STANFORD, Calif. - No. 12 Stanford (7-3, 0-0 ACC) begins ACC play this week, traveling to No. 5 SMU (8-2, 0-0 ACC) on Friday at 6 p.m. PT on ACC Network. The Cardinal will also head to No. 2 Pittsburgh (10-0, 0-0 ACC) on Sunday at 5:30 p.m. PT on ESPN.
SERIES AGASINT THE MUSTANGS: Stanford is 1-1 overall against SMU. The Cardinal swept the Mustangs in Dallas in 2024, while SMU earned a 3-1 victory at Maples Pavilion in 2025.
SERIES AGAINST THE PANTHERS: Stanford is 5-1 all-time against Pittsburgh. The Cardinal outlasted Pitt in five sets last season at Maples Pavilion. The Panthers swept the Cardinal on Oct. 20, 2024, in the last matchup in Pittsburgh.
LAST TIME OUT: Stanford closed out its nonconference slate at the SLO Classic in San Luis Obispo. The Cardinal finished 2-1, hitting a combined .330 in its three matches. Opposite Jordyn Harvey led the team with 4.64 kills on .402 hitting, 2.00 digs and 5.23 points per set, earning her ACC Offensive Player of the Week honors. Sophomore Logan Parks controlled the offense, averaging 11.00 assists per set to take home ACC Setter of the Week accolades.
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.
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).
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: Four different Cardinal have been recognized with ACC weekly honors this season. Combining with its Pac-12 selections, the Cardinal now boasts 197 weekly awards all-time, including 32 Offensive, 45 Defensive, 8 Setter and 39 Freshman.
2026 ACC WEEKLY SELECTIONS
Aug. 31: Julia Blyashov (Defensive)
Sept. 7: Lizzy Andrew (Defensive)
Sept. 21: Jordyn Harvey (Offensive); Logan Parks (Setter)
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.
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 235-50 (.826) in his 10th season 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.