Feb. 3, 2004

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No. 7 Stanford (5-5/3-3) at USC (1-7/0-5) - 7:00 PM (PT)
February 5th - North Gym - Los Angeles, CA
No. 7 Stanford at No. 2 Pepperdine (6-1/2-1) - 7:00 PM (PT)
February 7th - Firestone Fieldhouse - Malibu, CA

THIS WEEK: The Cardinal pack their bags for a two-game Southern California road trip. Stanford will play first at USC on Thursday, February 5th before making the short trip to Malibu to face the No. 2 ranked Pepperdine Waves on Saturday.

STANFORD IN THE POLLS: After last week's big 3-2 win over No. 5 UC Santa Barbara, the Cardinal jumped one spot in the rankings, coming in at No. 7 in the latest USA Today/AVCA poll. The Cardinal own a 5-5 overall record and a 3-3 mark in MPSF play.

LAST WEEK: The Cardinal began the weekend with a thrilling 3-2 win over No. 5 UC Santa Barbara. The win marked Stanford's second over a top five team this season. Game scores for the five game match were 28-30, 30-25, 30-28, 19-30, and 16-14. Down 10-8 in the decisive fifth game, the Cardinal battled back and evened the score at 13-13. The two teams traded points, and with the score tied at 14-14, redshirt junior setter Kevin Hansen and sophomore outside hitter Ben Reddy registered back-to-back kills to end the game and secure the win for the Cardinal. Reddy paced the Cardinal attack with 20 kills, marking the second consecutive game he has gone over 20 kills. Junior outside hitter David Vogel was the only other Cardinal in double figure kills with 13, while Hansen handed out 50 assists. Junior middle blocker Craig Buell turned in a solid effort, registering eight kills and seven block assists. After the big win over the Gauchos, the Cardinal ran out of steam versus No. 6 Cal State Northridge, falling 3-0. The loss was the first at home for the Cardinal. Vogel paced Stanford with 11 kills, while redshirt junior Pat Bomhack added nine and sophomore middle blocker Chris Ahlfeldt chipped in seven. Hansen handed out 32 assists and collected a team-high 12 digs.

SCOUTING THE TROJANS: The USC Trojans have struggled this season and enter the week with a 1-7 overall record and an 0-5 mark in MPSF action ... After upsetting UC Irvine in their first match of the season, the Trojans have dropped their last seven games ... Last week, the Trojans were defeated by UCLA, 0-3, but nearly upset UC Irvine for the second time this season before falling 3-2 ... As a team, the Trojans are hitting .209 on the season ... Sophomore outside hitter Joao Grangeiro and junior outside hitter Blake Tippett pace the Trojans attack, posting 88 and 77 kills on the season, respectively ... Junior middle blocker Chris McKniff has been the Trojans most consistent performer this season, registering 60 kills to go along with a team-high .369 hitting percentage and a team-high 28 blocks.

SCOUTING THE WAVES: The Pepperdine Waves enter the week with a 6-1 overall record and a 2-1 mark in MPSF play ... The Waves are currently ranked No. 2 in the latest USA Today/AVCA poll ... Pepperdine suffered it's first loss of the season, falling at UCLA, 3-1 (30-20, 30-21, 20-30, 30-24) ... Prior to it's 3-1 setback versus UCLA, Pepperdine had won it's first six contests in three games and held down the No. 1 ranking for the previous three weeks ... The Waves own a perfect 3-0 record at Firestone Fieldhouse ... The Waves are led by All-American outside hitters Sean Rooney and Fred Winters ... Rooney (85 k, .371) and Winters (79 k, .389) lead the Waves' attack, while junior John Mayer (13.59 apg) handles the setting duties ... As a team, the Waves are hitting .368 on the season ... Pepperdine swept the season series with Stanford in 2003.

HANSEN NAMED MPSF PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Stanford's redshirt junior setter Kevin Hansen was named the Molten/Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Player of the Week for his performance during the week of January 12th. Hansen, a Newport Beach, CA native, led the Cardinal to back-to-back wins versus then-No. 2 UCLA and No. 10 UC Irvine. In Stanford's 3-1 upset of the Bruins, Hansen turned in an all-around performance handing out a game-high 49 assists, registering seven kills and adding a game-high nine digs. Hansen once again orchestrated the Cardinal offense, racking up 52 assists to go along with a team-high 10 digs and three block assists to rally the Cardinal from an 0-2 deficit to a 3-2 win. This is Hansen's third career Molten/MPSF Player of the Week honor, earning the previous two in his sophomore and freshman seasons.

A QUICK LOOK AT THE CARDINAL: Stanford returns a relatively young, but talented squad in 2004. With the loss of four starters, including two-time All-American Curt Toppel, the Cardinal will have a much different look this season. However, Stanford will have a familiar face guiding the Cardinal attack in redshirt junior Kevin Hansen (6-5), a two-time All-MPSF selection. Redshirt junior Patrick Bomhack (6-9) gives the Cardinal an added dimension at setter, while sophomore middle blocker Chris Ahlfeldt (6-6) and junior middle blocker Craig Buell (6-5) give the Cardinal two veterans at the net. Junior David Vogel (6-3) had an outstanding fall season, making the transition from libero to outside hitter. Sophomore's Nick Manov (6-6), Ben Reddy (6-4), and Jeremy Jacobs (6-4), along with sophomore William Clayton (6-4) give the Cardinal plenty of help at outside hitter. Jacobs and freshman Brian Lindberg (6-0) should see the majority of the minutes at libero. Lindberg, Eric Jones (6-7), and Josh Schwarzapel (6-5) compose Stanford's freshman class.

THE SHAW FILE: One of the top coaches in collegiate women's volleyball history, Don Shaw began his second stint as the Stanford University men's volleyball head coach in June of 2001. Shaw begins his 24th season on The Farm in 2003 and fifth year as head coach of the Cardinal men, including two years of serving as co-coach with Fred Sturm in 1984 and 1985. In four seasons at the helm of the Cardinal men, he has compiled a 70-46 (.603) record. Shaw guided the Cardinal to a 17-12 record in 2003, their third straight top 10 final national ranking and a top five finish in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. In his two years as co-head coach in the 1980's, the Cardinal went 36-25 and finished ranked in the top five in the nation in 1985. In his 16-year tenure as Stanford women's volleyball head coach (1984-1999), Shaw guided the Cardinal to four NCAA Championships (1992, 1994, 1996, 1997) and 10 conference titles, including six Pac-10 Championships in a row from 1994-1999. Shaw compiled a career winning percentage of .863 (440-70), which still ranks as the best in NCAA history. He was named National Women's Coach of the Year in 1991 and 1997, and Regional/District Coach of the Year in 1992, 1994 and 1997. In all, he guided Stanford to the NCAA Championship match eight times in his 16 seasons. He also served as an assistant coach for the gold medal-winning United States Men's Team at the 1982 National Sports Festival as well as the assistant for the U.S. Women's Team at the 1991 Pan-Am Games in Havana, Cuba. Shaw, a charter member of the American Volleyball Coaches Association, was also a member of the NCAA District VIII Advisory Committee.