Stanford Ready for Second Half of Pac-10 Play

STANFORD HITS PAC-10 HALFWAY MARK UNDEFEATED - AGAIN: Fourth-ranked Stanford University completed the first half of the Pacific-10 Conference schedule with a 9-0 mark for the fourth consecutive season after posting wins at No. 10 Washington State and No. 21 Washington last weekend. But most impressively, Stanford lost just one game in those opening nine contests after losing six in 1996, four in 1995 and two in 1994. Stanford has won its last 13 matches overall, and 39 of its last 40 games dating back to September 10. The Cardinal looks to build on its two-game Pac-10 lead this weekend when it visits Oregon on Friday at 7 p.m. and Oregon State on Sunday at 1 p.m.

Kristin Folkl became the fourth player in school history with 1,500 kills. (File Photo)

MEDIA INFORMATION: Friday's match at Oregon will be broadcast on a tape-delayed basis by Fox Sports Northwest on Saturday at 10:30a.m., but will not be aired in the Bay Area. Both matches will be broadcast live on KZSU 90.1 FM, beginning with "The Don Shaw Show" on Friday at 6:50 p.m. and Sunday at 12:50 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: UCLA makes its only Maples Pavilion appearance on Friday, October 31 at 7 p.m. with the first 500 fans receiving a free mini-volleyball courtesy of Spalding. The Cardinal then hosts USC on Sunday, November 2 at 1 p.m. on Buck/Cardinal Athletic Scholarship $1 Day with all general admission tickets available for only a buck.

MAKE A NOTE OF IT, PART TWO: The Friday, November 7 match at Arizona State, now scheduled to begin at 3 p.m., will be broadcast by the Fox Sports Network.

THE RECORDS: First place Stanford recorded its 15th and 16th 3-0 wins of 1997 last weekend to improve to 18-2 overall and 9-0 in the Pac-10. Stanford went 2-0 in Washington, marking the first time that has been done since the Cardinal did it in 1995 (d. Washington 3-1, d. WSU 3-2). The last time Washington and Washington State were defeated 3-0 at home in the same weekend was by UCLA in 1993. Last weekend, Stanford defeated No. 10 Washington State 15-11, 15-8, 16-14 on Friday and No. 21 Washington 15-8, 15-13, 15-12 on Saturday. Oregon, losers of 11 straight, is 7-13 overall and 0-9 in the Pac-10. The Ducks lost at Arizona State 15-12, 15-11, 15-1 on Friday and No. 15 Arizona 15-7, 15-6, 15-11 on Saturday. Oregon State is 11-10 overall and 3-6 in the conference, following a 15-12, 15-11, 15-4 loss at No. 15 Arizona on Friday and a 15-5, 15-17, 15-12, 16-14 win at Arizona State 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 367-63 (.853). Shaw has led Stanford to three NCAA titles, five Pac-10 titles and eight Final Four appearances. He has guided the Cardinal to a 110-8 (.932) record in the last three-plus seasons, including a 61-2 (.968) 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. Cathy Nelson is 86-71 (.548) in her fourth season at Oregon, and Oregon State's Jeff Mozzochi is 367-144 (.718) in his 12th season overall.

THE SERIES: The Cardinal is 25-2 against Oregon, including a 63-minute, 15-3, 15-2, 15-5 win at Maples Pavilion on September 28. Oregon State has not beaten Stanford in 25 tries, including a 15-4, 15-2, 15-10 Cardinal victory on September 26 on The Farm.

THE RANKINGS: Stanford is ranked No. 2 in the nation by Volleyball Magazine and No. 4 by the USA Today/AVCA. Oregon and Oregon State are not ranked.

THE WEEK IN REVIEW:
Match #19 - #4 Stanford d. #10 Washington State 15-11, 15-8, 16-14 (October 17 @ Bohler Gym): The Cardinal avenged its only Pac-10 loss of 1996 by knocking off the Cougars in front of 3,000 fans. Stanford scored five unanswered points to erase an 11-10 deficit in game one, and survived four game points and a 14-11 deficit in game three. Senior Kristin Folkl (St. Louis, MO/St. Josephs Academy) led the way with a match-high 19 kills and 10 digs. Sophomore Kerri Walsh (Saratoga, CA/Archbishop Mitty HS) added career-highs of 23 digs and 13 assists, and sophomore Jaimi Gregory (Westminster, CA/Wilson HS) had a career-high 19 digs.

