April 3, 2009
LONG BEACH, Calif. - The No. 5 Stanford men's volleyball team embarks on the final road trip of the regular season, armed with a six-match conference winning streak and the pull of momentum. The Cardinal (17-8, 10-6) has won six consecutive matches in the rugged Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, hauling itself from eighth place to sixth. Now, it faces two more Top 10 opponents, No. 7 Long Beach State (10-12, 7-10) and No. 10 UC San Diego (10-12, 6-11).
On the Internet
Live stats for the Long Beach State match will be available live via Gametracker. The link can be found on gostanford.com by the match listing in the Calendar of Events on the main page or the men's volleyball page. There are no live stats available for the UC San Diego match.
Another Record to Fall
Last week, junior opposite hitter Evan Romero broke the school record for career kills in the rally-scoring era (since 2001). His total of 1,184 ranks ninth all-time among all Stanford hitters, no matter the era.
However, expect another record to fall, perhaps this weekend. Freshman libero Erik Shoji already has the school single-season record for digs in the rally-scoring era (340), but now is also closing in on the all-time single-season mark, no matter the era. The record is held by three-time U.S. Olympian Scott Fortune, who had 379 in 1986. Shoji could break the mark this weekend, but more likely will do it at home during its pair of home matches against BYU on April 10-11.
Top liberos square off
Erik Shoji and his Long Beach State counterpart Dustin Watten lead Divisions I and II in total digs. Shoji has a commanding lead, with 340. Watten is No. 2 at 273. Though Shoji has a 67-dig lead over Watten, the 49er also has a 39-dig lead over third place.
Kawika Shoji, Stanford's junior setter and the brother of Erik, has 169 digs and ranks No. 33 in the nation in digs per set (2.11). Together, the Shojis have 498 digs. There are no official records kept in this category, but it seems possible that the two have more digs than any brother tandem in a single season in NCAA history. In fact, no two teammates on any Division I or II team have as many digs as Stanford's Shoji brothers.
Including all NCAA divisions, Erik Shoji holds a narrow lead in total digs, just ahead of Leandro Dueck of Division III's Philadelphia Biblical. Dueck has 338 (3.38). He is listed as an outside hitter.
Road Trips
This is the fifth trip to Southern California that Stanford will have taken this season. The Cardinal is 3-6 on such trips, including 1-5 in Mountain Pacific Sports Federation matches. Stanford actually was 0-5 on MPSF SouCal trips until winning a five-setter at UC Santa Barbara on Feb. 21 in its most recent such contest. However, while the previous four trips were taken within a span of five weeks, this one comes with a six-week gap since the previous one. It is the last regular-season road trip and represents the only two road matches in a span of 13 contests that conclude the regular season for Stanford. The Cardinal has been especially strong at its part-time home, Maples Pavilion, with a 6-0 record there this season.
Friday's Opponent: Long Beach State
The No. 7 49ers (10-12, 7-10) are coached by Alan Knipe, who recently was announced as the new head coach for the U.S. men's national team. Knipe will finish the collegiate season and then coach the U.S. through the 2012 London Olympics before returning to Long Beach for the 2013 collegiate campaign. The 49ers have lost seven consecutive matches in conference play, and are seeking their first home MPSF victory since Feb. 13.
The Long Beach State Series
Stanford is 2-0 over Long Beach State this season, including a dramatic 26-30,24-30,33-31,31-29,15-8 victory on Jan. 30 at Maples Pavilion. Stanford fought off three match points to pull out the third set and Brad Lawson had 27 kills and a .438 hitting percentage, as well as 11 digs. The earlier victory came in the semifinals of the season-opening UCSB tournament.
Saturday's Opponent: UC San Diego
The No. 10 Tritons (10-12, 6-11) are close to achieving their first winning season in school history. Before this season, UCSD had never been ranked higher than No. 13 (achieved in 2004). On March 9, UCSD climbed as high as No. 8 in the Bison/AVCA Division I-II Coaches Poll, an all-time best. The team's highest final ranking is No. 17 (1986), a mark the Tritons are certain to improve upon.
The UC San Diego Series
Stanford is 33-2 all-time against UC San Diego and has a five-match winning streak in the series, with UCSD's last victory coming April 14, 2006, in La Jolla.
Playoff Position
The jockeying for prime MPSF tournament seeds has begun in earnest with Stanford among a cluster of four schools within one game in the loss column with three weekends of conference play remaining. Stanford is sixth and hopes for a top-four regular-season finish, which would ensure a first-round MPSF tournament home match.