Women's Volleyball Prepares for Arizona Schools

STANFORD CAN CLINCH FOURTH STRAIGHT PAC-10 TITLE THIS WEEKEND: Stanford University can clinch its fourth straight Pacific-10 title and sixth overall this weekend with wins at Arizona State and Arizona. The Cardinal leads the conference by four games with five to play. Stanford can clinch a tie when it visits the Sun Devils on Friday at 2 p.m. and can clinch the crown outright against the Wildcats on Sunday at noon. The Cardinal has won five of the Pac-10's 11 titles since women's volleyball play began in 1986 (UCLA has won the other six). Stanford, who is currently 13-0 in the Pac-10, is also bidding to go undefeated in conference play for the third time (1991 and 1995) in school history.

MEDIA INFORMATION: Friday's match at ASU is the "Fox Sports Net Pac-10 Match of the Week." It will be aired in the Bay Area on Bay TV on Saturday from 10 a.m.-noon. Both matches will be broadcast live on KZSU 90.1 FM, beginning with "The Don Shaw Show" at 1:50 p.m. on Friday and 11:50 a.m. on Sunday. 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 looks to extend its 33-match Pac-10 home winning streak when it hosts Washington on Friday, November 14 and Washington State on Saturday, November 15. Both matches will start at 7 p.m. Friday is half price night, with all general admission tickets available for $3. The WSU match is Team Poster and Autograph Night II, with an autograph session by the entire Stanford team immediately following the match.

WASHINGTON AT STANFORD TIME CHANGE: Because the Friday, November 14 home match with Washington has been added as a nationally-televised "Fox Sports Net Pac-10 Match of the Week" the match is now scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. Fox was originally scheduled to televise Washington State and California, but will instead broadcast from The Farm for the second time this season.

THE RECORDS: Stanford improved to 22-2 overall and 13-0 in the Pacific-10 Conference over the weekend, extending its winning streak to 17 matches in the process. The Cardinal defeated No. 24 UCLA 15-10, 15-11, 15-10 on Friday and No. 7 USC 15-3, 15-7, 11-15, 15-2 on Sunday. Arizona is 16-4 overall and 8-4 in the Pac-10, winning at No. 18 Washington 12-15, 15-8, 15-13, 19-17 on Friday and falling 9-15, 15-12, 15-11, 15-6 at Washington State on Saturday. Arizona State dropped to 12-11 and 3-9 with a 15-1, 15-6, 15-3 defeat at WSU on Friday and a 15-4, 15-6, 15-8 loss at Washington 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 371-63 (.855). Shaw has led Stanford to three NCAA titles, five Pac-10 titles and eight Final Four appearances. He has guided the Cardinal to a 114-8 (.934) record in the last three-plus seasons, including a 65-2 (.970) 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. Arizona's David Rubio is 217-131 (.624) in his 10th season, and Patti Snyder-Park of Arizona State is 147-109 (.574) in her ninth season.

THE SERIES: The Cardinal is 32-3 all-time against the Sun Devils following a 15-11, 15-12, 15-10 win at Maples Pavilion on October 11. Stanford has won the last eight matches between the schools. Stanford has won 32 of its 33 meetings against Arizona after a 15-11, 15-12, 11-15, 15-8 win on The Farm on October 10. The Cardinal is 10-1 all-time in Tucson in Pac-10 contests.

THE RANKINGS: Stanford is ranked No. 1 in the nation by Volleyball Magazine and No. 3 by the USA Today/AVCA. Arizona is No. 12 in both polls, while Arizona State is not ranked.

THE WEEK IN REVIEW:
Match #23 - #4 Stanford d. #24 UCLA 15-10, 15-11, 15-10 (October 31 @ Maples Pavilion): Senior setter Lisa Sharpley (Los Altos, CA/Los Altos HS) had 53 assists and 13 digs to help Stanford post its seventh straight win over UCLA dating back to the 1994 NCAA Finals. The win helped Stanford wrap up a 9-0 October in which it lost just one game. The Cardinal scored six of the final seven points in game one to break a 9-9 tie and scored the final five points of game two to erase an 11-10 deficit. Senior Kristin Folkl (St. Louis, MO/St. Josephs Academy) added a match-high 22 kills for the Cardinal.
Match #24 - #4 Stanford d. #7 USC 15-3, 15-7, 11-15, 15-2 (November 2 @ Maples Pavilion): Kristin Folkl hit .492 with a career-high 33 kills (33 k-6 e-61 ta) as Stanford overpowered second place USC to open up a four-game Pac-10 lead. Folkl also had 14 digs and four blocks in the dominant performance. Stanford easily won the first two games, but fell in game three despite surviving eight game points. The Cardinal then scored the first nine points of game four en route to its 17th straight win. Sophomore Sarah Clark (Kamuela, HI/Hawaii Prep) added 10 kills for the winners.

