STANFORD, Calif. - No. 15 Stanford (12-6, 5-3 ACC) continues ACC play on the road, traveling to Duke (13-5, 5-3 ACC) on Friday at 3:30 p.m. PT and No. 23 North Carolina (12-4, 7-1 ACC) on Sunday at 5:30 p.m. PT. Friday's match will be streamed on ACCNX, while Sunday's contest will air on ESPN.
SERIES AGASINT THE BLUE DEVILS: Stanford is 8-0 all-time versus Duke. The Cardinal has swept the Blue Devils in both meetings as ACC foes.
SERIES AGAINST THE TAR HEELS: The Cardinal is 4-1 overall against North Carolina. Stanford has swept the Tar Heels in both meetings as ACC opponents (2024 & 2025). North Carolina's lone win over Stanford was a sweep on Sept. 10, 2015, in Chapel Hill.
LAST TIME OUT: Stanford remained undefeated at home, sweeping Wake Forest before defeating NC State in four. The Cardinal hit a combined .358 in the two matches. Outside hitter Julia Blyashov paced the team with 4.57 kills on .414 hitting, 2.86 digs and 4.86 points per set. Middle blocker Lizzy Andrew added 3.71 kills on a .523 attack percentage.
50 YEARS OF WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL ON THE FARM: Stanford welcomed home its alumnae on Oct. 16 to celebrate 50 years of women's volleyball on The Farm. Included in the celebration were recognitions of the first varsity team (1976) as well as anniversaries of the 1996, 2001 and 2016 national championship teams.
PINK MATCH: In honor of October being Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Stanford donned pink and white jerseys against NC State on Oct. 18. The jerseys contained names or short phrases on the back, which fans had the opportunity to submit a short story on how breast cancer has affected their life or the life of a loved one. Those selected chose the name/phrase and will receive the game-worn jersey.
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).
HOME SWEET HOME: In 10 seasons under Kevin Hambly, Stanford is 121-14 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 35-2 at home in the last three seasons.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: Four different Cardinal have been recognized with five ACC weekly honors this season. Combining with its Pac-12 selections, the Cardinal now boasts 198 weekly awards all-time, including 32 Offensive, 45 Defensive, 9 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)
Oct. 5: 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.
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.
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.
LEGACY CEMENTED: Inky Ajanaku (2012-16) was 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.
OLYMPIC TRADITION: Stanford alumna Kathryn Plummer ('20) captured a silver medal with the United States at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. Plummer, who won three national titles on The Farm (2016, 2018, 2019), is the 11th Olympian in program history. Her spot on the roster extended Stanford’s streak of having at least one former Cardinal player on each indoor U.S. Olympic Team since 1988. For the third consecutive edition of the Games, Stanford boasted more Team USA selections (37) than any other school.
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 240-53 (.819) 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.