Cardinal Hosts USD, MinnesotaCardinal Hosts USD, Minnesota
Women's Volleyball

Cardinal Hosts USD, Minnesota

NOTES | TICKETS

THIS WEEK: No. 11 Stanford women's volleyball opens the 2016 campaign at home, hosting San Diego on Friday, Aug. 26 at 7 p.m. and No. 3 Minnesota on Sunday, Aug. 28 at 1 p.m. in Maples Pavilion.

CATCH THE CARDINAL: Live stats for the matches can be found on the women's volleyball schedule page on GoStanford.com. Friday's match will be live streamed for free (link also available on the schedule page), while Sunday's match will be televised on Pac-12 Network and Pac-12 Bay Area.

SOCIAL MEDIA: 
Facebook.com/StanfordWVB
Twitter: @StanfordWVB
Instagram: @stanfordwvb
Snapchat: StanfordWVB

CLEAR BAG POLICY: Stanford has implemented a clear bag policy to provide a safer environment for the public and expedite fan entry into Maples Pavilion. This policy does not change what you can bring in, only how it can be brought into the facility. For more information visit gostanford.com/allclear. 

PROMOTIONS: Bring a friend! Season ticket holders received an email with a promo code where they can purchase $5 reserved tickets for friends. On Sunday, head coach John Dunning will host a chalk talk from 11:30-12 p.m. in the VIP room on the east side of the Maples concourse.

SCOUTING SAN DIEGO: San Diego is coming off a 22-10 record in 2015 and its sixth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance. The Toreros were picked to win the  2016 West Coast Conference title by the league's coaches. USD is led by senior setter Kristen Gengenbacher and senior outside hitter Lisa Kramer, who were both named to the preseason All-WCC team. Kramer, who was an AVCA All-American in 2015, led her team in kills last year, moving her into 10th on the single-season kills list at USD.

THE SERIES WITH THE TOREROS: Stanford is 5-0 all-time against San Diego. The most recent meeting came in 2014, a 3-1 Cardinal win in San Diego. The last time the Toreros came to Maples was 2003. 

SCOUTING MINNESOTA: The Gophers are coming off a 30-5 season in 2015, where they captured the Big Ten title and reached the Final Four. It was the first Big Ten title for the Gophers since 2002 and the first national semifinal appearance since 2009. Minnesota returns 13 letter winners from last year, including five starters and its libero. The Gophers lost Big Ten Player of the Year, Daly Santana, to graduation last season, but return three All-Americans (Hannah Tapp, Samantha Seliger-Swenson and Paige Tapp.

THE SERIES WITH THE GOLDEN GOPHERS: Stanford holds a perfect 6-0 mark against Minnesota. For the second straight season Minnesota is making the trip to Stanford. The Cardinal swept the Golden Gophers on Aug. 30, 2015 in Maples Pavilion.

AJANAKU BACK FOR FIFTH YEAR: Stanford played the 2015 campaign without senior middle blocker Inky Ajanaku, the 2014 Volleyball Magazine National Player of the Year, who sat out with an ACL injury. She enters her final season ranked second in program history with a .415 hitting percentage and ninth with 435 blocks. She has also eclipsed 1,000 career kills (1,010).

PRESEASON All-PAC-12: Stanford led the conference with three Preseason All-Pac-12 selections. Inky Ajanaku is being recognized for the third time in her career, while Merete Lutz is a repeat honoree. Hayley Hodson was also selected.

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A photo posted by Stanford Women's Volleyball (@stanfordwvb) on Aug 17, 2016 at 3:38pm PDT

STARTING FIVE: Stanford's first five matches of the year are against opponents who are either ranked or receiving votes in the AVCA Preseason Poll. Three of the five are ranked in the top 15, including No. 3 Minnesota, No. 9 Penn State and No. 14 Illinois.

FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Hayley Hodson became the first Stanford player to be named the AVCA Freshman of the Year and was the 11th Cardinal player to be named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year (first since Alix Klineman in 2007). She led the Cardinal in kills (3.82), aces (0.34) and points (4.52) per set in 2015, the first freshman to lead the team in kills since Klineman.

AVCA ALL-AMERICANS: Four Cardinal players were named All-Americans by the AVCA in 2015, bringing Stanford's total AVCA award count to 85 honors spread over 35 players. Hayley Hodson and Merete Lutz earned second team recognition, while seniors Madi Bugg and Brittany Howard were selected to the third team. It marked the third straight season in which the Cardinal had produced at least four All-Americans.

TOP-RANKED RECRUITS: Stanford six-member freshman class was rated No. 1 in the nation by PrepVolleyball.com. The class features USA Today High School Player of the Year Audriana Fitzmorris (middle blocker), the No. 2 Senior Ace, Kansas Gatorade Player of the Year and No. 14 Senior Ace Jenna Gray (setter), Kentucky Gatorade Player of the Year and No. 22 Senior Ace Morgan Hentz (defensive specialist), twins Michaela (outside hitter), the No. 31 Senior Ace, and Caitlin (defensive specialist) Keefe and California Gatorade Player of the Year and No. 3 Senior Ace Kathryn Plummer (opposite/setter).

BY THE NUMBERS: 2015 marked Stanford's 35th consecutive NCAA postseason appearance. The Cardinal is one of only two programs in the nation to have appeared in every NCAA Tournament since the NCAA Championship began in 1981 (Penn State is the other). Stanford has won more NCAA Tournament matches (109), made more Final Four appearances (19) and been in the national championship match (14) more times than any other program in the nation.

HOME SWEET HOME: Traditionally, Stanford has always protected its home court. The Cardinal is 210-20 at home under head coach John Dunning (15 seasons). Over the past four years, Stanford has gone 61-3 at Maples Pavilion.

FAMILIAR FACE: Former Cardinal All-American and U.S. National Team member Cassidy Lichtman joined the coaching staff as an assistant in June. She was a member of four Pac-10 championship teams from (2007-10), reaching the NCAA finals twice (2007, 2008). A versatile athlete, Lichtman played multiple positions during her career (setter, outside hitter, opposite and defensive specialist), racking up 51 career double-doubles, including 14 triple-doubles.

NATIONAL POLL: Stanford came in at No. 11 in Preseason AVCA Poll. Nebraska, the 2015 national champion, claimed the top spot, while Texas, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Kansas round out the top 5. Four Pac-12 squads are ranked in the top 12 with Washington and USC tying for No. 7, and UCLA coming in at No. 12.

PAC-12 CONFERENCE FINISHES: The Cardinal finished third in the Pac-12 this season for the first time in program history. It marked the 28th top-3 standing in conference play in the past 30 seasons. Stanford has won 16 conference championships in the Pac-10/12 era, and 19 overall in program history. Stanford has claimed seven of the past 10 Pac-12 titles and eight overall under head coach John Dunning. 

HEAD COACH JOHN DUNNING: Entering the 2016 season, 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 15 Stanford teams to the national title match.

DUNNING BY THE NUMBERS: In 31 years as a head coach, John Dunning is 861-178 (.829), giving him a winning percentage that ranks among the top 5 all-time for Division I coaches. He is 424-76 in his 15 seasons on The Farm, leading all active coaches in the conference by winning percentage (.848).