THIS WEEK: The No. 7 Stanford women’s volleyball team (15-5, 9-3 Pac-12) hits the road for its next four matches. First up is Oregon on Thursday, Nov. 5 at 8 p.m. PT in Eugene followed by a showdown at Oregon State on Sunday, Nov. 8 at 11 a.m. PT in Corvallis.
CATCH THE CARDINAL: Live stats for the matches can be found on the women’s volleyball schedule page on GoStanford.com. Thursday’s match will air on ESPNU while Sunday’s match will air only on Pac-12 Bay Area and Pac-12 Oregon.
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SCOUTING OREGON: Oregon is coming off a five-set win at Colorado last week and sits in tie with Arizona for seventh place in the conference. Senior outside hitter Martenne Bettendorf paces the squad with 3.60 kills and 4.01 points per set, ranking 10th in the Pac-12 in both categories. Freshman outside hitter Lindsey Vander Weide adds 3.14 kills and 2.06 digs per set, while junior libero Amanda Benson anchors the defense with 4.47 digs per set (2nd Pac-12). Sophomore setter Maggie Scott controls the offense, which is fifth in the league with a .239 hitting percentage, with 10.60 assists per set.
THE SERIES WITH THE DUCKS: The Cardinal leads the all-time series with the Ducks, 55-4, including seven in a row. Stanford defeated Oregon 3-1 earlier this season. Freshman Hayley Hodson led the squad with 22 kills on .636 hitting and tallied a career-high six blocks.
SCOUTING OREGON STATE: Oregon State (2-10 Pac-12) took Colorado to five sets and Utah to four on the road last week, but has ultimately dropped its last six matches. Sophomore outside hitter Mary-Kate Marshall leads the team and ranks seventh in the conference with 3.86 kills and eighth with 4.01 points per set. Redshirt junior Katelyn Driscoll is averaging 2.44 kills, while freshman libero Kayla Ellis turns in 3.21 digs per set.
THE SERIES WITH THE BEAVERS: Stanford is a perfect 62-0 all-time against Oregon State. The Cardinal swept the Beavers in the first meeting between the squads this season. Freshman Hayley Hodson led all players with 16 kills on a career-high .652 hitting percentage while also collecting a career-best 15 digs.
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 recently passed Carrie Feldman (1989-92) for third place on the program’s career assists list and now has 4,598.
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 1,182 kills and moved into the top-10 in career digs with 1,245 digs.
CAREER MILESTONES: Senior outside hitter Brittany Howard, a three-year starter and all-conference selection, registered her 1,000th career kill at Arizona State (Oct. 2), becoming the 17th player in program history to accomplish that feat. At Utah (Oct. 16), she became the 10th Cardinal player to accumulate 1,000 career kills and 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 (3.84) and points (4.53) per set this season.
A STANFORD FIRST: For the first time in program history, three Stanford classmates, Inky Ajanaku (1,010), Jordan Burgess (1,150) and Brittany Howard (1,047), have each registered 1,000 career kills. Other classmates to reach the milestone include Foluke Akinradewo and Cynthia Barboza (‘09) and Rachel Williams and Carly Wopat (‘14).
ALL-CENTURY TEAM: Stanford was well represented when the Pac-12 Networks revealed its Women’s Volleyball All-Century team, leading all schools with nine representative including the Player of the Century Logan Tom (1999-02). Also named to the list were Foluke Akinradewo (middle blocker, 2005-08), Kristin Folkl (outside hitter, 1994-97), Kristin Klein (outside hitter, 1988-91), Ogonna Nnamani (outside hitter, 2001-04), Bev Oden (middle blocker, 1989-92), Kim Oden (middle blocker, 1982-85), Lisa Sharpley (setter, 1994-97), and Kerri Walsh (outside hitter, 1996-99).
TOP SENIOR: Jordan Burgess is one of 10 finalists in the nation for the Senior CLASS Award, which is based on notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition.
FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK: Hayley Hodson has been named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Week four out of the 10 weeks this season, including three times in October (Aug. 31, Oct. 5, Oct. 12, Oct. 26). Libero Halland McKenna nabbed the honor on Nov. 2, bringing the Cardinal’s total award count to 14 since the award’s inception in 2011 (the most all-time).
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 remained at No. 7 in the AVCA poll this week after defeating the Arizona schools last week. Penn State regained the top spot after No. 2 USC dropped its first match of the season at No. 3 Washington. Minnesota (4) and Texas (5) round out the top 5. Six Pac-12 squads are ranked in the top 25, including four in the top 10.
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.
TAKING ON THE BEST: Once again, head coach John Dunning has lined up one of the most challenging schedules in the nation for the Cardinal. Stanford is slated to play 17 regular-season matches against teams ranked in the preseason poll, and 21 against teams that appeared in the 2014 NCAA Tournament.
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 853-176 (.829), giving him a winning percentage that ranks among the top 5 all-time for Division I coaches. He is 416-74 in his 14-plus seasons on The Farm, leading all active coaches in the conference by winning percentage (.849).
