Men set to face UCLANo. 8 Stanford heads into league opener 2-0

January 9, 2008

Stanford, CA (UWIRE) -- With Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) play set to begin this weekend, the No. 5 Stanford men's volleyball team finds itself in an unfamiliar position - undefeated. The Cardinal took second place in last weekend's Elephant Bar Tournament in Santa Barbara, losing the championship match to Canada's top-ranked team, Alberta, a non-NCAA foe. As a result, the loss did not count against the team's record.

The Cardinal (2-0) will be looking to improve on a season which saw the team finish 3-22 and in 11th place in the MPSF. With six starters from that team returning - libero Brian Lindberg was the only player to graduate - and one of the nation's best recruiting classes, Stanford could surpass its 2007 win total this weekend.

Senior captain and current MPSF Player of the Week Matt Ceran anchors the Cardinal offense, with a 60-kill performance this past weekend.

"Right now he is our team leader, and he leads us on the floor as an outside hitter," head coach John Kosty said. "He is playing like a senior and doing exactly what the team needs him to do."

Sophomore Evan Romero is a powerful right side hitter who started as a freshman and was second to Ceran in Santa Barbara. Romero was the top hitter in 2007 with 332 kills while Ceran was a close second with 322.

The middle blocking tandem of junior Brandon Williams and sophomore Garrett Werner also returns, after each hit over .300 and notched at least 65 blocks last year.

Sophomore Kawika Shoji, who set and also played outside hitter last year, returns as the quarterback of the team. He tallied more than 100 assists in the team's first weekend of action.

Shoji, Romero, Warner and Ed Howell all saw significant action as freshmen, thrown into action from the beginning.

"That was a process we wanted them to go through," Kosty said of their trial under fire. "They have learned a lot and are better off for it, and I think they are hungrier to win because of it."

"Spencer McLachlin already has made an impact for us," Kosty said. "He has moved into the starting position at outside hitter and has played very consistently in all the matches he has played. He is doing exactly what we need him to do coming in as a freshman."

Inafuku and McLachlin, one of the top recruits in the nation and Hawaii State Player of the Year, are among six freshmen on the roster for the Cardinal, making a relatively young team even younger than last year. The pair are joined by fellow freshmen outside hitter Ian Connolly and middle blockers Garrett Dobbs, Max Halvorson and Charley Henrickson.

The last time Stanford had more than four wins was in 2005, but this year's team has already upset the defending national champion and broken into the top five in the AVCA poll. The Cardinal began the season ranked No. 13 - the upset of then-No. 5 UC Irvine bumped Stanford up in the rankings.

In the preseason MPSF poll, the Cardinal was picked to finish ninth out of 12 with No. 2 Pepperdine, top-ranked Brigham Young and No. 4 UCLA at the top of the list.

"I think there are a couple of really good teams out there this year," Kosty said. "In the MPSF in particular, it is going to be a battle from top to bottom. Before league play, BYU and Pepperdine are one and two, but I think they are beatable - they are not going to be as dominant as in the past."

Despite the strength of the MPSF - which boasts ten of the nation's top 15 teams - Kosty believes his team has the talent to be in the mix.

"I truly do," he said. "I think there are probably eight teams in the MPSF who have the ability [to compete in the conference]. It will be a really fun battle all the way through the season."

The Cardinal will begin MPSF play on the road this weekend, visiting UCLA before a rematch with UC Irvine.

(C) 2008 The Stanford Daily via UWIRE