Stanford Holds Court as Playoffs Begin

April 22, 2010

STANFORD, Calif. -

Complete Release in PDF Format

This Week
The No. 1 Stanford men’s volleyball team opens postseason play against UC Irvine in the first round of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation tournament, at Maples Pavilion on Saturday at 7 p.m. Stanford (19-6 overall), the MPSF champion for the first time since 1997, won the conference title with a 16-6 record and is the No. 1 seed. The Cardinal holds homecourt advantage throughout the tournament. UC Irvine (15-14 overall) is ranked No. 7 in the country and is the No. 8 seed. The Anteaters are the defending national champions.

Follow the Action
There will be a free live webcast and live stats, and online audio, from the match. Webcast and stats links can be found on gostanford.com. The “Watch” and “Live stats” links can be found in the Calendar of Events on the main page or the men’s volleyball page. Kevin Danna and Rosalyn Gold-Onwude will call the action on the All-Access webcast. Also, the KZSU radio broadcast can be heard on-line at kzsulive.com with Walter Foxworth on the call.

Ticket Information
Tickets can be purchased at the door. The cost is $10 for adults and $5 for students.

The MPSF Tournament
Only the champion of the eight-team MPSF tournament receives an automatic berth to the four-team NCAA tournament, which will be played at Maples Pavilion on May 6 and 8. How strong is the field? The eight top-ranked teams in the country are playing in the MPSF tournament, which means the only at-large berth into the four-team NCAA tournament will likely come from the MPSF. The first-round winners will gather at the home of the top remaining seed for the semifinals (April 29) and final (May 1).

Here are the first-round pairings, including seedings (all times Pacific):

First round, Saturday
No. 8 UC Irvine (15-14) at No. 1 Stanford (19-6), 7 p.m.
No. 7 UCLA (16-13) at No. 2 BYU (21-8), 6 p.m.
No. 6 USC (16-10) at No. 3 Cal State Northridge (21-8), 7 p.m.
No. 5 Pepperdine (16-9) at No. 4 Hawai’i (18-9), 10 p.m.

Semifinals, April 29, at highest remaining seed:
UC Irvine-Stanford winner vs. Pepperdine-Hawai’i winner
USC-Cal State Northridge winner vs. UCLA-BYU winner

Final, May 1, at semifinal site
Semifinal winners

No. 1
Stanford has been ranked No. 1 for seven weeks, since March 8. It’s Stanford’s first No. 1 ranking since 2001, and latest such ranking since 1997. Stanford received 13 of 16 first-place votes this week, with No. 2 BYU (two) and No. 3 Cal State Northridge (one) receiving the others. Stanford has been ranked No. 1 in five previous seasons since the AVCA rankings were created in 1986.

Here are the previous Stanford No. 1 seasons and the team’s final rankings during those years: 2001 (No. 5 final ranking), 1997 (No. 1), 1992 (No. 1), 1990 (No. 4), and 1989 (No. 2). Stanford won its only national title in 1997.

Stanford’s Recent Play
• The Cardinal had to play six of its final eight regular-season matches on the road, against most of the toughest teams on its schedule. Stanford went 6-2 during that final stretch, including 4-2 on the road, to hold onto the No. 1 national ranking and earn the No. 1 MPSF seed.
• Stanford lost control of the No. 1 seed when it lost at UCLA on Friday night, giving BYU, which held the tiebreaker advantage over Stanford, the edge for the top seed and homecourt advantage. However, BYU lost to Cal State Northridge on Saturday, the final night of the regular season, as Stanford was playing UC Irvine. Stanford coach John Kosty withheld the score from his team, which went on to win and later discovered it had won the conference title as well, its first since 1997.
• Stanford sophomore Erik Shoji is No. 1 in the MPSF and No. 4 in the country in digs per game (3.42). Brother Kawika Shoji is No. 4 in the country in assists per game (13.56), and Brad Lawson is No. 6 in the nation in kills per game (4.78).
• Stanford leads the country in hitting percentage (.350), is No. 2 in assists per game (15.34) and No. 3 in kills per game (16.04).

Stanford’s Postseason History
The Cardinal has reached the MPSF tournament in 14 of the event’s 18 years. Last year, Stanford lost in the first round to visiting USC in five sets. Stanford hasn’t won in the postseason since beating UCLA for the 1997 national championship in Columbus, Ohio. Stanford also beat the Bruins in the 1997 MPSF final, for its most recent conference tournament victory. Since then, Stanford has lost eight consecutive matches in MPSF tournament play. Overall, Stanford is 5-13 all-time in the MPSF tournament.

Stanford at Home
This is the second consecutive season Stanford has earned homecourt advantage for the first round, after earning the No. 4 seed last season and hosting No. 5 USC. Stanford’s last home playoff victory came on April 19, 1997, when it swept Pepperdine in the MPSF first round at Burnham Pavilion. Stanford’s last playoff victories at Maples Pavilion were first-round round-robin victories over BYU and Pepperdine in 1994. This year, Stanford is 12-2 at home and 10-1 at Maples Pavilion.

Saturday’s Opponent: UC Irvine
This is a rematch of the regular-season finale in which Stanford won at UC Irvine 30-21, 27-30, 30-28, 24-30, 15-6. Brad Lawson served eight consecutive points in the fifth set, including two aces, to break a 2-2 tie and spark Stanford to the victory. Stanford is 2-0 against the defending NCAA champion, having won a four-setter at Burnham Pavilion on Feb. 13. Stanford, which holds a 26-12 all-time lead in the series, hasn’t beaten the Anteaters at Maples Pavilion since Kevin Hansen led the Cardinal to a three-set victory on April 1, 2005.