Sept. 30, 1997

Stanford Travels to Los Angeles for Key Showdowns

STANFORD BEGINS TOUGH STRETCH: Fourth-ranked Stanford University will face four ranked opponents in its next five matches, beginning with a crucial tilt at No. 7 USC on Friday at 6 p.m. Stanford wraps up the two-match Los Angeles swing at No. 21 UCLA on Sunday at 2 p.m. The Cardinal will then host No. 16 Arizona on October 15 before visiting No. 6 Washington State on October 17.

Senior Kristn Folkl

MEDIA INFORMATION: Both Friday and Saturday are radio only matches on KZSU 90.1 FM. Programming begins with the "Don Shaw Show" on Friday at 5:50 p.m. and Sunday at 1:50 p.m. In addition, "Serve It Up With Don Shaw" will air on Tuesday from 8:00-8:30 p.m. on KZSU at Old Pros Restaurant in Palo Alto (2865 El Camino Real).

NEXT HOMESTAND: Stanford will look to extend its 29-match Pac-10 home winning streak when it takes on Arizona on Friday, October 10 and Arizona State on Saturday, October 11. Both matches will start at 7 p.m. On Friday, the first 1,000 fans will receive a free water bottle courtesy of Taxi's. Saturday is half price night with all general admission tickets only $3.

THE RECORDS: Stanford posted a pair of three-game wins over the weekend to move to 12-2 overall and 3-0 in the Pac-10. The Cardinal defeated Oregon State 15-4, 15-2, 15-10 on Friday, and handled Oregon 15-3, 15-2, 15-3 on Sunday in just 63 minutes. USC is 10-1 overall and 3-1 in the Pac-10, after losing at Washington State 16-14, 15-11, 3-15, 12-15, 15-10 on Friday and beating Washington 15-10, 10-15, 15-11, 17-15 on Saturday. UCLA lost both games in Washington to drop to 5-4 and 1-3. The Bruins lost at Washington 16-14, 15-10, 18-16 on Friday and at Washington State 15-13, 8-15, 15-10, 15-12 on Saturday.

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 361-63 (.851). Shaw has led Stanford to three NCAA titles, five Pac-10 titles and eight Final Four appearances. He has guided the Cardinal to a 104-8 (.929) record in the last three-plus seasons, including a 55-2 (.965) 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. USC's Lisa Love is 367-160 (.696) in her 16th season, and UCLA's Andy Banachowski is 817-179 (.820) in his 31st campaign.

THE SERIES: Stanford is 37-8 against USC, including a 3-0 mark last season. The Cardinal beat the Trojans 15-6, 11-15, 16-14, 15-6 at Maples Pavilion on October 18, 15-6, 15-12, 15-5 in Los Angeles on November 16 and 15-3, 15-7, 15-7 in the NCAA Pacific Regional Semifinal at Stanford on December 13. The Cardinal has eliminated the Trojans from the NCAA Tournament the last four years, and seven of the last nine. The Cardinal is 18-31 against UCLA, but has won the last four meetings. Last season, Stanford defeated UCLA 10-15, 15-8, 15-12, 15-7 at Stanford on October 19 and 15-4, 15-8, 15-6 at Pauley Pavilion on November 15.

THE RANKINGS: Stanford is ranked No. 2 in the nation by Volleyball Magazine and No. 4 by the USA Today/AVCA. USC is ranked No. 7 by both the USA Today/AVCA and Volleyball Magazine, while UCLA is No. 18 according to Volleyball Magazine and No. 21 according to the USA Today/AVCA.

THE WEEK IN REVIEW:

Match #13 - #4 Stanford d. Oregon State 15-4, 15-2, 15-10 (September 26 @ Maples Pavilion): Senior Kristin Folkl (St. Louis, MO/St. Josephs Academy) had 21 kills and 14 digs to lead Stanford to the three-game win. Stanford is 25-0 all-time against OSU. Folkl was in control throughout, recording 21 of the Cardinal's 57 kills (37 percent), and finishing with a .486 hitting percentage (21 k-3 e-37 ta). Senior Barbara Ifejika (Brampton, Ontario, Canada/Mayfield Secondary) added 11 kills and nine digs for the Cardinal.

Match #14 - #4 Stanford d. Oregon 15-3, 15-2, 15-5 (September 28 @ Maples Pavilion): Stanford hit .538 (42 k-7 e-65 ta), the highest team hitting percentage in the Pac-10 this season, en route to dispatching of the Ducks in just 63 minutes. Fifth-year senior Paula McNamee (Wheaton, MD/Sidwell Friends HS) had game-highs of nine kills and eight blocks, while Kristin Folkl hit .727 with eight kills and no errors in 11 attempts. The Ducks hit just .074 (21 k-16 e-68 ta) in the match, and .000 in each of the first two games. Stanford has held opponents to fewer than 15 points in a match on five occasions in 1997 (Nevada, Missouri, Connecticut, California and Oregon), a feat it did not accomplish once in 1996.