FOLKL NAMED NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Senior outside hitter Kristin Folkl earned her first AVCA National Player of the Week honor when she was so honored on Friday. In the home wins over USC and UCLA, Folkl hit .431 with 55 kills, 21 digs and six blocks. She hit .492 with a career high 33 kills in the 3-1 win over second place USC on Sunday afternoon. Folkl also earned Pac-10 Player of the Week honors for the third time in her career (October 3, 1994 and September 23, 1996).

ROAD WARRIORS: Following its four-match road 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 Friday and Arizona on Sunday.

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 (Wheaton, MD/Sidwell Friends HS) 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 114-8 (.934) overall on The Farm. In addition, Folkl, Ifejika, Lambert, McNamee and Sharpley are 57-1 (.983) at Maples Pavilion, 65-2 (.970) in the Pac-10 and 70-7 (.909) against ranked opposition.

FOLKL LOOKS TO GO OUT IN STYLE: Kristin Folkl's great season became even greater last weekend. Stanford's all-everything two-sport star was named the AVCA National Player of the Week and Pac-10 Player of the Week on Monday after dominating in home wins over USC and UCLA. Folkl hit .492 with a career-high 33 kills in the win over the Trojans on Sunday, and finished the weekend with 55 kills, 21 digs and a .431 hitting percentage. The Cardinal co-captain is also currently fourth in school history with 1,653 kills, and is 98 behind third place Kim Oden (1982-85; 1,751) and 100 behind second place Bev Oden (1989-92; 1,753). She alo has 425 kills in 1997, which puts her 138 behind the school single season mark set by Teresa Smith (1986). 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, who has two years of basketball eligibility remaining, is scheduled to join Tara VanDerveer's squad following the conclusion of the volleyball season.

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     76  425     88  892    .378     7  188 18   51 
TOT.    355 1653    487 3454    .338    99  839 87  224

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 .342 with 169 kills (2.77 k/pg), 181 digs and 84 blocks. The sophomore posted career-highs of 23 digs and 13 assists in the Friday, October 17 win at Washington State.

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 3,794 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.

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

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.

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. Kristin Folkl (1994-present) 1,653
5. Teresa Smith (1984-87)       1,465
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)         99
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)      963
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. Barbara Ifejika (1994-present)   385
Career Assists
1. Wendy Rush (1984-87)         5,003
2. Carrie Feldman (1989-92)     4,461
3. Lisa Sharpley (1994-present) 3,794
4. Piper Hahn (1990-93)         2,084
5. Cary Wendell (1992-95)       2,073
Pac-10 Career Kill Leaders (1986-present)
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
10. Angela Bransom (WASH; 93-96)        1,676
11. Elaine Youngs (UCLA; 88-92)         1,664
12. Kristin Folkl (STAN; 94-present)    1,653
13. Terry Lauchner (ARIZ; 87-90)        1,637
14. Lonise Norfleet (USC; 87-90)        1,636
15. Annett Buckner (UCLA; 91-94)        1,630
Single Season Kills
1. Teresa Smith (1986)      563
2. Kerri Walsh (1996)       521
3. Nancy Reno (1987)        514
4. Bev Oden (1993)          513
5. Kristin Klein (1991)     510
Kristin Folkl (1997)        425
Stanford in the Rankings
USA Today/AVCA
(As of November 4)
1. Long Beach State (20-1)
2. Penn State (22-1)
3. STANFORD (22-2)
4. Florida (23-1)
5. Wisconsin (20-2)
6. UC Santa Barbara (22-2)
7. USC (17-4)
8. Texas (18-3) 
9. BYU (20-5)
10. Washington State (21-4)
11. Pepperdine (19-2)
12. Arizona (16-4)
13. Nebraska (16-6)
14. Texas A&M (17-5)
15. Hawaii (18-5)
16. Maryland (21-0)
17. Colorado State (21-3)
18. Pacific (16-6)
19. Washington (14-8)
20. Loyola Marymount (17-5)
21. San Diego (20-2)
22. Colorado (12-7)
23. Arkansas (20-5)
24. Michigan State (18-7)
25. UCLA (10-10)
Volleyball Magazine
(As of November 3)
1. STANFORD (22-2)
2. Long Beach State (20-1)
3. Penn State (22-1)
4. Florida (23-1)
5. Wisconsin (20-2)
6. UC Santa Barbara (22-2)
7. BYU (20-5)
8. USC (17-4)
9. Texas (18-3)
10. Washington State (21-4)
11. Pepperdine (19-2)
12. Arizona (16-4)
13. Nebraska (16-6)
14. Hawaii (18-5)
15. Texas A&M (17-5)
16. Maryland (21-0)
17. Washington (14-8)
18. Pacific (16-6)
19. San Diego (20-2)
20. Colorado State (21-3)
NOTE: Stanford opponents are in italics

Season High

#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: 16 vs. USC (11/2)
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, four times, last vs. USC (11/2)
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: 31 vs. USC (11/2)
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: 33 vs. USC (11/2)
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, three times, last vs. USC (11/2)
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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