STANFORD, Calif. – No. 5 Stanford (13-2, 5-1 ACC) travels to Dallas on Wednesday to take on No. 12 SMU (13-4, 5-1 ACC) at 4 p.m. PT on ACC Network. The Cardinal will then head to No. 1 Pittsburgh (15-1, 5-1 ACC) on Sunday for a Noon PT matchup on ESPN.
SERIES AGAINST THE MUSTANGS: Wednesday marks the first meeting between Stanford and SMU.
SERIES AGAINST THE PANTHERS: Stanford is 4-0 all-time against Pittsburgh. The most recent meeting came on Sept. 7, 1994 – a sweep by the Cardinal in Pittsburgh. Stanford’s last trip to the city of Pittsburgh resulted in the Cardinal capturing the 2019 NCAA title, its third in four years.
LAST TIME OUT: The Cardinal is coming off a pair of home sweeps over Syracuse and Boston College. Stanford hit a combined .346 in the two matches, while holding its opponents to .032 hitting. Outside hitter Ipar Kurt led the team with 3.83 kills per set on .381 hitting, 0.50 aces and 4.42 points per set. Setter Kami Miner controlled the offense with 11.50 assists per set, helping the Cardinal outscore its opponents 111.0 to 58.0 in the two matches.
STACKED SCHEDULE: Stanford is slated to play 12 matches against teams ranked in the AVCA Preseason Poll, including seven against top-10 opponents. The Cardinal faced No. 1 Texas (W, 3-0), No. 2 Nebraska (L, 3-0), No. 3 Wisconsin (W, 3-1), No. 9 Kentucky (W, 3-1), No. 18 Minnesota (W, 3-2) and No. 24 Marquette (W, 3-0) in the nonconference. Stanford will meet No. 4 Pittsburgh (Oct. 20), No. 6 Louisville (Sept. 29 & Nov. 30), No. 14 Georgia Tech (Nov. 9 & Nov. 27) and No. 20 Florida State (Nov. 3) in ACC play.
COACHES’ PICK: In its inaugural ACC season, Stanford was picked to finish second by the league’s coaches. The Cardinal captured three first-place votes and placed four on the Preseason All-ACC squad – middle blocker Sami Francis, setter Kami Miner, libero Elena Oglivie and outside hitter Elia Rubin.
MILESTONE UNLOCKED: Kami Miner recorded her 4,000th career assist on Sept. 2 in a four-set win over No. 6 Wisconsin. She became the seventh player in school history to reach the milestone. In the rally-scoring era to 25, Miner is third behind Jenna Gray (5,485) and Madi Bugg (5,014) with 4,453 assists. Her 11.39 career assists per set mark would be a program record in the rally-scoring era to 25.
UPCOMING MILESTONES: Outside hitter Elia Rubin is 14 kills away from 1,000 for her career. She will become the 23rd player in program history to accomplish that feat. Libero Elena Oglivie is 168…
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