Jan. 22, 2002

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This Week's Action:
Friday, January 25    vs. No. 15 CS Northridge (3-2)      Maples Pavilion, 7 p.m.
Sunday, January 27    vs. No. 6 UC Santa Barbara (5-0)    Maples Pavilion, 1 p.m.

Cardinal Update...
Second-ranked Stanford returns to action after having last weekend off to begin a four-game homestand with No. 15 CS Northridge and No. 6 UC Santa Barbara. The Cardinal will take on the Matadors on Friday, Jan. 25 at 7 p.m. and the Gauchos on Sunday, Jan. 27 at 1 p.m. Both matches will take place in Maples Pavilion, for the first time this season for the Cardinal.

The Rankings...
Stanford is currently ranked second in the January 22 USA Today/AVCA Poll, only behind MPSF rival UCLA. UC Santa Barbara checks in at No. 6, while CS Northridge holds the 15th spot. No. 3 Pepperdine, No. 4 Hawai'i and No. 5 BYU round out the top-five. The MPSF Conference holds ten of the 15 available spots.

Scouting The Matadors...
CS Northridge enters Friday's match against the Cardinal with a 3-2 overall record, 0-1 in the MPSF. The Matadors are riding on a two-match winning streak, picking up victories against non-conference opponents UC Santa Cruz (3-0) and LaVerne (3-0). Freshman Nils Nielsen led the way for the Matadors against the Slugs, tallying 14 kills. Northridge continued its winning ways against the Leopards, hitting a season-high .443 clip. Eckhard Walter leads Northridge with 70 kills, averaging 4.38 per game. Nielsen has added 55 kills and Ty Tramblie has dished out 213 Matador assists.

Scouting UC Santa Barbara ...
The Gauchos play at Pacific before heading down to Stanford. Santa Barbara enters this weekend's matches undefeated at 5-0 overall and 2-0 in MPSF play. The Gauchos swept Northridge and downed UC Irvine (3-1) last weekend. Outside hitter Andy Rivera led Santa Barbara with 13 kills against the Matadors, while opposite hitter Ben Koski recorded a career-high 23 kills in the victory over the Anteaters. Koski leads the Gauchos with 67 kills, averaging 4.19, followed by Rivera's 58. Setter Britt Galang has tallied 256 assists.

Last Year's Meeting...
The Cardinal sweep both Northridge and Santa Barbara last season. Stanford was led by Curt Toppel's 16 kills in the 3-0 win at Northridge and Marcus Skacel added 20 the following night at Santa Barbara. The Cardinal then took care of business at home, sweeping both teams in Maples Pavilion. The win over the Matadors clinched a berth in the MPSF playoffs last year for the Cardinal.

Stanford Picks Up Sweep At Pacific...
The Cardinal earned their third win of the 2002 season with a 30-16, 30-14, 30-25 victory over the University of the Pacific on January 15 at the Spanos Center in Stockton. Opposite hitter Curt Toppel pounded a match-high 15 kills and two service aces. Paul Bocage added 12 kills and made only one error in 14 swings for a .786 clip. Redshirt freshman Kevin Hansen dished out 39 assists and had six digs.

Toppel That...
Junior opposite hitter Curt Toppel has started the 2002 season with a bang. The Pacific Palisades, Calif., native has led the Cardinal attack in all four of Stanford's matches, including a 32-kill effort at BYU on Jan. 12. For the year, Toppel has recorded 81 kills and is hitting a .460 clip. He is also averaging 5.40 kills per game.

Don Shaw Named Head Coach...
On June 22 Don Shaw, who established himself as one of the top coaches in collegiate volleyball history during his illustrious 16-year tenure as Stanford's women's head volleyball coach, was named Stanford's men's volleyball coach. Shaw captured four NCAA Championships and eight Pacific-10 Conference Championships with the Stanford women. He also holds the top winning percentage in women's college volleyball history with his 440-70 (.863) record. As a player, Shaw was a member of the United States National Team and was one of the top beach players in the country during his playing career.

Welcome Back...
Stanford returns four starters from last year's team, including eight letterwinners. Junior Curt Toppel, said to be the Cardinal's best outside hitter, returns after leading the 2001 squad with 364 kills (5.35 kill per game average) and 22 service aces. Senior Marcus Skacel led last year's team with 149 digs and finished second in kills (309), blocks (41) and service aces (20).

New Faces On The Farm...
The Cardinal have three true freshmen playing in their first collegiate volleyball season. Middle blockers Craig Buell (Solana Beach, CA) and Chris Sandman (San Jose, CA) and outside hitter David Vogel (Poway, CA) all join the 2002 squad. Redshirt freshmen Patrick Bomhack (Waukesha, WI) and Kevin Hansen (Newport Beach, CA) will be competing for the setter spot and also playing in their first season as a Stanford Cardinal.

Recapping Last Season...
Stanford secured a place among the nation's elite last spring, finishing the 2001 season ranked fifth in the American Volleyball Coaches Association/USA Today Coaches Poll. The Cardinal went 14-9 overall and finished tied for third in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation's Pacific Division with a 10-7 mark. Stanford's overall and conference records were its best since it was 15-8 overall and 13-6 in the MPSF in 1998. In addition, the Cardinal achieved the nation's No. 1 ranking from February 6-12, marking its first stint at the top shot since it captured the National Championship in 1997. Stanford also maintained its place among the nation's best thanks to 10 victories over nationally-ranked opposition, including a pair of wins over eventual national runner-up UCLA.