close
close

first Drop

Com TW NOw News 2024

Cardinal Travels to Lincoln – Stanford Cardinal
news

Cardinal Travels to Lincoln – Stanford Cardinal

STANFORD, California – No. 2 Stanford (7-0) hits the road again, traveling to Lincoln to take on No. 5 Nebraska (8-1) on Wednesday. First serve is scheduled for 5 p.m. PT on Big Ten Network.

SERIES AGAINST THE CORNHUSKERS: Stanford is 10-7 all-time against Nebraska. Last season at Maples Pavilion, the Huskers snapped a five-game winning streak against the Cardinal that dates back to 2014. Stanford defeated Nebraska in four sets in its last trip to Lincoln in 2022.

THE LAST TIME: Stanford swept No. 6 Texas in its home opener before a record Kevin Hambly-era crowd of 6,894 at Maples Pavilion. The Cardinal held the Longhorns to .125 hitting — their lowest in a game in more than 11 years. Elijah Rubin led the team with 12 kills, while Jordyn Harvey added 10 kills on .400 hitting. Setter Kami Miner led Stanford’s offense to a .340 clip and recorded her sixth straight double-double (35 assists, 10 digs).

STACKED DIAGRAM: Stanford is scheduled to play 12 games against teams ranked in the AVCA Preseason Poll, including seven against top-10 opponents. The Cardinal will face No. 1 Texas (W, 3-0), No. 2 Nebraska (Sept. 18), No. 3 Wisconsin (W, 3-1), No. 9 Kentucky (Sept. 21), No. 18 Minnesota (W, 3-2) and No. 24 Marquette (W, 3-0) in non-conference play. Stanford will face No. 4 Pittsburgh (Oct. 20), No. 6 Louisville (Sept. 29 and Nov. 30), No. 14 Georgia Tech (Nov. 9 and Nov. 27) and No. 20 Florida State (Nov. 3) in ACC play.

CHOICE OF THE TRAINERS: In its first ACC season, Stanford was projected to finish second by the league’s coaches. The Cardinal received three first-place votes and placed four on the Preseason All-ACC team — middle blocker Sami Francis, setter Kami Miner, libero Elena Oglivie and outside hitter Elia Rubin.

MILESTONE UNLOCKED: Kami Miner recorded her 4,000th assist on Sept. 2 in a four-set victory over No. 6 Wisconsin, becoming the seventh player in school history to reach the milestone. In the ’25 rally-scoring era, Miner ranks third behind Jenna Gray (5,485) and Madi Bugg (5,014) with 4,179 assists. Her 11.48 career assists per set would be a program record in the ’25 rally-scoring era.

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: Kami Miner became the first Stanford player to be recognized by the ACC with a weekly award, winning Setter of the Week on Sept. 9. Sami Francis followed that up with her first career weekly award, winning Co-Defensive Player of the Week with Louisville’s Elena Scott on Sept. 16. Combined with the Pac-12 selections, the Cardinal now boasts 177 players of the week, including 31 offensive, 38 defensive, 1 setter and 34 freshmen.

2024 ACC Weekly Selections
September 9: Kami Miner (Setter)
September 16: Sami Francis (co-defender)

OLYMPIC TRADITION: Stanford alumna Kathryn Plummer (’20) won a silver medal with the United States at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. Plummer, who won three national titles at The Farm (2016, 2018, 2019), is the 11th Olympian in the program’s history. Her addition to the list extends Stanford’s streak of having at least one former Cardinal player on every U.S. indoor Olympic team since 1988. A school-record 59 Stanford-affiliated athletes qualified to compete in Paris, capturing a record 39 medals. For the third consecutive Games, Stanford boasted more Team USA selections (37) than any other school.

IN NUMBERS: Stanford has won more NCAA titles (9), more NCAA tournament games (138), more Final Four appearances (23) and more national championship games (17) than any other program in the country. The Cardinal has qualified for 42 of the 43 NCAA tournaments all-time.

REVIEW OF THE 2023 SEASON: Stanford finished the 2023 season with a 29-4 overall record and a 24th conference championship with a 19-1 mark in the Pac-12. The Cardinal made its 42nd NCAA postseason appearance in 43 seasons and reached its 17th regional final since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1998.

COACHING EXCELLENCE: Kevin Hambly became the seventh head coach in Division I women’s volleyball to lead a school to back-to-back NCAA titles. Hambly is now 178-37 (.828) in eight seasons at The Farm, guiding 13 AVCA All-Americans to 26 awards and six Academic All-Americans (eight awards).

THE HAMBLY FILE: Kevin Hambly coached 12 AVCA All-Americans to 19 honors during his time at Illinois and has now guided 25 All-Americans to 45 honors. He is the third head coach to lead Stanford to a national championship. The two-time Pac-12 Coach of the Year became the first Cardinal head coach (in any sport) to win an NCAA title in either of his first two seasons on The Farm since 2005.