Sept. 4, 1997

Women's Volleyball Looks for Revenge

PENN STATE, STANFORD TO MEET AGAIN: Two of the top teams in collegiate women's volleyball will meet for the second time in two weeks when top-ranked Penn State and third-ranked Stanford collide at Connecticut's Ikon Husky Invitational on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. (EST). The Nittany Lions won the first meeting 15-8, 15-13, 15-9 on August 22 to win the State Farm/NACWAA Volleyball Classic, and snap Stanford's 50-match home winning streak. Stanford opens the Ikon Husky Invitational by taking on Missouri on Friday at 5 p.m. (EST) and host Connecticut on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. (EST).

MEDIA INFORMATION: All three of Stanford's matches from Connecticut will be broadcast on KZSU (90.1 FM). Both the Missouri and Connecticut matches will be broadcast live, while Saturday's match againt Penn State will be aired on a tape delayed basis immediately following the Stanford-San Jose State football contest which kicks off at 12:30 p.m. (PST).

NEXT HOMESTAND: Following the conclusion of this eight-match road swing, the Cardinal returns home for four contests beginning with the Stanford Showcase on September 19-20. The tournament begins on Friday with No. 9 UC Santa Barbara meeting No. 22 Colorado at 5 p.m. and No. 3 Stanford taking on Oklahoma at 7 p.m. The first 1,000 fans in attendance on Friday will receive a free Stanford magnet schedule courtesy of Taxi's. Action concludes on Saturday with team poster and autograph night as Oklahoma takes on UC Santa Barbara at 5 p.m. and Stanford plays Colorado at 7 p.m.

THE RECORDS: The Cardinal is off to a 3-1 start in 1997, including a second place finish at the State Farm/NACWAA Volleyball Classic at Maples Pavilion. In that tournament, Stanford defeated then-No. 13 Texas A&M 12-15, 15-9, 15-11, 15-9 on August 22 and fell to then-No. 2 Penn State 15-8, 15-13, 15-9 on August 23. The Cardinal then kicked off an eight-match road trip with a 15-2, 15-3, 15-1 win at Nevada on September 1 and a 15-7, 15-10, 15-9 victory at Sacramento State on September 2. Missouri went 0-28 last season, but kicked off 1997 by going 5-1 at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Panther Invitational. At the Panther Invitational, the Tigers defeated Chicago State, UNC Greensboro, Wisconsin-Green Bay (15-6, 15-8, 15-5) and Northeastern Illinois (15-3, 15-3, 15-8) 3-0, beat Indiana State 3-1 and fell to Wisconsin-Milwaukee (15-8, 15-11, 15-6) 3-0. Connecticut opened the season by going 3-1 at the North Carolina Nike Fall Classic on August 29-31. The Huskies beat Southern Illinois 15-9, 19-21, 15-8, 15-17, 15-13, Vermont 11-15, 15-9, 17-15, 15-12 and North Carolina State 13-15, 15-5, 19-17, 13-15, 15-11, while falling to North Carolina 16-14, 12-15, 15-7, 15-7. Penn State is 3-0, including wins over then-No. 8 BYU 15-8, 15-5, 12-15, 15-13 and then-No. 1 Staford 15-8, 15-13, 15-9 to the capture the State Farm/NACWAA Volleyball Classic on August 22-23. The Nittany Lions also posted a 15-3, 15-2, 15-0 home win over Duquesne on August 29.

THE COACH: In his 14 years on The Farm, Stanford head coach Don Shaw has amassed the best winning percentage in NCAA Division I history. Shaw, who served as co-head coach with Fred Sturm in 1984-85 before taking sole control in 1986, has a career mark of 352-62 (.850). Shaw has led Stanford to three NCAA titles, five Pac-10 titles and eight Final Four appearances. He has also guided the Cardinal to a 97-7 (.933) mark in the last three seasons, including a 52-2 (.963) mark in the Pac-10. The 1991 National Coach of the Year and 1992 and 1994 Regional Coach of the Year also coached four players - Barbara Fontana, Kristin Klein, Bev Oden and Nancy Reno - who participated in the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. Disa Johnson is 20-78 (.204) in her fourth year at Missouri, Ellen Crandall is 123-55 (.691) in her sixth year at Connecticut and Russ Rose is 589-117 (.834) in his 19th campaign at Penn State.

