Courtesy: Stanford Athletics
THIS WEEK: The No. 3 Stanford women's volleyball team (3-1) remains on the road to take on North Carolina (1-4) on Thursday, Sept. 10 at 3 p.m. PT and Duke (4-2) on Friday, Sept. 11 at 3:30 p.m. PT.
CATCH THE CARDINAL: Live stats for the matches can be found on the women's volleyball schedule page on GoStanford.com. Thursday's match can be viewed on ESPN3, while Friday's match will be streamed online on the Blue Devil Network (subscription required).
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SCOUTING NORTH CAROLINA: After opening the season ranked No. 7 nationally, North Carolina has dropped four of its first five matches. The Tar Heels are a veteran squad, led by seniors Leigh Andrew, Paige Neuenfeldt and Victoria McPherson. Andrew paces the squad with 2.81 kills per set, while Neuenfeldt (2.12 kps) and McPherson (2.13 kps) are both averaging over 1.00 blocks per set.
THE SERIES WITH THE TAR HEELS: Stanford holds a 2-0 lead in the all-time series against North Carolina. The most recent meeting between the programs came in 1997. The Cardinal swept the Tar Heels in Chapel Hill, 15-7, 15-0, 15-4.
SCOUTING DUKE: Duke enters the week 4-2 overall, coming off wins over University of Missouri Kansas City and Western Illinois. As a team, the Blue Devils are hitting .276 while holding their opponents to a .175 clip. Duke utilizes a 6-2 offense, run by redshirt senior Maggie Deichmeister (6.15 aps) and sophomore Emma Paradiso (4.88 aps). Freshman middle blocker Leah Meyer is hitting .427 and registering 2.65 kills and 0.95 blocks per set. Senior Emily Sklar has only appeared in four of the six matches, but is averaging 3.38 kills and 2.75 digs per set.
THE SERIES WITH THE BLUE DEVILS: The Cardinal is 4-0 overall against the Blue Devils. The most recent meeting was last season in the Stanford Invitational, where the Cardinal defeated the Blue Devils in four sets at Maples Pavilion on Sept. 12.
PRESEASON ALL-PAC-12: Stanford led all Pac-12 teams with three selections to the Preseason All-Pac-12 Team. Seniors Madi Bugg and Jordan Burgess are repeat selections, while redshirt sophomore Merete Lutz is being recognized for the first time in her career.
STARTING SIX: Stanford's first six matches of the year are against opponents who are either ranked or receiving votes in the AVCA Preseason Poll. Three of the six teams ranked in the top 10 to start the season, including top-ranked Penn State, No. 7 North Carolina and No. 8 Illinois, and five of the six teams appeared in last year's NCAA Tournament.
AJANAKU OUT: Senior middle blocker Inky Ajanaku, the 2014 Volleyball Magazine National Player of the Year, will miss the 2015 season after having surgery for an injury suffered playing with the U.S. National Team over the summer.
A BUGG'S LIFE: Senior Madi Bugg was tabbed the Pac-12 Setter of the Year for the second straight season in 2014. The Apex, N.C., native led the nation with 12.10 assists per set last season and enters this year ranked fifth on the Cardinal's career assists list with 3,935.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE CLUB: Senior outside hitter Jordan Burgess racked up 19 double-doubles to lead the team in 2014. The human biology major became just the ninth Cardinal player to accumulate more than 1,000 career kills and digs. Burgess now has 1,076 kills and 1,140 digs.
THE HOWARD FILE: Senior outside hitter Brittany Howard, a three-year starter and all-conference selection, is looking to become just the 10th Cardinal player to reach the 1,000 career kill and dig marks. She currently has registered 913 kills and 934 digs.
TOP RECRUIT: Freshman opposite Hayley Hodson begins her career at Stanford after being tabbed the No. 1 overall recruit in the nation in 2015 by Volleyball Magazine. Hodson already has national team experience, most recently winning a gold medal at the 2015 Pan America Cup in Lima, Peru. She leads the Cardinal in kills (3.69), digs (3.15) and points (4.46) per set this season.
DEFENDING PAC-12 CHAMPS: The Cardinal secured the Pac-12 title outright after sweeping Cal in the 2014 regular season finale for its 16th conference championship in the Pac-10/12 era, and the 19th overall for the program. Stanford has claimed seven of the past nine Pac-12 titles and eight overall under head coach John Dunning. Since 1986, the Cardinal has finished either first or second in the conference in 27 of 29 seasons.
NATIONAL POLL: Stanford slipped to No. 3 in the AVCA poll this week after falling in straight sets at No. 1 Penn State last week. Florida jumped up to No. 2, while, No. 4 Texas and No. 5 Nebraska round out the top 5. Eight Pac-12 squads are ranked in the top 25, the most of any conference in the nation.
BY THE NUMBERS: The Stanford women's volleyball program has won more NCAA Tournament matches (108), made more Final Four appearances (19) and been in the national championship match (14) more times than any other team in the nation. The Cardinal has captured 19 conference championships and produced 30 or more wins on 17 occasions. Stanford has six NCAA titles and has competed in all 34 NCAA Tournaments, having won all 34 of its first-round matches.
AVCA ALL-AMERICANS: Stanford led the nation with six total AVCA All-Americans in 2014, including first-team selections Inky Ajanaku, Madi Bugg and Jordan Burgess. Merete Lutz earned second team accolades, while seniors Morgan Boukather and Kyle Gilbert were honorable mention picks.
IN THE CLASSROOM: Not only does the team perform well on the court, but the Cardinal also represents in the classroom. Stanford was one of three Pac-12 teams to earn the AVCA's Team Academic Award, while all five returning starters earned Pac-12 All-Academic honorable mention in 2014. Additionally, senior Jordan Burgess was named to the Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All-American.
HEAD COACH JOHN DUNNING: Now in his 15th season at the helm of the Cardinal program, head coach John Dunning is one of the most accomplished coaches in the collegiate volleyball world. Dunning has four national championships under his belt, has taken teams to 10 Final Fours and carried six of his 14 Stanford teams to the national title match.
DUNNING BY THE NUMBERS: In 30 years as a head coach, John Dunning is 841-172 (.830), giving him a winning percentage that ranks among the top 5 all-time for Division I coaches. He is 404-70 in his 14 seasons on The Farm, leading all active coaches in the conference by winning percentage (.852).