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No. 9 Stanford (11-12/10-10) vs. No. 6 BYU (18-9/13-7)
7:00 PM (PT), April 15 - Stanford, CA
No. 9 Stanford (11-12/10-10) vs. No. 6 BYU (18-9/13-7)
7:00 PM (PT), April 16 - Stanford, CA
THIS WEEK: The Cardinal head into its final regular season matches with the defending NCAA Champion BYU Cougars. Both matches will take place in Maples Pavilion, with Saturday's action broadcasted on CSTV.Stanford looks to move up the MPSF rankings for a better placing in the post-season, where the Cardinal has a hold of the seventh seed. Stanford will host the first action of the postseason on April 20 if the Cardinal remains in seventh place in the MPSF.
STANFORD IN THE POLLS: The Cardinal, off to a 11-12 start overall with a 10-10 record in MPSF play remained at No. 10 in the latest USA Today/AVCA poll.
LAST WEEK: Stanford clinched a berth in the MPSF tournament by routing Bay Area rival UOP 3-0, completing a sweep of the Tigers for the 2005 season. Junior Chris Ahlfeldt led the charge with 12 kills fueled by Kevin Hansen's 41 assists. Hansen also led the team with 10 digs while Ben Reddy and David Vogel notched 11 kills each.
SCOUTING THE COUGARS: Offensively, BYU is paced by Victor Batista and Ivan Perez. The duo has recorded a combined 663 kills with both hitters recording over 3.5 kills per game. Cougar setter, Rob Neilson is averaging 13.12 assists per game with Michael Burke leading the team in blocks with 130 (19 solo).
SENIOR SALUTE: Before Saturday's match there will be a special salute for the Cardinal's departing senior class of Craig Buell, Kevin Hansen, and David Vogel. Saturday will be the last regular season match of their Stanford careers. The trio has been the integral in the improvement of a Stanford team that had no seniors in 2004.
THE 4000 CLUB: Fifth-year senior setter Kevin Hansen now sits third on Stanford's list of career leaders in assists with 4,891. Hansen is a three-time All-MPSF selection and was named a third team All-American following the 2004 season. Hansen's 12.87 assists per game ranks ninth all-time among Stanford setters.