THE SERIES: This will be the first time Stanford has met either Missouri or Connecticut. The Cardinal is 1-1 against Penn State. The Cardinal fell to the Nittany Lions on August 23rd of this season (15-8, 15-13, 15-9), and beat Penn State 3-0 (15-13, 15-6, 15-13) at the NCAA Mideast Regional in Champaign, Illinois on December 11, 1992.

THE RANKINGS: Stanford is ranked No. 2 in the nation by Volleyball Magazine and No. 3 by the USA Today/AVCA. Penn State is ranked No. 1 in both polls, while Missouri and Connecticut are not ranked.

THE WEEK IN REVIEW:
Match #1 - No. 1 Stanford d. No. 13 Texas A&M 12-15, 15-9, 15-11, 15-9 (Aug. 22 @ Maples Pavilion): Stanford became just the fourth team in NCAA Division I history to win 50 straight matches at home when it dispatched of Texas A&M in the first round of the State Farm/NACWAA Volleyball Classic. Senior Kristin Folkl (St. Louis, MO/St. Joseph's Academy) hit .306 with 20 kills to lead the Cardinal, who were without the services of sophomore All-American Kerri Walsh (Saratoga, CA/Archbishop Mitty HS). Walsh missed the entire tournament because of a shoulder injury. Senior setter Lisa Sharpley (Los Altos, CA/Los Altos HS) had 51 assists and 10 digs, while senior middle blocker Barbara Ifejika (Brampton, Ontario, Canada/Mayfield Secondary) contributed 11 kills, seven digs and six blocks. In the other semifinal, Penn State defeated BYU 15-8, 15-5, 12-15, 15-13.
Match #2 - No. 2 Penn State d. No. 1 Stanford 15-8, 15-13, 15-9 (Aug. 23 @ Maples Pavilion): The Nittany Lions handed the Cardinal its first home loss since November 17, 1993 to win the State Farm/NACWAA Volleyball Classic. The Nittany Lions outhit the Cardinal .342-.203, and rode 15 kills, 13 digs and nine blocks from senior All-American Terri Zemaitis to the win. All-Tournament selection Kristin Folkl led the Cardinal with 19 kills and eight digs. Joining Folkl on the State Farm/NACWAA All-Tournament Team were MVP Bonnie Bremner (Penn State), Zemaitis, Christy Cochran (Penn State), Amy Steele Gant (BYU), Anna-Lena Smith (BYU) and Stacy Sykora (Texas A&M). BYU captured third place in the tournament with a 15-5, 15-8, 15-10 victory over Texas A&M.
Match #3 - No. 3 Stanford d. Nevada 15-2, 15-3, 15-1 (Sept. 1 @ Old Gym): Stanford posted its most lopsided win since 1995 in easily disaptching the Wolfpack. The six points scored was the fewest by a Cardinal opponent since Eastern Michigan (15-1, 15-5, 15-0) on September 4, 1995 at Maples Pavilion. The Wolfpack hit just -.165, with 13 kills and 26 errors in 79 attempts, while the Cardinal hit .452. In her 1997 debut, sophomore Kerri Walsh had six kills and four digs, while senior Paula McNamee (Wheaton, MD/Sidwell Friends HS) had a season-high seven kills. Freshman setter Lindsay Kagawa (Albany, CA/Albany HS) added 29 assists in her first collegiate start.
Match #4 - #3 Stanford d. Sacramento State 15-7, 15-10, 15-9 (Sept. 2 @ Hornet Gym): Senior Kristin Folkl had a match-high 15 kills to lead Stanford to its second consecutive road win. Stanford held the Hornets to a .124 team hitting percentage, and jumped out to big early leads in all three games (5-0 game one, 3-0 game two, 6-0 game three). Kerri Walsh added 12 kills, nine digs and four blocks and sophomore Jaimi Gregory (Westminster, CA/Wilson HS) 10 digs. Setter Lisa Sharpley sat out her second straight match with a knee ailment, but is expected to play this weekend.