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 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 104-8 (.929) overall on The Farm. In addition, Folkl, Ifejika, Lambert, McNamee and Sharpley are 54-1 (.982) at Maples Pavilion, 55-2 (.965) in the Pac-10 and 63-7 (.900) against ranked opposition. Those five players are playing a big part in Stanford's success in 1997, collecting 528 of the Cardinal's 731 kills (72 percent) and 176 of 254 team blocks (69 percent).

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 fifth in school history with 1,452 kills, and is just 13 behind fourth place Teresa Smith (1984-87; 1,465). Folkl, who has two years of basketball eligibility remaining, is scheduled to join Tara VanDerveer's squad following the conclusion of the volleyball season. Folkl is off to a quick start in 1997, hitting .412 with 224 kills in 44 games (5.09 k/pg). She has also hit over .500 in six of the Cardinal's first 14 contests. Here's a look at Folkl's career statistics:

Year    GP     K    E   TA  .PCT  SA  DIGS  BS   BA
1994    102  478  147   947 .350  36  228   34   52
1995     66  245   90   491 .316  22  165   13   38
1996    111  505  162  1124 .305  34  258   22   83
1997     44  224   39   449 .412   5  110    9   26 
TOT.    323 1452  438  3011 .337  97  761   78  199

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 .402 with 97 kills (3.03 k/pg), 81 digs and 38 blocks. Here's a look at Walsh's career statistics:

Year    GP    K     E   TA   .PCT  SA  DIGS  BS   BA
1996    109  521  137  1042  .369  47   309  14  105
1997     32   97   21   189  .429   4    81   5   33 
TOT.    141  618  158  1231  .374  51   390  19  138

SHARPLEY RUNNING THE SHOW - AGAIN: Senior setter Lisa Sharpley is running 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 3,360 career assists and currently ranks third in school history behind Wendy Rush (5,003; 1984-87) and Carrie Feldman (4,461; 1989-92). The two-time All-American has played in just 29 of 44 games in 1997, however, while recovering from surgery to repair a lateral meniscus tear in July.

CARDINAL CORNER: Stanford currently leads the Pac-10 with a .333 team hitting percentage, ahead of USC's (.303) ... Stanford has the five highest single match team hitting percentages in the Pac-10 this season. The Cardinal hit .538 vs. Oregon on September 28, .500 at Connecticut on September 6, .476 vs. Oklahoma on September 20, .455 at Duke on September 10 and .452 at Nevada on September 1 ... Stanford currently has three players in the top four in the Pac-10 in hitting percentage - Kristin Folkl (2nd, .412), Barbara Ifejika (3rd, .404) and Kerri Walsh (4th, .402) ... Stanford is four victories away from clinching a winning regular season record. The Cardinal has not had a losing campaign since the program began in 1976, which spans 21 seasons ... Stanford currently ranks 12th in the nation in average home attendance at 1,789 per match. The Cardinal has drawn 10,736 fans to Maples Pavilion for six home matches.

THE NEWCOMERS: The Cardinal has five freshmen on its 1997 roster, including highly touted setters Robyn Lewis (Long Beach, CA) and Lindsay Kagawa (Albany, CA) and starting middle blocker candidate Jennifer Detmer (Thousand Oaks, CA). The trio is joined by a pair of walk-ons - Alex Newell (London, England) and Monica Sergott (Rancho Santa Fe, CA) - who are also expected to contribute this season. Lewis and Kagawa will battle for time at setter behind senior All-American Lisa Sharpley. Kagawa was a two-time North Coast Section Athlete of the Year, while Lewis joined the Cardinal last week after touring Brazil with the U.S. Youth National Team. Detmer will challenge Paula McNamee for the starting middle blocker slot vacated by All-American Eileen Murfee, while Newell will see time at middle blocker and Sergott in the back row.

THE SCHEDULE: Stanford once again will face one of the toughest schedules in the nation this season, facing 11 of the schools in the USA Today/AVCA top 25. Stanford will also face national runner-up Hawaii and 1996 regional finalists Penn State and Brigham Young. The Pac-10 schedule also expects to be a rigorous one against the likes of No. 7 Washington State, No. 19 Washington, No. 20 Arizona and No. 21 UCLA. Stanford opens the season with eight of its first 10 matches on the road, but later concludes the year with six of its final eight matches on The Farm.

Pac-10 Standings

                Conference          Overall
School          W   L   .Pct  GB    W   L   .Pct
Washington St.  4   0  1.000  --   16   0  1.000
Stanford        3   0  1.000  .5   12   2   .857
USC             3   1   .750  1    10   1   .909
Washington      3   1   .750  1     8   5   .615
Arizona         2   1   .667 1.5   10   1   .909
California      1   2   .333 2.5    6   6   .500
Oregon State    1   3   .250  3     8   7   .533
UCLA            1   3   .250  3     5   4   .556    
Arizona State   0   3   .000 3.5    9   5   .643
Oregon          0   4   .000  4     7   6   .538

Volleyball Polls

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