Stanford (2-10, 0-1 MPSF) at Concordia (4-5, 0-2 MPSF) | Thursday • 7 p.m. PT
Live Stream • cuieagles.com
Live Statistics • GoStanford.com
Stanford (2-10, 0-1 MPSF) at No. 10 Grand Canyon (11-3, 1-1 MPSF) | Saturday • 3 p.m. PT
Live Stream • youtube.com
Live Statistics • GoStanford.com
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THIS WEEK: Stanford (2-10, 0-1 MPSF) wraps-up a seven-match road swing with MPSF matches at Concordia (4-5, 0-2 MPSF) on Thursday at 7 p.m. and No. 10 Grand Canyon (11-3, 1-1 MPSF) on Saturday at 3 p.m.
ABOUT CONCORDIA: Concordia (4-5) has started league play 0-2, falling to No. 2 UCLA and then-No. 11 Pepperdine. The Eagles lead the nation with 2.74 blocks per set and are hitting .215 as a team. Sophomore Raymond Barsemian leads the team and is 11th nationally with 3.54 kills per set, while junior Hunter Howell is hitting .391 and paces the team with 1.14 blocks per set. Junior setter Chandler Gibb controls the offense with 9.91 assists per set.
ABOUT GRAND CANYON: Grand Canyon is 10th in the country and has won five of its last six matches. The Lopes are ninth in the nation with a .311 hitting percentage and average 2.36 blocks per set. GCU has four players posting 2.50 kills per set or more. Fifth-year senior setter Puna Kaniho is 16th nationally with 9.53 assists per set, while senior libero Sky Engleman paces the team with 93 digs on the season.
LAST TIME OUT: Stanford opened MPSF play with a five-set loss at No. 14 USC last week despite hitting a season-best .350. Freshman opposite Jaylen Jasper recorded his first collegiate double-double with 14 kills and 12 digs, while fifth-year senior Kevin Rakestraw hit .516 with a season-high 18 kills. The Cardinal then dropped a straight-set decision at No. 12 CSUN, falling to the Matadors for the second time this season.
DEFENSIVE HONOR: Senior Evan Enriques was voted the MPSF Defensive Player of the Week for the first time in his career on Jan. 15 for his efforts at Ohio State and Ball State. The libero averaged 3.14 digs per set and did not commit a reception error in the two matches. He tied his season-high with 15 digs against the Buckeyes and followed up with seven digs and a season-best six assists versus the Cardinals.
Well-deserved honor for senior Evan Enriques ?? #GoStanfordhttps://t.co/1RVr0Q7BAw
— Stanford Men's Volleyball (@StanfordMVB) January 16, 2018
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING: Stanford ranks 17th as a team nationally with 11.91 kills per set and 22nd with a .233 team hitting percentage. Individually, redshirt senior Kevin Rakestraw is 13th with a .392 attack percentage, while senior Evan Enriques is 18th with 2.28 digs per set.
WHO'S IN?: With injuries and a young roster, Stanford has struggled to find a consistent lineup. The Cardinal has utilized seven different starting lineups in its first 12 matches. Most recently, senior libero Evan Enriques has transitioned to the outside hitter position with fellow senior Jake Stuebner taking his place on the back line. Freshman middle blocker Kyler Presho is the only Cardinal to start all 12 matches at the same position this season.
ALL IN THE FAMILY: Senior libero Evan Enriques is one of four in his immediate family to currently be playing collegiate men's volleyball. His younger brother, Emmett, is a junior libero at CSUN, while twins Addison and Avery are freshmen at Concordia and Grand Canyon, respectively.
Enriques Family Faceoffs Begin Tonight with @StanfordMVB vs. @CSUNMensVB https://t.co/bKoo9PH3uS pic.twitter.com/Rk7UJDFAKi
— VolleyMob (@VolleyMob) January 17, 2018
COACHES POLL: Stanford, along with Pepperdine, was picked to finish third in the MPSF by the league's coaches. BYU, which received four first-place votes, was picked to win the MPSF for the third straight season, while UCLA collected two first-place votes and came in second.
NEW-LOOK MPSF: Each MPSF team will play 12 conference matches this season, featuring a home and away against each opponent. The 2018 MPSF Tournament begins with seed two, three and four hosting a quarterfinal match on April 14. The conference semifinals will be played on April 19 at the No. 1 seed. Semifinal winners will meet on April 21 for the championship with an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament on the line.
NEWCOMERS: Freshmen JP Reilly (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) and Leo Henken (Webster Grove, Mo.) were named AVCA First and Second Team High School All-Americans, respectively. Jaylen Jasper (Annapolis, Md.), whose high school did not offer boys' volleyball, was the No. 1 recruit in the class of 2017, as voted on for VolleyballMag.com, while Kyler Presho (San Clemente, Calif.) rounds out the Cardinal's freshman class.
2017 RECAP: Stanford finished the 2017 campaign 13-13 overall and 8-10 in the MPSF. After being picked to finish seventh by the MPSF coaches, Stanford tied for sixth and secured its ninth postseason appearance under head coach John Kosty. The Cardinal produced four all-conference selections and two AVCA All-Americans.
HEAD COACH JOHN KOSTY: Stanford head coach John Kosty is in his 12th season at the helm of the Cardinal program and his 28th overall on staff. He is 189-138 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 10 seasons under Kosty. Stanford has appeared in the MPSF Tournament in nine of Kosty's 11 seasons (missing out in 2007 and 2015).