STANFORD TABBED AS PAC-10 FAVORITE: In the Pac-10 Preseason Coaches Poll released on August 18, Stanford was a unanimous choice to win the conference title for the fourth consecutive year. Stanford received all nine possible first place votes and 90 out of 90 possible points. USC was picked to finish second, followed by UCLA, Washington State, Washington, Arizona, Oregon State, California, Oregon and Arizona State.

SENIOR DOMINANCE: The five members of Stanford's senior class - Kristin Folkl, Barbara Ifejika, Debbie Lambert, Paula McNamee and Lisa Sharpley - have a chance to be the first NCAA women's volleyball players to win three titles in four years. The class of '98 has won NCAA titles in 1994 and 1996, and is 95-7 (.931) on The Farm. In addition, Folkl, Ifejika, Lambert, McNamee and Sharpley are 48-1 (.980) at Maples Pavilion and 62-6 (.912) against ranked opposition.

FOLKL LOOKS TO GO OUT IN STYLE: Two-sport standout and three-time women's volleyball All-American Kristin Folkl has her eyes on her third volleyball national title. The St. Louis, Missouri native has played three seasons of volleyball and two seasons of basketball on The Farm, and led the Cardinal to the Final Four on all five occasions. Folkl was a Second Team All-American and member of the NCAA Final Four All-Tournament Team in in 1996, en route to hitting .305 with 505 kills, 258 digs and 105 blocks. The Cardinal co-captain is currently sixth in school history with 1,291 kills, and is just 62 behind fifth place Cary Wendell (1992-95; 1,353). Folkl, who has two years of basketball eligibility remaining, is scheduled to join Tara VanDerveer's squad following the conclusion of the volleyball season.

WALSH LOOKS TO REPEAT FRESHMAN SUCCESS: First Team All-American and 1996 National Freshman of the Year Kerri Walsh has a tough act to follow in her second year on The Farm. Walsh needed just one season to establish herself as one of the top players in the country, and emerge as a top contender for a roster spot at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia. In addition to All-American and Freshman of the Year Honors, Walsh was named the 1996 Final Four Most Valuable Player, First Team All-Pac-10, All-Pacific Regional and AVCA National Player of the Week. Her 521 kills in 1996 was the second highest single season total in school history, behind only Teresa Smith's 563 in 1986. Walsh also ranks third in school history in single season service aces (47) and fifth in hitting percentage (.369). Walsh underwent surgery on her right shoulder in April, and missed the first two matches of 1997. Since her return, she is hitting .457 wih 18 kills, 13 digs and five blocks.

SHARPLEY TO RUN THE SHOW - AGAIN: Senior setter Lisa Sharpley will run the Cardinal offense for the fourth straight year, and the second in the 5-1 set. Sharpley shared setting and hitting duties with two-time National Player of the Year Cary Wendell in 1994 and 1995, but served as the primary setter last season. Sharpley immediately thrived in the 5-1 offense. Stanford was among the best in the nation with a .301 team hitting percentage in 1996, and hit .350 in the national title match vs. Hawaii. Sharpley has 3,102 career assists and currently ranks third in school history behind Wendy Rush (5,003; 1984-87) and Carrie Feldman (4,461; 1989-92).

