Stanford Seniors Play Final Regular Season Home Match

STANFORD SENIOR CLASS COMPILE A RECORD OF 118-8:The Stanford women's volleyball class of 1998 (Kristin Folkl, Barbara Ifejika, Debbie Lambert, Paula McNamee and Lisa Sharpley), winners of two NCAA and four Pacific-10 Conference titles, will play their final two regular season home matches this week at Maples Pavilion. The 1997 conference champs conclude Pac-10 play against California on Thursday at 7 p.m., and host Hawaii in a 5 p.m. nonconference tilt on Sunday in a rematch of the 1996 NCAA title match. Stanford will honor the five seniors in a pregame ceremony before Sunday's match.

SENIOR DOMINANCE: The five members of Stanford's senior class - Kristin Folkl (St. Louis, MO/St. Josephs Academy), Barbara Ifejika (Brampton, Ontario, Canada/Mayfield Secondary), 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 118-8 (.937) overall on The Farm. In addition, Folkl, Ifejika, Lambert, McNamee and Sharpley are 59-1 (.983) at Maples Pavilion, 69-2 (.972) in the Pac-10 and 73-7 (.913) against ranked opposition.

NCAA TOURNAMENT PAIRINGS: Stanford University is assured of a 17th straight NCAA Tournament appearance after clinching the Pacific-10 Conference title and automatic bid on Sunday, November 9. The bracket of the NCAA Tournament will be announced on Sunday, November 30 at 3:30 p.m. (PT) on selected Fox Sports Network affiliates (check your local listings). Stanord could possibly play host to a sub-regional on the weekend of December 4-7 and a regional on the weekend of December 11-14.

MEDIA INFORMATION: Palo Alto's Cable Co-op will air both the Cal and Hawaii matches on a tape-delayed basis. The Cal match will be broadcast on Friday, November 21 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, November 23 at 8:30 p.m., while the Hawaii match will be shown on Friday, November 28 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, November 30 at 8:30 p.m. Both matches will be broadcast live on KZSU 90.1 FM, beginning with "The Don Shaw Show" at 6:50 p.m. on Friday and 4:50 p.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).

MATCH PROMOTIONS: The first 1,000 fans through the turnstiles on Thursday night will receive a "Beat Cal" Collectors Pin. Sunday's match against Hawaii is Senior Tribute Day and Fan Appreciation Day.

THE RECORDS: Stanford is 26-2 overall and 17-0 in the Pac-10, after defeating No. 16 Washington 15-12, 15-7, 15-9 on Friday and No. 12 Washington State 15-7, 15-5, 15-3 on Saturday. The Cardinal has won 21 straight matches dating back to September 10, and has lost just two games during that span (Oct. 10 vs. Arizona & Nov. 2 vs. USC). California is 8-18 overall and 3-14 in conference after falling to No. 12 WSU 15-8, 17-15, 7-15, 15-10 on Friday and No. 16 Washington 15-11, 15-11, 15-7 on Saturday. Hawaii is 23-5 overall and 14-0 in the WAC. The Rainbow Wahine won at Tulsa 15-6, 15-0, 15-8 on Friday and at Rice 15-7, 15-10, 15-5 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 375-63 (.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 118-8 (.937) record in the last three-plus seasons, including a 69-2 (.972) 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. Sue Woodstra of California is 139-92 (.602) in her seventh season overall, and Hawaii's Dave Shoji is 648-129 (.834) in his 23rd campaign.

THE SERIES: Stanford is 40-3 all-time against California, and has beaten the Golden Bears 29 straight times dating back to 1982. On September 16 of this season, Stanford defeated California 15-5, 15-6, 15-3 in Berkeley. In California's last appearance at Maples Pavilion, Stanford survived two match points to outlast California 12-15, 15-7, 15-7, 13-15, 18-16 on October 4, 1996. Stanford is 7-15 against Hawaii, including a 15-7, 15-3, 15-5 Cardinal win in the 1996 NCAA Tournament Championship Match on December 21 in Cleveland, Ohio.

THE RANKINGS: Stanford is ranked No. 1 in the nation by Volleyball Magazine and No. 3 by the USA Today/AVCA. Hawaii is ranked No. 12 by Volleyball Magazine and No. 14 by the USA Today/AVCA, while California is not ranked.

