Oct. 22, 2007

Stanford Men's Volleyball opened up their exhibition season last weekend by taking the Dino Cup championship after three impressive wins. Stanford defeated the University of Calgary, and then followed up that win with two more wins against the University of Alberta and Pacific. The Alberta win was particularly impressive as they came into the match with a 24-game winning streak against the MPSF conference, which is regarded as the best conference in the country.

The Cardinal opened up their tournament with a 3-1 win over the home-standing Dinos of Calgary last Thursday night, 25-21, 20-25, 25-22, 25-23. Sophomore setter Kawika Shoji, led the Stanford offense by hitting .486 in the match. Calgary hit the ball at a strong percentage (.414), but the difference was the Cardinal produced 65 kills to the Dino's 47. Leading the way for the Cardinal was sophomore Evan Romero, who produced a career-high 21 kills at an efficiency of .581.

In the second match the Cardinal defeated the top-ranked team in Canada in the University of Alberta, 18-25, 31-29, 20-25, 26-24, 15-10. The Golden Bears were a veteran team that was coming off of a runner-up finish in the CIS Championships last season. The team dropped the first set 18-25, but regrouped to win the second set 31-29 and the fourth set 26-24 after falling down two games to one. Romero once again led Stanford with 19 kills in the match and senior outside hitter Matt Ceran was right behind with 18 kills on the evening.

With the two victories in hand, the Cardinal defeated the University of Pacific 25-15, 25-17, 24-26, 25-23. Romero led the Cardinal for the third straight match with 12 kills in the strong win. Pacific was a team that the Cardinal struggled with in conference last season so it was definitely encouraging for the squad to beat a MPSF foe.

Stanford sophomore outside hitter Kawijka Shoji was named tournament MVP, and Romero had more kills than any other player in the tournament. Cardinal freshman libero Jordan Inufuku was also named to the All-Tournament team for the Cardinal.

The team now breaks for a month before hosting the Stanford Invitational on Nov. 17.

2007 Husky Dino Cup - Tournament Results

FINAL STANDINGS

1. Stanford (3-0)
2. Alberta (2-1)
3. Calgary (1-2)
4. Pacific (0-3)

TOURNAMENT ALL-STAR TEAM

Kawika Shoji (Stanford) - MVP
Jordan Inafuku (Stanford)
Evan Romero (Stanford)
Thomas Jarmoc (Alberta)
Ben Saxton (Alberta)
Kris Inglis (Calgary)
Pekka Seppanen (Pacific)

Thursday, Oct. 18
8 p.m. Men: Stanford def. Calgary 3-1 (25-21, 20-25, 25-22, 25-23)

Friday, Oct. 19
3 p.m. Men: Stanford def. Alberta 3-2 (18-25, 31-29, 20-25, 26-24, 15-10)
8 p.m. Men: Calgary def. Pacific 3-2 (25-17, 25-16, 20-25, 16-25, 15-8)

Saturday, Oct. 20
11 a.m. Men: Alberta def. Pacific 3-0 (25-23, 25-17, 28-26)
5 p.m. Men: Stanford def. Pacific 3-1 (25-15, 25-17, 24-26, 25-23)
7 p.m. Men: Alberta def. Calgary 3-0 (25-12, 25-20, 25-17)