Match #20 - #4 Stanford d. #21 Washington 15-8, 15-13, 15-12 (October 18 @ Hec Edmundson Pavilion): Stanford outblocked Washington, the NCAA's top blocking team, 16-12 en route to the 3-0 win. The Cardinal overcame a 5-0 deficit in game one, and reeled off six unanswered points to erase a 13-9 deficit and take game two. Senior Kristin Folkl hit .347 with 24 kills, eight digs and five blocks, while senior Paula McNamee (Wheaton, MD/Sidwell Friends HS) had 12 kills and sophomore Sarah Clark (Kamuela, HI/Hawaii Prep) hit .500 with 11 kills.

Debbie Lambert (File Photo)

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 (Brampton, Ontario, Canada/Mayfield Secondary), Debbie Lambert (Kaneohe, HI/Punahou HS), Paula McNamee and Lisa Sharpley (Los Altos, CA/Los Altos HS) - 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 110-8 (.932) overall on The Farm. In addition, Folkl, Ifejika, Lambert, McNamee and Sharpley are 55-1 (.982) at Maples Pavilion, 61-2 (.968) in the Pac-10 and 68-7 (.907) against ranked opposition. Those five players are a big part of Stanford's success in 1997, collecting 761 of the Cardinal's 1075 kills (71 percent) and 259 of 386 team blocks (67 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. Folkl had 17 kills on Saturday, October 11 against Arizona State to become just the fourth player in school history to surpass the 1,500 mark. The Cardinal co-captain is currently fourth in school history with 1,557 kills, and is 194 behind third place Kim Oden (1982-85; 1,751). 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 .371 with 329 kills in 63 games (5.22 k/pg). 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    63  329  69  701  .371   6  148  15  41 
TOT.   342 1557 468 3263  .334  98  799  84 214

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 underwent surgery on her right shoulder in April, and has missed three matches in 1997. So far this season, she is hitting .354 with 144 kills (3.00 k/pg), 138 digs and 60 blocks. The sophomore posted career-highs of 23 digs and 13 assists in Friday's win at Washington State. 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    48  144  35  308  .354   6  138  10  50 
TOT.   157  665 172 1350  .365  53  447  24 155

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 has 3,612 career assists and currently ranks third in school history behind Wendy Rush (5,003; 1984-87) and Carrie Feldman (4,461; 1989-92). Sharpley was also named Pac-10 Player of the Week for the third time in her career on October 6 after recording 71 assists (11.83 pg), 19 digs and four blocks in road wins at USC and UCLA. The Los Altos native also earned Pac-10 POW honors on November 14, 1994 and October 30, 1995.

CARDINAL CORNER: Stanford currently leads the Pac-10 with a .312 team hitting percentage, well ahead of second place USC's (.270) ... 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 five in the Pac-10 in hitting percentage - Barbara Ifejika (2nd, .387), Kristin Folkl (3rd, .371) and Kerri Walsh (5th, .354) ... Stanford can clinch its eighth consecutive 20 win season with a pair of victories this weekend ... 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 Conference Standings

                    Conference          Overall
School              W   L   .Pct   GB   W    L  .Pct
Stanford            9   0  1.000   --   18   2  .900
USC                 7   2   .778    2   15   2  .882
Washington State    6   3   .667    3   18   3  .857
Arizona             6   3   .667    3   14   3  .824
Washington          6   3   .667    3   11   7  .611
UCLA                4   5   .444    5    8   7  .533    
Arizona State       3   6   .333    6   12   8  .667
Oregon State        3   6   .333    6   11  10  .524
California          1   8   .111    8    6  12  .333
Oregon              0   9   .000    9    7  13  .350

Stanford Volleyball Season Highs

#2 Lisa Sharpley
Kills: 7, twice, last at Washington State (10/17)
Attempts: 11, twice, last at Washington State (10/17)
Hitting Pct: .750 (3-0-4) at California (9/16)
Digs: 13 at UCLA (10/5)
Blocks: 7 vs. Oklahoma (9/19)
Service Aces: 4 at California (9/16)
Assists: 62 vs. Arizona (10/10)

#3 Monica Sergott
Kills: 1 vs. Texas A&M (8/22)
Attempts: 1 vs. Texas A&M (8/22)
Digs: 5 vs. Penn State (8/23)

#4 Katherine Kuchenbecker
Digs: 3 at North Carolina (9/12)
Service Aces: 1 at Connecticut (9/6)