Match #27 - #3 Stanford d. #16 Washington 15-12, 15-7, 15-9 (November 14 @ Maples Pavilion): Senior Kristin Folkl had 23 kills to lead Stanford to its 20th straight victory. Folkl hit .372 (23 K-7 E-43 TA) and also added 10 digs in the nationally-televised match, while Lisa Sharpley added 50 assists and nine digs. Stanford outhit Washington .281-.167, and outblocked the Huskies 10-8. Washington came into the match as the top blocking team in the conference at 4.03 per game.

Match #28 - #3 Stanford d. #12 Washington State 15-5, 15-7, 15-3 (November 15 @ Maples Pavilion): Sophomore Kerri Walsh (Saratoga, CA/Archbishop Mitty HS) hit .684 with 13 kills and no errors in 19 attempts. Walsh also added 14 digs, four assists and four blocks. Stanford outhit the Cougars .407-.149 in the 83-minute match, and held WSU to a .072 hitting percentage over the final two games.

ROAD WARRIORS: Following its weekend sweep of the Arizona schools on November 7-9, 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.

WALSH NAMED PAC-10 PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Sophomore Kerri Walsh was named Pac-10 Player of the Week for the third time in her career on Monday. Walsh extended Stanford's Pac-10 winning streak to 22 matches after hitting .684 with 13 kills and no errors in Saturday's win over Washington State. She also hit .320 with 11 kills in Friday's win over Washington. Walsh also won Pac-10 POW honors on October 21, 1996 and November 4, 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 1,717 kills, and is 34 behind third place Kim Oden (1982-85; 1,751) and 36 behind second place Bev Oden (1989-92; 1,753). She has 489 kills in 1997, which puts her 74 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, November 9 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     88  489  103 1030  .375     9  225     20  57 
TOT.    367 1717  502 3592  .338   101  876     89  230

WALSH BACK ON TRACK: First Team All-American and 1996 National Freshman of the Year Kerri Walsh, the reigning Pac-10 Player of the Week, 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 73 games played and 451 attacks this season. Walsh is coming off her best weekend of the 1997 season, including 13 kills in 19 errorless attempts against WSU that helped her earn Pac-10 Player of the Week honors. 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     73  210  50  451 .355     7   222    22   79 
TOT.    182  731 187 1493 .364    54   531    36  184

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 3,946 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.

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) 1,717
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)    101
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)      996
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)   396
Career Assists
1. Wendy Rush (1984-87)         5,003
2. Carrie Feldman (1989-92)     4,461
3. Lisa Sharpley (1994-present) 3,946
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)1,717
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)        489

USA Today/AVCA
(As of November 18)
1.  Long Beach State (25-1)
2.  Penn State (25-1)
3.  STANFORD (26-2)
4.  Florida (28-1)
5.  Wisconsin (24-2)
6.  UC Santa Barbara (26-3)
7.  USC (20-4)
8.  BYU (23-5) 
9.  Arizona (19-5)
10. Texas (21-4)
11. Nebraska (21-6)
12. Washington State (22-6)
13. Pepperdine (22-3)
14. Hawaii (23-5)
15. Washington (16-9)
16. Maryland (25-0)
17. Texas A&M (20-6)
18. Pacific (19-7)
19. Loyola Marymount (21-5)
20. Colorado State (24-4)
21. San Diego (23-3)
22. Colorado (17-7)
23. Arkansas (25-5)
24. Ohio State (20-8)
25. UCLA (12-11)
Volleyball Magazine
(As of November 17)
1.  STANFORD (26-2)
2.  Long Beach State (25-1)
3.  Penn State (25-1)
4.  Florida (28-1)
5.  Wisconsin (24-2)
6.  UC Santa Barbara (26-3)
7.  BYU (23-5)
8.  USC (20-4)
9.  Arizona (19-5)
10. Nebraska (21-6)
11. Texas (21-4)
12. Hawaii  (23-5)
13. Washington State (22-6)
14. Pepperdine (22-3)
15. Texas A&M (20-6)
16. Washington (16-9)
17. Maryland (25-0)
18. Pacific (19-7)
19. San Diego (20-2)
20. Loyola Marymount (21-5)
NOTE: Stanford opponents are in italics

Printer-friendly format	Email this article