STANFORD, Calif. - No. 2 Stanford (6-0) plays host to No. 6 Texas (3-2) on Sunday for its home opener in Maples Pavilion at Noon on ESPN.
SERIES AGAINST THE LONGHORNS: Stanford is 22-10 all-time against Texas. Last season, Stanford swept the Longhorns for its first win in Austin since 2018, and the first road sweep over the Longhorns in program history. Texas won the most recent meeting between the two squads, a 3-1 decision in the 2023 NCAA Regional final at Maples Pavilion.
LAST TIME OUT: Stanford defeated both UC Santa Barbara and Pepperdine on the road earlier this week. The Cardinal posted a season-high 15.0 blocks in a four-set win over the Gauchos led by senior Sami Francis' career-high 10.0. Against the Waves, opposite Jordyn Harvey recorded a career-best 15 kills on .556 hitting, four aces and three blocks, while outside hitter Ipar Kurt had a career-high 18 kills on .536 hitting.
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.
HOME SWEET HOME: In seven seasons under Kevin Hambly, Stanford is 85-12 at Maples Pavilion, including 18-2 in the NCAA Tournament. The Cardinal won 32 in a row at home to begin Hambly's tenure at Stanford.
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 4,144 assists. Her 11.48 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.
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 177-37 (.827) 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.