Stanford Looks to Continue Pac-10 Dominance Against UCLA and USC

Arizona 14-1    Arizona State   14-1    California      15-0
Oregon  16-0    Oregon State    16-0    UCLA             8-7
USC     14-1    Washington      15-0    Washington St.  14-1

Lisa Sharpley (File Photo)

MEDIA INFORMATION: The USC match will be televised on a tape-delayed basis by Palo Alto's Cable Co-op on Sunday, November 2 at 8:30 p.m. and Saturday, November 8 at 8 p.m. 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).

MATCH PROMOTIONS: 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: Stanford clinched its eighth straight 20-win season over the weekend, and is now 20-2 overall and 11-0 in the Pac-10. The Cardinal won at Oregon 15-7, 15-7, 15-13 on Friday and at Oregon State 15-8, 18-16, 15-4 on Sunday. The Cardinal has 18 three-game wins to its credit in 1997, compared to 20 three-game victories all of last season. UCLA is 9-9 overall and 4-7 in conference after a 15-8, 11-15, 15-7, 15-12 home loss to Washington State on Friday and a 14-16, 15-9, 15-7, 15-10 loss to Washington on Sunday. Second-place USC is 16-3 overall and 8-3 in the Pac-10 after beating Washington State 15-13, 15-9, 15-12 on Thursday and losing to Washington 15-11, 16-14, 13-15, 13-15, 15-11 on Friday.

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 369-63 (.854). Shaw has led Stanford to three NCAA titles, five Pac-10 titles and eight Final Four appearances. He has guided the Cardinal to a 112-8 (.933) record in the last three-plus seasons, including a 63-2 (.969) 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. UCLA's Andy Banachowski, the winningest coach in NCAA Division I history, is 821-184 (.817) in his 31st season, while USC's Lisa Love is 373-162 (.697) in her 16th campaign.

THE SERIES: Stanford is 19-31 all-time against UCLA, but has won its last five Pac-10 contests against the Bruins. Stanford held UCLA to its second lowest single match hitting percentage in school history (.010) in a 15-10, 15-6, 15-10 win at Pauley Pavilion on October 5. Stanford is 38-9 against USC after a 15-13, 15-0, 15-13 win at North Gym on October 3. The 38 wins against the Trojans is second only to Stanford's 40 against the California Golden Bears. Stanford has also knocked USC out of seven of the last nine NCAA Tournaments.

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 (tie) by the USA Today/AVCA and No. 8 by Volleyball Magazine, while UCLA is No. 24 according to the USA Today/AVCA and not ranked by Volleyball Magazine.

Kristin Folkl (File Photo)

THE WEEK IN REVIEW:
Match #21 - #4 Stanford d. Oregon 15-7, 15-7, 15-13 (October 24 @ McArthur Court): Freshman setter Robyn Lewis (Long Beach, CA/Poly HS) recorded 27 assists, four digs and three kills in just two games to lead Stanford over last place Oregon. The Cardinal outblocked the Ducks 15-2 in the match, and 25-4 in their two meetings this season. Senior Kristin Folkl (St. Louis, MO/St. Josephs Academy) added 15 kills and four blocks for the winners.

Match #22 - #4 Stanford d. Oregon State 15-8, 18-16, 15-4 (October 26 @ Gill Coliseum): Kristin Folkl had a match-high 26 kills to help Stanford wrap up its Pacific Northwest road swing with a perfect 4-0 mark. "Stanford has another gear, and that gear is Kristin Folkl," Ooregon state head coach Jeff Mozzochi said. "... And that's why, in my mind, there's no question she's the best volleyball player in the country." Stanford jumped out an 8-0 lead en route to an easy win in game one, but the Beavers came back to take a 12-3 lead in game two before Folkl capped the Cardinal comeback with back-to-back kills at 16-16. Senior Barbara Ifejika (Brampton, Ontario, Canada/Mayfield Secondary) added 14 kills and nine digs for the Cardinal.

ROAD WARRIORS: Following its four-match sweep of the Pacific Northwest, Stanford is an impressive 12-0 on the road this season. But most impressively, Stanford has not lost a game in those 12 matches (36-0). Included in those victories are wins at then-No. 7 USC, then-No. 21 UCLA, then-No. 10 Washington State and then-No. 21 Washington. Stanford will look for a 1997 road sweep when it wraps up its away schedule at Arizona State on November 7 and No. 13 Arizona on November 9.

SENIOR DOMINANCE: The five members of Stanford's senior class - Kristin Folkl, Barbara Ifejika, Debbie Lambert (Kaneohe, HI/Punahou HS), Paula McNamee (Wheaton, MD/Sidwell Friends HS) 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 112-8 (.933) overall on The Farm. In addition, Folkl, Ifejika, Lambert, McNamee and Sharpley are 55-1 (.982) at Maples Pavilion, 63-2 (.969) in the Pac-10 and 68-7 (.907) 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. The 1994 First Team All-American and 1995 Second Team All-American 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 1,598 kills, and is 153 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 having another big year in 1997, hitting .370 with 370 kills in 69 games (5.36 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    69  370  80  783  .370   7  167  17  46 
TOT.   348 1598 479 3345  .335  99  818  86 219

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 .3546with 155 kills (2.87 k/pg), 157 digs and 74 blocks. The sophomore posted career-highs of 23 digs and 13 assists in the Friday, October 17 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    54  155  37  331  .356   6  157  16  58 
TOT.   163  676 174 1373  .366  53  466  30 163

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 3,687 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 (.263) ... The .312 hitting percentage is on pace to be the third best in Pac-10 history (UCLA, .330, 1992; Stanford, .319, 1986) ... Stanford plays six of its final eight matches at home, including five against ranked opponents ... Stanford ranks first in the conference in hitting percentage (.312) and second in kills (17.42 pg), assists (15.51 pg), blocks (3.67 pg) and digs (15.90 pg).

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
Stanford           11   0  1.000  --    20  2  .909
USC                 8   3   .727  3     16  3  .842
Washington          8   3   .727  3     13  7  .650
Arizona             7   3   .700 3.5    15  3  .833
Washington State    7   4   .636  4     19  4  .826
Oregon State        4   7   .364  7     12 11  .522
UCLA                4   7   .364  7      9  9  .500 
Arizona State       3   7   .300 7.5    12  9  .571
California          2   9   .182  9      7 13  .350
Oregon              0  11   .000 11      8 15  .348

Volleyball Polls

Stanford Volleyball Season Highs

#2 Lisa Sharpley
Kills: 7, twice, last at Washington State (10/17)
Attempts: 11, three times, last at Oregon State (10/26)
Hitting Pct: .750 (3-0-4) at California (9/16)
Digs: 14 at Oregon State (10/26)
Blocks: 7 vs. Oklahoma (9/19)
Service Aces: 4 at California (9/16)
Assists: 65 at Oregon State (10/26)

#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, twice, last at Oregon State (10/26)
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: 9 at Oregon State (10/26)
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, seven times, last at Oregon (10/24)

#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, twice, last at Oregon (10/24)
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: 15 at Oregon State (10/26)
Blocks: 7 at USC (10/3)
Service Aces: 2 vs. Texas A&M (8/22)
Assists: 5 vs. Arizona (10/10)

#31 Robyn Lewis
Kills: 3 at Oregon (10/24)
Attempts: 4 at Oregon (10/24)
Hitting Pct: .750 (3-0-4) at Oregon (10/24)
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: 12 at Oregon State (10/26)
Hitting Pct: .833 (5-0-6) at Oregon (10/24)
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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