STANFORD, Calif. - No. 2 Stanford (7-1) closes out the nonconference slate on Saturday, playing host to No. 11 Kentucky (6-4) at Maples Pavilion. First serve is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on ESPN2.
SERIES AGAINST THE WILDCATS: Stanford is 2-2 all-time versus Kentucky. The teams last met in 2021, a five-set win for the Wildcats in Lexington. The Cardinal's most recent victory came back in 1989 when Stanford defeated Kentucky in five sets in Lincoln, Nebraska. Saturday marks Kentucky's first trip to The Farm since 1983.
LAST TIME OUT: Stanford dropped its first match of the season, falling in straight sets at No. 5 Nebraska. The Cardinal was held to a season-low .100 hitting percentage as a team. Elia Rubin led all players with 10 kills to go with six digs, two aces and two blocks. It was Stanford's first loss in Lincoln since 1989.
PACKED THE HOUSE: A record crowd in the Kevin Hambly era of 6,894 watched No. 2 Stanford sweep No. 6 Texas at Maples Pavilion on Sept. 15. The Cardinal held the Longhorns to .125 hitting - their lowest in a match in over 11 years.
HOME SWEET HOME: In eight seasons under Kevin Hambly, Stanford is 86-12 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 (W, 3-0), No. 2 Nebraska (L, 3-0), No. 3 Wisconsin (W, 3-1), No. 9 Kentucky (Sept. 21), No. 18 Minnesota (W, 3-2) and No. 24 Marquette (W, 3-0) 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 4,207 assists. Her 11.46 career assists per set mark would be a program record in the rally-scoring era to 25.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: Kami Miner became the first Stanford player to be recognized by the ACC with a weekly honor, earning Setter of the Week on Sept. 9. Sami Francis followed up with her first career weekly honor, earning Co-Defensive Player of the Week alongside Elena Scott of Louisville on Sept. 16. Combining with its Pac-12 selections, the Cardinal now boasts 177 players of the week, including 31 Offensive, 38 Defensive, 1 Setter and 34 Freshman.
2024 ACC Weekly Selections
Sept. 9: Kami Miner (Setter)
Sept. 16: Sami Francis (Co-Defensive)
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 178-38 (.824) 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.