Cardinal Prepare for Washington Schools

Kristin Folkl was named AVCA National Player of the Week and Pac-10 Player of the Week last week.

STANFORD CLINCHES PAC-10 TITLE: Stanford University put an early end to the Pacific-10 Confence race by clinching its fourth straight crown with 3-0 wins at Arizona State and Arizona last weekend. The Cardinal, which has won 55 of its last 56 Pac-10 matches, currently leads the conference by four games with three remaining. Stanford won the conference crown by three games last year, and won by a record six games in 1995. The Cardinal continues to shoot for its third Pac-10 unbeaten campaign (1991 and 1995) this weekend when it hosts third place Washington on Friday at 7:30 p.m. and fourth place Washington State on Saturday at 7 p.m. Stanford has won 33 straight home conference matches dating back to November 17, 1993.

WASHINGTON AT STANFORD TIME CHANGE: Because of television, Friday's match vs. Washington is now scheduled to start 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.

MEDIA INFORMATION: Friday's match will mark the fourth time this season Stanford has played in 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 7:20 p.m. on Friday and 6:50 p.m. on Saturday. 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: Friday's match against Washington 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.

THE RECORDS: Stanford has won 19 consecutive matches, including 17 in 3-0 fashion, to improve to 24-2 overall and 14-0 in the Pac-10. Stanford's school record for consecutive wins is 27, which was established from 9/4/91-11/27/91. Washington is 15-8 overall and 10-4 in the Pac-10, while Washington State is 21-5 and 9-5. The Huskies defeated the Cougars 15-7, 16-14, 15-10 on Friday in Seattle.

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 373-63 (.856). Shaw has led Stanford to three NCAA titles, six Pac-10 titles and eight Final Four appearances. He has guided the Cardinal to a 116-8 (.935) record in the last three-plus seasons, including a 67-2 (.971) 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. Bill Neville of Washington is 233-197 (.542) in his 14th season, while Washington State's Cindy Fredrick is 265-171 (.608) in her 12th campaign.

THE SERIES: Stanford is 48-3 all-time against the Washington schools. The Cardinal is 25-2 against the Huskies, including 15 straight wins dating back to 1989. This season, Stanford defeated Washington 15-8, 15-13, 15-12 on October 18 in Seattle. Stanford is 23-1 against WSU after a 15-11, 15-8, 16-14 victory on October 17 in Pullman.

THE RANKINGS: Stanford is ranked No. 1 in the nation by Volleyball Magazine and No. 3 by the USA Today/AVCA . Washington is ranked No. 15 by Volleyball Magazine and No. 16 by the USA Today/AVCA, while Washington State is No. 12 in the USA Today/AVCA and No. 13 in Volleyball Magazine.

THE WEEK IN REVIEW:
Match #25 - #3 Stanford d. Arizona State 15-6, 15-10, 15-4 (November 7 @ University Activity Center): Senior Kristin Folkl (St. Louis, MO/St. Josephs Academy) hit .455 with 17 kills as Stanford breezed to the nationally-televised win. The Cardinal jumped out to a 5-0 lead in game one, scored 12 straight points to erase a 3-0 deficit in game two and streaked out to a 12-0 lead in game three. Senior Paula McNamee (Wheaton, MD/Sidwell Friends HS) added eight kills and eight blocks for the winners.
Match #26 - #3 Stanford d. #12 Arizona 15-5, 15-5, 15-6 (November 9 @ McKale Center): Stanford wrapped up its sixth Pac-10 title and fourth in a row with the 84-minute win over Arizona. The victory also helped the Cardinal finish the 1997 regular season 14-0 on the road, with all 14 wins coming in 3-0 fashion. The Cardinal outhit the Wildcats .436-.195, with Stanford's four primary hitters all at .357 or better. Kristin Folkl had 14 kills and 12 digs, while sophomore Kerri Walsh (Saratoga, CA/Archbishop Mitty HS) hit .429 with 12 kills, seven digs and four blocks.

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 116-8 (.935) overall on The Farm. In addition, Folkl, Ifejika, Lambert, McNamee and Sharpley are 57-1 (.983) at Maples Pavilion, 67-2 (.971) in the Pac-10 and 71-7 (.910) against ranked opposition.

ROAD WARRIORS: Following its weekend sweep of the Arizona schools, Stanford finished the 1997 regular season 14-0 on the road. But most impressively, Stanford did not lose a game in those 14 matches. Included in those victories were wins at five ranked teams - Arizona, UCLA, USC, Washington and Washington State. The Cardinal has now won 18 straight matches on its opponents' floor dating back to October 30, 1996.

