April 9, 2012
STANFORD, Calif. - Stanford senior libero Erik Shoji was named Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Molten Player of the Week for his performances in three Cardinal men's volleyball victories.
Shoji, a three-time first-team All-America, had consecutive performances of 17 and 16 digs to help the Cardinal complete a three-match MPSF sweep last week. Shoji had 17 digs in a sweep of Long Beach State, tying for the second-highest total in school history for a three-set match in the rally-scoring era, and tying for the most digs in the nation this season for three sets.
Shoji's 16 dig-performance came in a dramatic five-set victory over Cal State Northridge on Saturday that kept the fourth-place Cardinal in the running for the MPSF regular-season title.
The Honolulu native also had seven digs against Pacific and combined for 10 assists during the week. Shoji now has five matches of at least 15 digs. No one else in the country has more than three.
Stanford (18-6 overall, 15-5 in the MPSF) concludes the regular-season with 7 p.m. home matches Friday against UC Santa Barbara and Saturday against No. 3 UCLA, both at Maples Pavilion.