STANFORD, Calif. – No. 5 Stanford (9-2, 1-1 ACC) plays host to NC State (7-3, 2-0 ACC) on Friday at 7 p.m. and Wake Forest (9-4, 1-1 ACC) on Sunday at 1 p.m. Both matches will be streamed on ACCNX.
SERIES AGAINST THE WOLFPACK: Friday is the first meeting between Stanford and NC State.
SERIES AGAINST THE DEMON DEACONS: Sunday is the first meeting between the Cardinal and Demon Deacons.
LAST TIME OUT: Stanford split its opening weekend in the ACC, defeating Notre Dame in South Bend before falling to No. 5 Louisville at the KFC Yum! Center. Elia Rubin led the team with 3.71 kills, 2.00 digs and 1.00 blocks per set. Sami Francis added 2.00 kills and 2.00 blocks per set. Stanford hit .219 as a team and notched 1.71 aces and 3.14 blocks per set in the two matches.
PACKED THE HOUSE: A record crowd in the Kevin Hambly era of 6,894 watched No. 2 Stanford sweep No. 6 Texas at Maples Pavilion on Sept. 15. The Cardinal held the Longhorns to .125 hitting – their lowest in a match in over 11 years.
HOME SWEET HOME: In eight seasons under Kevin Hambly, Stanford is 87-12 at Maples Pavilion, including 18-2 in the NCAA Tournament. The Cardinal won 32 in a row at home to begin Hambly’s tenure at Stanford.
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 4,312 assists. Her 11.41 career assists per set mark would be a program record in the rally-scoring era to 25.
OLYMPIC TRADITION: Stanford alumna Kathryn Plummer (’20) captured a…
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