#7 Paula McNamee
Kills: 12, twice, last at Washington (10/18)
Attempts: 26 at Washington (10/18)
Hitting Pct: .647 (11-0-17) vs. Oklahoma (9/19)
Digs: 5, twice, at North Carolina (9/12)
Blocks: 8, twice, vs. Oregon (9/28)
Service Aces: 1, three times, last vs. ASU (10/11)
Assists: 8 at Duke (9/10)

#8 Barbara Ifejika
Kills: 14 vs. Arizona (10/10)
Attempts: 30 at Washington State (10/17)
Hitting Pct: .700 (7-0-10) vs. Oregon (9/28)
Digs: 11, twice, vs. Oregon State (9/26)
Blocks: 6, four times, last at Washington (10/18)
Service Aces: 4 vs. Texas A&M (8/22)
Assists: 4 vs. Penn State (9/6)

#9 Kerri Walsh
Kills: 22 vs. Arizona (10/10)
Attempts: 44 vs. Arizona (10/10)
Hitting Pct: .625 (5-0-8) at Connecticut (9/6)
Digs: 23 at Washington State (10/17)
Blocks: 6, twice, last vs. Arizona (10/10)
Service Aces: 2, twice, last vs. Arizona (10/10)
Assists: 13 at Washington State (10/17)

#12 Sarah Clark
Kills: 11 at Washington (10/18)
Attempts: 28 vs. Texas A&M (8/22)
Hitting Pct: .500 (11-1-20) at Washington (10/18)
Digs: 6, twice, last vs. Arizona State (10/11)
Blocks: 2, three times, last at Washington (10/18)
Service Aces: 1 vs. Arizona State (10/11)
Assists: 3 vs. Oklahoma (9/19)

#15 Debbie Lambert
Kills: 10, twice, last vs. Penn State (9/6)
Attempts: 34 vs. Penn State (9/6)
Hitting Pct: .571 (5-1-7) vs. Oregon (9/28)
Digs: 19 vs. Missouri (9/5)
Blocks: 7 vs. Texas A&M (8/22)
Service Aces: 2 vs. Texas A&M (8/22)
Assists: 1, six times, last vs. Arizona State (10/11)

#16 Jaimi Gregory
Kills: 10 vs. Penn State (9/6)
Attempts: 36 vs. Penn State (9/6)
Hitting Pct: .667 (8-0-12) at Connecticut (9/6)
Digs: 19 at Washington State (10/17)
Blocks: 2 at Connecticut (9/6)
Service Aces: 2 vs. Colorado (9/20)
Assists: 5 vs. Arizona (10/10)

#17 Lindsay Kagawa
Kills: 3 vs. Missouri (9/5)
Attempts: 4, twice, last vs. Penn State (9/6)
Hitting Pct: .750 (3-0-4) vs. Missouri (9/5)
Digs: 13 vs. Penn State (9/6)
Blocks: 5 at Nevada (9/2)
Service Aces: 2 vs. Arizona State (10/11)
Assists: 48, twice, last vs. Penn State (9/6)

#23 Sarah Neal
Attempts: 2 at Sacramento State (9/3)
Digs: 11 at Washington (10/18)
Service Aces: 2, twice, last at USC (10/3)
Assists: 1 vs. Missouri (9/5)

#24 Kristin Folkl
Kills: 29 vs. Penn State (9/6)
Attempts: 67 vs. Penn State (9/6)
Hitting Pct: .727 (8-0-11) vs. Oregon (9/28)
Digs: 14, twice, last vs. Oregon State (9/26)
Blocks: 7 at USC (10/3)
Service Aces: 2 vs. Texas A&M (8/22)
Assists: 5 vs. Arizona (10/10)

#31 Robyn Lewis
Attempts: 1 vs. Colorado (9/20)
Digs: 4, twice, last vs. Arizona State (10/11)
Blocks: 3 vs. Oregon State (9/26)
Service Aces: 1 vs. Colorado (9/20)
Assists: 12 vs. Arizona State (10/21)

#32 Jennifer Detmer
Kills: 7 vs. Arizona State (10/11)
Attempts: 9 vs. Arizona State (10/11)
Hitting Pct: .667 (7-1-9) vs. Arizona State (10/11)
Digs: 1 vs. Arizona (10/10)
Blocks: 7 vs. Arizona State (10/11)

Team
Kills: 83 vs. Arizona (10/10)
Attempts: 219 vs. Penn State (9/6)
Hitting Pct: .538 vs. Oregon (9/28)
Digs: 81 vs. Penn State (9/6)
Blocks: 16.5 at Washington (10/18)
Service Aces: 12 vs. Texas A&M (8/22)
Assists: 78 vs. Arizona (10/10)

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