Nov. 6, 2012

Complete Release

THIS WEEK: The No. 1 Stanford women’s volleyball team (22-2, 14-0 Pac-12) plays host to Washington State (12-14, 2-12 Pac-12) and No. 5 Washington (19-4, 10-4 Pac-12) in Maples Pavilion. The Cardinal will face the Cougars on Wednesday, Nov. 7 at 7 p.m. the Huskies on Thursday, Nov. 8 at 8 p.m.

SCOUTING WASHINGTON STATE: WSU enters the week on a two-match winning streak, having defeated Colorado and Utah at home. The Cougars (12-14, 2-12 Pac-12) are led by sophomore outside hitter Jaicee Harris. She ranks eighth in the Pac-12 with 3.97 kills per set and ninth with 4.45 points per set. Junior middle hitter Marcelina Glab is eighth in the conference with 1.21 blocks per set, while junior setter Camryn Irwin is fifth with 10.09 assists per set.

THE SERIES WITH THE COUGARS: Stanford holds a 51-3 (.944) all-time record over Washington State. Stanford has won 19 in a row against the Cougars, including a five-set win earlier this season in Pullman, Wash. Carly Wopat and Jordan Burgess each tallied 16 kills to lead Stanford, which posted a season-high 20 blocks in the win.

SCOUTING WASHINGTON: Washington (19-4) heads to the Bay Area tied with USC and UCLA for third place in the Pac-12 standings with a 10-4 mark. The Huskies, who lead the nation with 3.34 blocks per set, are coming off wins over Colorado and Utah last week. The Huskies are led by sophomore outside hitter Krista Vansant, who ranks fourth in the Pac-12 with 4.29 kills and 4.99 points per set. Senior outside hitter Kylin Munoz adds 2.10 kills per set and is ninth in the conference with 0.28 aces per set. Senior middle blocker Amanda Gil leads the Pac-12 and is second in the nation with 1.76 blocks per set, while junior libero Jenna Orlandini is seventh in the Pac-12 with 4.08 digs per set.

THE SERIES WITH THE HUSKIES: The Cardinal is 48-11 (.814) all-time against the Huskies. Stanford won a five-set thriller in Seattle earlier this season to hand the Huskies the first loss on their home court in 2012. Carly Wopat led the team with 15 kills, while Kyle Gilbert tied her career high with 25 digs.

LOOKING AHEAD: Stanford travels to Los Angeles next week to face No. 8 USC and No. 6 UCLA. The Cardinal will face the Trojans on Thursday, Nov. 15 in the Galen Center. Stanford and UCLA will square off in the first volleyball match to be played in the newly renovated Pauley Pavilion on Friday, Nov. 16. Both matches are slated for 7 p.m.

CATCH THE CARDINAL: Fans can catch Wednesday’s match online at Pac-12.com. Thursday’s match will be televised live by the Pac-12 Networks. KZSU radio will also be broadcasting both matches at 90.1 FM or online at http://kzsu.stanford.edu/.

SOCIAL NETWORKING: Become a fan of the Cardinal on Facebook by searching for the “Stanford Women’s Volleyball” page. Follow the Cardinal on Twitter @StanfordWVB to get updates on the team this season. Both sites will be updated live during matches this year and will feature unique content on the team.

PROMOTIONS: Stanford women’s volleyball is holding a Thanksgiving food drive this week. Fans who bring a canned food donation will receive $2 general admission to the matches on Wednesday and Thursday. Additionally, kids 8th grade and under receive free admission to the Washington State match with a voucher available online. Head coach John Dunning will be holding a chalk talk on Thursday at 6 p.m. in Kissick Auditorium.

UNANIMOUS NO. 1: Stanford, receiving all 60 first-place votes in this week’s coaches’ poll, is the unanimous No. 1 team in the nation. The Cardinal is the first squad to receive all 60 first-place votes this season. Stanford has now been ranked No. 1 53 times in school history, the fourth-best mark in the nation behind Nebraska, Penn State and UCLA.

CONFERENCE RACE: After the road sweeps at Oregon State and then-No. 2 Oregon, the Cardinal is in the driver’s seat in the Pac-12 title race. Stanford (14-0) holds a three-match lead over second-place Oregon and a four-match lead over USC, UCLA and Washington. The Cardinal is seeking its 18th conference championship, including its 15th in the Pac-12.

20-WIN SEASONS: Stanford has reached the 20-win plateau in each of head coach John Dunning’s 12 seasons on The Farm. It is the longest such streak in program history dating back to 1976.

WINNING STREAK: The Cardinal has won 20 straight matches, dating back to a four-set win over then-No. 18 Florida on Sept. 1. It marks the longest winning streak since the 2001-2002 seasons. Stanford won 27 in a row over two seasons, including the 2001 NCAA title. This year’s 20-in-a-row is the longest in a single season under head coach John Dunning.

WOPAT AND HOWARD HONORED: The Cardinal secured its eighth and ninth conference players of the week accolades on Nov. 5. Junior Carly Wopat earned her second Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week honors of the year, while rookie Brittany Howard was named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Week for the first time in her career. Wopat hit .700, and averaged 5.00 points, 3.67 kills and 2.17 blocks per set in sweeps at OSU and then-No. 2 Oregon. Howard added 4.42 points, 3.67 kills and 2.67 digs per set in the two matches.

HOT START: Stanford is 14-0 overall in the Pac-12, its best start in confernce play dating back to the 1998 season under head coach Don Shaw. That year, the Cardinal, playing in an 18-match conference season, won its first 17 Pac-10 matches before falling at USC in the conference finale.

ROAD SWEEPS: Stanford’s 3-0 wins at Oregon State and then-No. 2 Oregon were the first road sweeps of the season for the Cardinal. Of its true road matches this year, four of its eight wins have come in four sets and two have come in five sets.

HOME SWEET HOME: Stanford is a perfect 11-0 at Maples Pavilion this season. Its last loss on its home court came on Nov. 25, 2011, a four-set loss to rival California. The Cardinal is 61-8 in Maples Pavilion over the last five seasons.

RPI: The Cardinal remained at No. 1 in the latest RPI (Ratings Percentage Index) poll this week, its fourth straight week in that spot. Washington is No. 14 and Washington State sits at No. 120.

NATIONAL POLL: Stanford remained in the top spot in the American Volleyball Coaches Association’s Top 25 this week. The Cardinal extended its winning streak to 20 with sweeps at Oregon State and then-No. 2 Oregon last week. Penn State moved up to No. 2, while Texas, Oregon and Washington round out the Top 5. Five Pac-12 squads are ranked in the Top 10 this week.

HEAD COACH John Dunning: In his 12th season at the helm of the Cardinal program, head coach John Dunning is one of the most accomplished coaches in the collegiate volleyball world. Dunning has four national championships under his belt, has taken teams to nine Final Fours and carried six of his 11 Stanford teams to the national championship match.

MILESTONE FOR DUNNING: In 2010, Dunning secured his 700th career win. In 27 years as a head coach, he is 770-161 (.827), giving him a winning percentage that ranks amongst the top-5 all-time for Division I coaches. Dunning is 333-59 in his 12 seasons on The Farm, leading all active coaches in the conference by winning percentage (.849).