Stanford men’s volleyball prepares for its last two games of the regular season this weekend. The Cardinal will be playing No. 5 Cal Baptist and No. 1 BYU at home at Maples Pavilion today and tomorrow, respectively.
Stanford earned a much-needed 3-0 win on Tuesday against Pacific, snapping a four-game losing streak and entering a three-game road trip on a positive note.
The Stanford men’s volleyball team has finally found the key to success, or so it seems after two critical and emotional wins at home this past weekend. The Cardinal beat No. 5 Pepperdine (9-6) and No. 13 USC (4-9), both important rivals to the program. The weekend’s success demonstrates that Stanford is a tough, maturing team and possibly a contender for the national championship.
Stanford is returning to Maples Pavilion this weekend after four games on the road, a stretch during which Stanford went 2-2, had great success and lost in a heartbreaking ending. No. 5 Stanford (10-6, 7-6 MPSF) is set to face No. 4 Pepperdine (8-5, 8-5) on Saturday and No. 9 USC (3-8, 3-8) on Sunday. The Cardinal hopes to avenge its two early road losses against both teams.
The Cardinal (9-5, 6-5 MPSF) has struggled to find consistency away from home this season—the team’s away record is now 2-4 after splitting two road games last weekend. Stanford was able to hold off Cal State-Northridge to earn a 3-1 victory but fell short against No. 4 Long Beach State in straight sets.
The No. 3 Cardinal men’s volleyball team will look to improve its 1-3 road record when it travels south this weekend to face No. 8 Cal State-Northridge (6-4, 4-4 MPSF) on Feb. 15 and then to No. 4 Long Beach State (9-4, 7-3 MPSF) for a match on Feb. 16. The Cardinal (8-4, 5-4 MPSF), hoping to build momentum going into the second half of the season, is just two weeks away from a meeting with No. 1 BYU.
After back-to-back matches in Hawaii, the Stanford men’s volleyball team will return to the Farm—where it hasn’t lost this season—for two weekend home matches. The No. 3 Cardinal (7-3, 4-3 Pac-12) will face No. 1 UC-Irvine (8-3, 5-3 Pac-12) tonight, and newly unranked UC-San Diego (4-8, 2-6 Pac-12) on Saturday.
Stanford is looking to capitalize off its recent success against No. 4 UCLA on Tuesday night, helping to push its rocky road trip last weekend against Pepperdine and USC into the past. The Cardinal hopes to maintain its momentum after its four-set victory over fellow No. 4 UCLA as well as its undefeated record at home. While Stanford is coming off an impressive win, UCSB is reeling from two-straight losses.