FOLKL ENJOYING CAREER YEAR: Kristin Folkl's great season continues to get even better. Stanford's all-everything two-sport star was named the AVCA National Player of the Week and Pac-10 Player of the Week on November 3 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 November 2, and finished the weekend with 55 kills, 21 digs and a .431 hitting percentage. The Cardinal co-captain is currently fourth in school history with 1,684 kills, and is 67 behind third place Kim Oden (1982-85; 1,751) and 69 behind second place Bev Oden (1989-92; 1,753). Shehas 456 kills in 1997, which puts her 107 behind the school single season mark set by Teresa Smith (1986; 563). Folkl also broke into the top 10 on the Pac-10's all-time kill list on Sunday, passing Angela Bransom of Washington (1993-96; 1,676) for 10th place. 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     82  456     94  953    .380     7  206  19  55 
TOT.    361 1684    493 3515    .339    99  857  88 228

WALSH BACK ON TRACK: First Team All-American and 1996 National Freshman of the Year Kerri Walsh has had 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 been limited to 67 games played and 407 attacks this season. Walsh returned to form in Sunday's win over Arizona, hitting .429 with 12 kills. The sophomore also 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     67  186     47  407    .342     7  200  20  74 
TOT.    176  707    184 1449    .361    54  509  34 179

OFFENSE THRIVES UNDER SHARPLEY: 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 has served as the primary setter the last two seasons. Sharpley has 3,854 career assists and 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. Here's a look at Sharpley's career statistics:

Year     GP  K    E   TA    .PCT     AST    DIGS BS  BA
1994     99 203  77  491    .257     717    273   8  91
1995    109 271  82  608    .311     860    286   3  76 
1996    104  62  33  164    .177    1433    249   7  85
1997     62  61  10  124    .411     844    173   3  38 
TOT.    374 597 202 1387    .285    3854    981  21 290

CARDINAL CORNER: Stanford currently leads the Pac-10 with a .314 team hitting percentage, well ahead of second place USC (.266) ... The .312 hitting percentage is on pace to be the third best in Pac-10 history (UCLA, .330, 1992; Stanford, .319, 1986). Stanford plays its final four regular season matches at home.

1997 PACIFIC-10 CONFERENCE STANDINGS
                 Conference              Overall
School           W   L    Pct     GB     W   L  .Pct
*Stanford       15   0  1.000     --    24   2  .923
USC             11   4   .733      4    19   4  .826
Washington      10   4   .714    4.5    15   8  .652
Washington State 9   5   .643    5.5    21   5  .808
Arizona          9   5   .643    5.5    17   5  .773
UCLA             7   8   .467      8    12  10  .545    
Oregon State     5   9   .357    9.5    14  13  .519
Arizona State    3  11   .214   11.5    12  13  .480
California       3  12   .200     12     8  16  .333
Oregon           0  14   .000   14.5     8  18  .308
* - clinched conference title

Stanford On The Internet
For the latest in Stanford news and scores on the World Wide Web, click on www.gostanford.com.

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) 1,684
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)      981

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)   386

Career Assists
1. Wendy Rush (1984-87)         5,003
2. Carrie Feldman (1989-92)     4,461
3. Lisa Sharpley (1994-present) 3,854
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
6. Tiffany Rochelle (CAL; 86-89)    1,814
7. Lisa Arce (CAL; 87-90)           1,806
8. Shelly Smith (OSU; 91-94)        1,763
9. Bev Oden (STAN; 89-92)           1,753
10. Kristin Folkl (STAN; 94-present)1,684

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)        456

VOLLEYBALL POLLS
USA Today/AVCA
(As of November 11)
1. Long Beach State (23-1)
2. Penn State (24-1)
3. STANFORD (24-2)
4. Florida (26-1)
5. Wisconsin (22-2)
6. UC Santa Barbara (24-3)
7. USC (19-4)
8. Texas (20-3) 
9. BYU (22-5)
10. Arizona (17-5)
11. Nebraska (18-6)
12. Washington State (21-5)
13. Pepperdine (20-3)
14. Hawaii (18-5)
15. Maryland (23-0)
16. Washington (15-8)
17. Colorado State (23-3)
18. Texas A&M (18-6)
19. Pacific (17-7)
20. Loyola Marymount (19-5)
21. San Diego (21-3)
22. Colorado (14-7)
23. Arkansas (23-5)
24. UCLA (12-10)
25. Ohio State (19-7)

Volleyball Magazine
(As of November 10)
1. STANFORD (24-2)
2. Long Beach State (23-1)
3. Penn State (24-1)
4. Florida (26-1)
5. Wisconsin (22-2)
6. UC Santa Barbara (24-3)
7. BYU (22-5)
8. USC (19-4)
9. Texas (20-3)
10. Arizona (17-5)
11. Nebraska (18-6)
12. Hawaii (20-5)
13. Washington State (21-5)
14. Pepperdine (20-3)
15. Washington (15-8)
16. Maryland (23-0)
17. Texas A&M (18-6)
18. Pacific (17-7)
19. Colorado State (23-3)
20. San Diego (20-2)
NOTE: Stanford opponents are in italics

1997 STANFORD WOMEN'S 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: 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, three times, last at Arizona State (11/7)
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 time, 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, twice, last at Arizona (11/9)
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, eight times, last at Arizona State (11/7)

#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)
Blocks: 1 at Arizona State (11/7)

#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: 2 at Arizona State (11/7)
Assists: 19 at Arizona State (11/7)

#32 Jennifer Detmer
Kills: 7 vs. Arizona State (10/11)
Attempts: 12 at Oregon State (10/26)
Hitting Pct: 1.000 (4-0-4) at Arizona (11/9)
Digs: 1, three times, last vs. USC (11/2)
Blocks: 7 vs. Arizona State (10/11)
Service Aces: 1 at Arizona State (11/7)

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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