Feb. 27, 2007

Stanford at No. 9 Pacific - Friday, March 2 (7:00 pm)

Stanford vs. Quincy - Monday, March 5 (7:00 pm)

COMING UP: Stanford Men's Volleyball (1-17, 1-12 MPSF) travels to No. 9 Pacific (8-9, 6-7 MPSF) to face the Tigers for the second time this season this Friday, March 2. The Cardinal return home on March 5 to square up against the Quincy University Hawks (3-10, 2-3 Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association) in non-conference action.

CARDINAL SWEPT AWAY BY WAVES: Pepperdine's attack controlled the match for the Waves as they defeated the Cardinal in three. Junior Matt Ceran led the Cardinal in kills with 10. Sophomore Jarod Keller added 8 digs on the match. However, Pepperdine's 13.5 team blocks limited Stanford to minus .043 hitting for the match. Paul Carroll led all players in kills and accounted for two of the Waves' eight service aces in the match. J.D. Schleppenbach had nine kills to go along with a team-high three aces. Tom Hulse led the defensive efforts for Pepperdine with seven blocks.

STANFORD DROPS CLOSE FIVE GAME MATCH TO USC: The Cardinal dropped a thrilling five game match to the Trojans last Friday night at the Galen Center. Freshman Evan Romero had 22 kills and 6 blocks for the match. Outside hitter Matt Ceran added 16 kills, 6 digs and 5 blocks for the Cardinal. Brandon Williams finished with a .333 hitting percentage with 11 kills and 7 blocks. The Trojan's Juan Figueroa came up with 23 kills, 13 digs and 5 blocks in the five games. C.J Schellenberg added 21 kills. Stanford had a solid showing defensively at the net as they finished with 16 blocks to USC's 11.5. The Trojan's out-dug the Cardinal 54 to 32 and ended the match hitting .270 to Stanford's .145.

ABOUT THE TIGERS: Pacific dropped their third and fourth consecutive games last weekend on the road at Pepperdine and USC. Tiger standout Pekka Seppanen, who ranks sixth in the MPSF in aces, hit .420 on 20 kills versus the Trojans and added five blocks as well. Matt Cornell led the Tigers at Pepperdine with 20 kills and six blocks.

In their last meeting with the Tigers on January 31, the Cardinal fell in four games. Stanford's balanced attack proved very effective against UOP in game one. However Stanford, plagued by hitting errors, could not muster up the attacking power needed to come out on top over Pacific. The Tigers took early leads in both games two and three and came out on top. Stanford fought hard in the beginning on the crucial fourth game of the match, but the Tigers took the game 30-25.

ABOUT THE HAWKS: Quincy's wins this season have come against MIVA foe, Mercyhurst, and Newman University in non-league play. The Hawks' attack is led by Peter Coley, who averages 3.16 kills per game, and Patrick Reidy with 2.66 kills per game. Reidy also leads Quincy in service aces with 10. On the defensive end, Ed Ryan has a team-high 31 blocks for the Hawks, while Mike Contee and Collin Cooper have added 65 and 75 digs, respectively.

UP NEXT: Stanford plays Long Beach State and UC San Diego on March 9 and 10 at home. Both games will start at 7:00 pm.