When freshmen James Shaw and Josef Ctvrtlik stepped onto Stanford’s campus for the first time this fall, they immediately felt a great burden of responsibility. The two were new members of the Stanford men’s volleyball team, and they had big roles to play.
As students began to trickle back from winter break, the new-look Stanford men’s volleyball team took to the court determined to demonstrate that despite personnel… Continue Reading »
The Stanford men’s volleyball team’s bid for the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) tournament championship came up just short on Saturday night, as the Cardinal fell to fourth-seeded UC-Irvine in five tight sets, 20-25, 25-27, 25-21, 25-21, 15-12 in the championship match.
Every March, dozens of college basketball teams wait anxiously for a selection committee to decide their postseason fate. Coaches go on television making their team’s case, resumes are compared in hundreds of different ways and the word “bubble” gets thrown around approximately 12,000 times per second. Months and months of hard work get boiled down to a few numbers and the opinions of a group of old men in a room on one Sunday afternoon, leaving several good teams left outside the Big Dance. And there’s nothing the players can do about it.
Following an impressive three-set sweep over then-No. 2 UCLA on Senior Night last weekend, the Stanford men’s volleyball team will look to carry its surging… Continue Reading »
The No. 5 Stanford men’s volleyball team (20-6, 17-5 MPSF) dominated the third-ranked UCLA Bruins (22-7, 16-6) in straight sets, 25-18, 25-21, 25-18, to lay claim to the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament and, in the process, complete the team’s best conference record since the national championship season of 1997.
The emotions promise to run high in Maples Pavilion this weekend, as the seniors on the Stanford men’s volleyball team will play their final two matches at home and have a chance to end their storied careers in style. The fifth-ranked Cardinal (18-6, 15-5 MPSF) will take on the UC-Santa Barbara Gauchos (7-17, 5-15) on Friday night before squaring off against No. 3 UCLA (21-6, 15-5) on Saturday in a match that has major conference tournament seeding ramifications.
I bet you’re scanning your memory for a game-winning three that capped off an improbable comeback hoops victory over Cal. Or you’re remembering one of the NCAA tournament games that catalyzed one of five consecutive Final Four runs for the women’s team.