Pacific-10 Conference 1997 Standings
                Conference          Overall
School          W   L   .Pct    GB  W   L   .Pct
Washington St.  0   0   .000    --  4   0   1.000
Arizona State   0   0   .000    --  3   0   1.000
USC             0   0   .000    --  3   0   1.000
Washington      0   0   .000    --  3   0   1.000
Arizona         0   0   .000    --  2   0   1.000
California      0   0   .000    --  2   1   .667
Oregon          0   0   .000    --  2   1   .667
Stanford        0   0   .000    --  2   1   .667
Oregon State    0   0   .000    --  1   3   .250
UCLA            0   0   .000    --  0   0   .000

Stanford Record Book
Career Kills
1. Kristin Klein (1988-91)      1,909
2. Bev Oden (1989-92)           1,753
3. Kim Oden (1982-85)           1,751
4. Teresa Smith (1984-87)       1,465
5. Cary Wendell (1992-95)       1,353
Kristin Folkl (1994-present)    1,291
Career Service Aces
1. Teresa Smith (1984-87)       189
2. Barbara Fontana (1983-86)    135
3. Wendy Rush (1984-87)         132
4. Amy Hayes (1985-88)          120
5. Kristin Klein (1988-91)      113
Kristin Folkl (1994-present)     95
Career Digs
1. Kristin Klein (1988-91)      1,456
2. Cary Wendell (1992-95)       1,319
3. Wendy Rush (1984-87)         1,262
4. Barbara Fontana (1983-86)    1,210
5. Bev Oden (1989-92)           1,087
Lisa Sharpley (1994-present)      827
Career Total Blocks
1. Kim Oden (1982-85)           665
2. Bev Oden (1989-92)           650
3. Laura Olesen (1985-89)       507
4. Nancy Reno (1984-87)         402
5. Amy Cooper (1988-91)         381
Barbara Ifejika (1994-present)  323
Career Assists
1. Wendy Rush (1984-87)         5,003
2. Carrie Feldman (1989-92)     4,461
3. Lisa Sharpley (1994-present) 3,102
4. Piper Hahn (1990-93)         2,084
5. Cary Wendell (1992-95)       2,073
Pac-10 Career Kill Leaders
1. Natalie Williams (UCLA; 89-92)       2,115
2. Kristin Klein (STAN; 88-91)          1,909
3. Christine Garner (ASU; 92-95)        1,871
4. Barb Bell (ARIZ; 93-96)              1,859
5. Sarah Silvernail (WSU; 93-96)        1,848
25. Cara Dane (CAL; 90-93)              1,332
25. Laurie Wetzel (WASH; 86-88)         1,332   
27. Dragana Djordevic (WASH; 91-95)     1,305
28. Kristin Folkl (STAN; 94-presemt)    1,291
29. Dawnn Charroin (ORE; 88-91)         1,283
30. Christy Nore (ASU; 86-88)           1,278

Volleyball Polls
USA Today/AVCA
(As of September 1)
 1. Penn State (3-0)
 2. Florida (3-0)
 3. STANFORD (1-1)
 4. Long Beach State (2-0)
 5. Nebraska (2-1)
 6. Washington State (4-0)
 7. Pacific (3-0)
 8. Texas (0-0)
 9. UC Santa Barbara (2-0)
10. USC (3-0)
11. Hawaii (3-0)
12. Michigan State (2-1)
13. BYU (1-3)
14. Wisconsin (3-0)
15. Loyola Marymount (3-0)
16. Texas A&M (3-2)
17. Ohio State (3-1)
18. Washington (3-0)
19. Arizona (2-0)
20. Notre Dame (2-1)
21. UCLA (0-0)
22. Colorado (1-0)
23. Maryland (4-0)
24. Colorado State (3-0)
25. Arkansas (3-0)
Volleyball Magazine
(As of September 1)
 1. Penn State (3-0)
 2. STANFORD (1-1)
 3. Florida (3-0)
 4. Long Beach State (2-0)
 5. Nebraska (2-1)
 6. Washington State (4-0)
 7. Pacific (3-0)
 8. UC Santa Barbara (2-0)
 9. Texas (0-0)
10. USC (3-0)
11. UCLA (0-0)
12. BYU (1-3)
13. Michigan State (2-1)
14. Texas A&M (3-2)
15. Ohio State (2-1)
16. Loyola Marymount (3-0)
17. Washington (3-0)
18. Hawaii (3-0)
19. Arizona (2-0)
20. Notre Dame (2-1)