REVIEW: Stanford capped off the 2025 season with a 29-5 overall record and was co-champions of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) with an 18-2 mark. The Cardinal made its 44th NCAA postseason appearance in 45 seasons, advancing to its 22nd regional semifinal since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1998.
COACHES' PICK: Stanford was picked to win the ACC by the league's coaches. Lizzy Andrew, Julia Blyashov, Spencer Etzler, Jordyn Harvey and Logan Parks were named to the 18-player Preseason All-ACC Team. Stanford paced the league with five selections.
POY WATCH LIST: Lizzy Andrew and Logan Parks were two of 30 players named to the AVCA Player of the Year Watch List. Andrew was an AVCA Second Team All-American and All-ACC First Team performer in 2025, ranking fifth nationally with a .447 attack percentage. Parks was the AVCA Pacific Region Freshman of the Year, collecting AVCA All-America honorable mention honors and an All-ACC Second Team nod. Last season, she set the Cardinal to a .299 team hitting percentage – good for third in the ACC and seventh nationally.
STACKED SCHEDULE: Stanford is slated to play 10 matches against teams ranked in the AVCA Preseason Poll, including six against top-5 opponents. The Cardinal will take on No. 4 Pittsburgh (Sept. 27 & Nov. 24), No. 6 Wisconsin (Aug. 28), No. 7 Louisville (Oct. 11), No. 8 Texas A&M (Sept. 9), No. 10 Penn State (Sept. 11), No. 11 SMU (Sept. 25), No. 12 Arizona State (Sept. 17), No. 15 Kansas (Aug. 30) and No. 19 North Carolina (Oct. 25).
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.
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.
AVCA ALL-AMERICANS: Elia Rubin was tabbed an AVCA First Team All-American for the second consecutive season. Lizzy Andrew took home second-team honors, while Logan Parks landed on the honorable mention list. The selections brought Stanford's total AVCA All-America award count to 121 honors spread over 50 players. The Cardinal has produced multiple All-Americans in the same season in 20 of the past 21 seasons.
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 marked the third conference coach of the year honors for Hambly, who is 228-47 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 57-10 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).
LEGACY CEMENTED: Inky Ajanaku (2012-16) is set to be inducted into the Stanford Athletics Hall of Fame on Sept. 25. She is the 15th women's volleyball player selected and the first since Alix Klineman in 2021. A four-time All-American, Ajanaku led Stanford to the 2016 NCAA championship and was named the Final Four Most Outstanding Player. A Honda Award recipient in 2016, she was a two-time Volleyball Magazine National Player of the Year.
HISTORIC STREAK: Stanford is the all-time leader with 139 NCAA team championships (71 men, 68 women), and 173 national championships overall. The Cardinal owns the most recognizable streak in college athletics, capturing at least one NCAA team championship for 50 consecutive seasons in a streak that dates back to the 1976-1977 season.
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 228-47 (.829) in nine seasons on The Farm, mentoring 16 AVCA All-Americans to 32 awards and nine Academic All-Americans (12 awards).
THE HAMBLY FILE: Kevin Hambly coached 12 AVCA All-Americans to 19 honors during his time at Illinois and has now mentored 28 All-Americans to 51 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.