April 22, 2003

WOODLAND, Calif. - Stanford senior opposite hitter Curt Toppel (Pacific Palisades, CA) has been named First-Team All-Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, as voted by the conference's 12 head coaches. This is the 11th time in the last 13 years that Stanford has had least one player selected to the eight-member First-Team.

This is the fourth time Toppel has been named All-MPSF, and third time he has been selected to the First-Team. He was also a First-Team selection in 2000 and 2002, in addition to being a Second-Team selection in 2001. Toppel is just the third Cardinal, along with Matt Fuerbringer (1995-97) and Mike Lambert (1994-95; 1997), to be named to the All-MPSF First-Team three times.

In MPSF play this season, Toppel recorded 246 kills (4.82 per game), 74 digs (1.45 pg), 39 blocks (0.76 pg) and 14 service aces (0.27 pg). He also hit .346 (246 k-74 e-497 ta) in 51 games played.

Stanford also had three players named Honorable Mention All-MPSF --- senior outside hitter William Strickland (Malibu, CA), redshirt sophomore setter Kevin Hansen (Newport Beach, CA) and senior middle blocker Paul Bocage (Princeton, NJ). This is the second Honorable Mention All-MPSF honor for both Strickland and Hansen, and the first for Bocage.