THIS WEEK: No. 2 Stanford (4-0) remains on the road for a pair of matches at UC Santa Barbara (2-4) on Tuesday at 7 p.m. and Pepperdine (1-3) on Wednesday at 6 p.m. Both matches will be streamed on ESPN+.
SERIES AGAINST THE OPPONENTS: Stanford is 10-6 all-time versus UC Santa Barbara and carries an 8-1 record against Pepperdine. Stanford swept UCSB in the most recent meeting between the two teams, played Aug. 30, 2013 at The Thunderdome. The Cardinal and Waves last met on Dec. 2, 2022 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Maples Pavilion (W, 3-1). The last meeting during the regular season was in the Lobo Classic in Albuquerque, New Mexico on Aug. 28, 2010 (W, 3-1). Wednesday marks Stanford's first trip to Pepperdine since Nov. 9, 1985 (W, 3-0).
HOW ITS STARTED: Stanford opened the season with four wins, including three against ranked opponents. Setter Kami Miner has guided the Cardinal offense to a .307 team hitting percentage. Outside hitter Elia Rubin leads all players with 4.33 kills on .348 hitting and 4.97 points per set.
2023 SEASON IN REVIEW: Stanford closed out the 2023 season with a 29-4 overall record and a 24th conference championship with a 19-1 mark in the Pac-12. The Cardinal made its 42nd NCAA postseason appearance in 43 seasons, advancing to its 17th regional final since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1998.
STACKED SCHEDULE: Stanford is slated to play 12 matches against teams ranked in the AVCA Preseason Poll, including seven against top-10 opponents. The Cardinal will take on No. 1 Texas (Sept. 15), No. 2 Nebraska (Sept. 18), No. 3 Wisconsin (Sept. 2), No. 9 Kentucky (Sept. 21), No. 18 Minnesota (Sept. 1) and No. 24 Marquette (Sept. 4) in the nonconference. Stanford will meet No. 4 Pittsburgh (Oct. 20), No. 6 Louisville (Sept. 29 & Nov. 30), No. 14 Georgia Tech (Nov. 9 & Nov. 27) and No. 20 Florida State (Nov. 3) in ACC play.
COACHES' PICK: In its inaugural ACC season, Stanford was picked to finish second by the league's coaches. The Cardinal captured three first-place votes and placed four on the Preseason All-ACC squad - middle blocker Sami Francis, setter Kami Miner, libero Elena Oglivie and outside hitter Elia Rubin.
MILESTONE UNLOCKED: Kami Miner recorded her 4,000th career assist on Sept. 2 in a four-set win over No. 6 Wisconsin. She became the seventh player in school history to reach the milestone. In the rally-scoring era to 25, Miner is third behind Jenna Gray (5,485) and Madi Bugg (5,014) with 4,059 assists. Her 11.50 career assists per set mark would be a program record in the rally-scoring era to 25.
OLYMPIC TRADITION: Stanford alumna Kathryn Plummer ('20) captured a silver medal with the United States at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. Plummer, who won three national titles on The Farm (2016, 2018, 2019), is the 11th Olympian in program history. Her spot on the roster extended Stanford’s streak of having at least one former Cardinal player on each indoor U.S. Olympic Team since 1988. A school-record 59 Stanford-affiliated athletes qualified to compete in Paris, capturing a combined 39 medals (also a record). For the third consecutive edition of the Games, Stanford boasted more Team USA selections (37) than any other school.
BY THE NUMBERS: Stanford has won more NCAA titles (9), more NCAA Tournament matches (138), made more Final Four appearances (23) and been in the national championship match (17) more times than any other program in the nation. The Cardinal has qualified for 42 of the 43 NCAA Tournaments all-time.
CONFERENCE CHAMPS: Stanford clinched its 21st Pac-12 title, and its 24th conference championship overall in 2023. Stanford won 12 of the last 18 Pac-12 championships. The Cardinal finished in the top 4 in the Pac-12 in 37 of 38 seasons, and the top 3 in 35 of 38 campaigns.
COACHING EXCELLENCE: Kevin Hambly became the seventh head coach in Division I women’s volleyball to lead a school to back-to-back NCAA titles. Hambly is now 175-37 (.825) in eight seasons on The Farm, mentoring 13 AVCA All-Americans to 26 awards and six Academic All-Americans (eight awards).
THE HAMBLY FILE: Kevin Hambly coached 12 AVCA All-Americans to 19 honors during his time at Illinois and has now mentored 25 All-Americans to 45 awards. He is the third head coach to lead Stanford to a national championship. The two-time Pac-12 Coach of the Year became the first Cardinal head coach (any sport) to win an NCAA title in one of his first two seasons on The Farm since 2005.