THIS WEEK: No. 10 Stanford (3-2, 0-0 MPSF) opens MPSF play on the road at seventh-ranked Pepperdine (2-1, 0-0 MPSF) on Friday, Jan. 20 at 7 p.m. in Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu, California.
CATCH THE CARDINAL: Live stats for the match can be found on the men's volleyball schedule page on GoStanford.com. Friday's match will be streamed online at www.wccsports.com.
SOCIAL MEDIA: Fans have access to unique behind-the-scenes content on the team by liking Stanford Men's Volleyball on Facebook or following the team on Twitter (@StanfordMVB) and Instagram (@therealstanfordmvb).
LAST TIME OUT: Despite dropping to straight-set matches at home to defending national champion Ohio State, there were some bright spots for Stanford. Sophomore outside hitter Jordan Ewert averaged 4.33 kills, 2.00 digs and 4.58 points per set in the two matches. He had a match-high 15 kills on .323 hitting in the first match versus the Buckeyes, while notching 11 kills and eight digs in the rematch. Redshirt junior Kevin Rakestraw hit .467 against OSU while adding 1.00 blocks per set.
SCOUTING THE WAVES: Pepperdine has opened the season with wins over McKendree and on the road at Loyola-Chicago before a 3-1 setback at Lewis last week. The Waves are hitting .318 as a team and recording 14.00 kills per set. Redshirt sophomore David Wieczorek paces the team with 4.18 kills per set on .476 hitting. Sophomore Michael Wexter adds 3.57 kills on .311 hitting and 1.71 digs per set.
IN THE POLL: Stanford is ranked No. 10 again in this week's AVCA Division I-II Men's Coaches Poll after competitive matches against defending national champion Ohio State last week. The Cardinal is one of nine MPSF squads to appear in the top 15.
TOP-RANKED CLASS: Freshmen Eric Beatty (Huntington Beach, Calif.) and Paul Bischoff (Wheaton, Ill.) were named AVCA First Team High School All-Americans. Stanford was one of three teams nationally with two selections to the first team. Jacob Thoenen (St. Charles, Mo.) and Eli Wopat (Santa Barbara, Calif.) earned second team honors, while Stephen Moye (El Segundo, Calif.) and Mason Tufuga (Costa Mesa, Calif.) round out the Cardinal's freshman class, which was rated No. 1 in the nation by VolleyballMag.com.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING: Stanford leads the MPSF with 2.19 service aces per set and ranks third in blocks per set at 2.31. The Cardinal's aces per set mark is second-best in the country behind Barton (3.33), while its blocks per set is ninth nationally. Individually, Kevin Rakestraw's .574 hitting percentage is the third-best mark in the nation, while sophomore Matt Klassen's 0.77 aces per set is sixth.
OFF THE BLOCK PRESEASON RECOGNITION: Evan Enriques was the first winner of the Erik Shoji Award, given to the nation's top libero by Off The Block. The junior was named a first team preseason All-American by the site, which collected votes from head coaches around the nation. Jordan Ewert, Kevin Rakestraw, Gabriel Vega and Paul Bischoff all received votes.
HEAD COACH JOHN KOSTY: Stanford head coach John Kosty is in his 11th season at the helm of the Cardinal program and his 27th overall on staff. He is 177-117 in his career and has guided Stanford to the 2010 NCAA national championship and the 2014 NCAA finals. The Cardinal has produced a first team AVCA All-America selection in eight of the past nine seasons under Kosty.
