April 7, 2004
Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
No. 9 Stanford (8-15/5-13) vs. No. 4 Pepperdine (15-7/11-7)
April 9th - Burnham Pavilion - Stanford, Calif. - 7:00 PM (PT)
No. 9 Stanford vs. No. 15 USC (6-19/4-14)
April 10th - Burnham Pavilion - Stanford, Calif. - 7:00 PM (PT)
THIS WEEK: The Cardinal return to The Farm looking to snap a three-game losing skid. Stanford will host No. 4 Pepperdine on Friday, April 9th, before playing host to No. 15 USC on the 10th. Both games will be played in Burnham Pavilion with first serve at 7:00 pm.
STANFORD IN THE POLLS: After dropping a pair of 3-1 road games last weekend, the Cardinal slip one spot in the latest USA Today/AVCA poll, coming in at No. 9 in this week's rankings. The Cardinal have now been ranked in the top 10 the past four weeks and eight weeks overall this season.
A QUICK LOOK AT THE CARDINAL: The Cardinal boast a balanced attack with six players with a 100 or more kills ... Junior outside hitter David Vogel (6-3) has tallied 245 kills on the year and leads the team with a 3.10 kills per game average. Junior middle blocker Craig Buell (6-5) is second on the team with 203 overall kills and is averaging 2.45 kills per game. Sophomore outside hitter Ben Reddy (6-4) is third on the team with 180 kills, followed by redshirt junior Pat Bomhack (6-9) who has registered 177 overall kills. Sophomore middle blocker Chris Ahlfeldt (6-6) and sophomore outside hitter William Clayton (6-4) rank fourth and fifth on the team in kills with 163 and 103, respectively. Redshirt junior setter Kevin Hansen (6-5) leads the Cardinal with 980 assists (11.95 apg) and 158 digs (1.93 dpg). Vogel and sophomore libero Jeremy Jacobs (6-4) rank second and third on the team in digs with 144 and 125, respectively. Sophomore outside hitter Nick Manov (6-6) (64 kills, 37 digs) has been a key player for the Cardinal off the bench, while freshmen Brian Lindberg (6-0), Eric Jones (6-7), and Josh Schwarzapel (6-5) compose Stanford's freshmen class, adding depth to the Cardinal.
SCOUTING THE PEPPERDINE WAVES: The Waves enter the week with a 15-7 overall record and a 11-7 mark in MPSF play. Pepperdine is ranked No. 4 in the latest USA Today/AVCA poll ... The Waves started the 2004 season as the preseason No. 1 ranked team by USA Today/AVCA ... The Waves are led by a pair of All-Americans in senior outside hitter Fred Winters and junior outside hitter Sean Rooney. Winters leads the Waves in kills (349) and kills per game (4.99 kpg), while Rooney has tallied 338 kills (4.45 kpg) to go along with a .402 hitting percentage ... Junior John Mayer handles the setting duties for the Waves and has registered 1,039 assists on the year for a 13.67 apg average ... As a team, the Waves are hitting .372 on the season.
SCOUTING THE USC TROJANS: The Trojans head to The Farm with a 6-19 overall record and a 4-14 mark in MPSF games ... USC is ranked No. 15 in the latest USA Today/AVCA poll ... The Trojans head to Northern California looking to keep their MPSF playoff hopes alive, playing first at Pacific on Friday, before heading to Stanford on Saturday ... The Trojans enter the weekend looking to snap a seven-game losing skid ... USC defeated Stanford earlier this season, defeating the Cardinal, 3-1, in North Gymnasium ... The Trojans are led by junior outside hitter Blake Tippett who has hammered home 328 kills on the season and is averaging 3.77 kpg. Sophomore outside hitter Joao Grangeiro is second on the team with 272 kills to go along with 36 service aces ... Junior setter J.T. Gilmour guides the Trojan offense and has handed out 787 assists (9.26 apg) on the season.
LAST TIME OUT: The Cardinal suffered a pair of 3-1 setbacks at Cal State Northridge and at UC Santa Barbara last weekend. Versus the Matadors, the Cardinal grabbed the first game 30-27, before falling 30-25, 30-25, and 30-22. Junior outside hitter David Vogel led Stanford with 13 kills and nine digs, while sophomores Nick Manov and William Clayton each registered 10 kills for the Cardinal. Redshirt junior setter Kevin Hansen finished the night with 46 assists, six digs and four kills. Junior middle blocker Craig Buell chipped in seven kills, while sophomore libero Jeremy Jacobs collected eight digs. Game scores for the match versus UCSB were 25-30, 30-28, 21-30, and 27-30. After dropping the first game 30-25, Stanford stormed back in the second game, claiming a close 30-28 victory. As a team, the Cardinal hit at a .405 clip to earn the win. Stanford could not hold off UCSB, however, as the Gauchos claimed the third game by a 30-21 margin and the fourth game by a score of 30-27. Three different Stanford players tallied double figures in kills. Sophomore outside hitter Ben Reddy tied for the game-high with 22 kills, while Buell recorded 12 kills and Vogel notched 10. Freshman libero Brian Lindberg and Hansen tied for the team lead with seven digs apiece on the night.
THE SHAW FILE: One of the top coaches in collegiate women's volleyball history, Don Shaw began his second stint as the Stanford University men's volleyball head coach in June of 2001. Shaw begins his 24th season on The Farm in 2003 and fifth year as head coach of the Cardinal men, including two years of serving as co-coach with Fred Sturm in 1984 and 1985. In four seasons at the helm of the Cardinal men, he has compiled a 70-46 (.603) record. Shaw guided the Cardinal to a 17-12 record in 2003, their third straight top 10 final national ranking and a top five finish in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. In his two years as co-head coach in the 1980's, the Cardinal went 36-25 and finished ranked in the top five in the nation in 1985. In his 16-year tenure as Stanford women's volleyball head coach (1984-1999), Shaw guided the Cardinal to four NCAA Championships (1992, 1994, 1996, 1997) and 10 conference titles, including six Pac-10 Championships in a row from 1994-1999. Shaw compiled a career winning percentage of .863 (440-70), which still ranks as the best in NCAA history. He was named National Women's Coach of the Year in 1991 and 1997, and Regional/District Coach of the Year in 1992, 1994 and 1997. In all, he guided Stanford to the NCAA Championship match eight times in his 16 seasons. He also served as an assistant coach for the gold medal-winning United States Men's Team at the 1982 National Sports Festival as well as the assistant for the U.S. Women's Team at the 1991 Pan-Am Games in Havana, Cuba. Shaw, a charter member of the American Volleyball Coaches Association, was also a member of the NCAA District VIII Advisory Committee.