{"id":152843,"date":"2010-01-08T04:49:20","date_gmt":"2010-01-08T09:49:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.stanforddaily.com\/cgi-bin\/?p=1036896"},"modified":"2010-01-08T04:49:20","modified_gmt":"2010-01-08T09:49:20","slug":"m-volleyball-cardinal-looks-to-take-next-step","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/152843","title":{"rendered":"M. Volleyball: Cardinal looks to take next step"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Senior<\/p>\n

Senior setter Kawika Shoji is one of six returning starters looking to bring Stanford back into the national title chase. The Cardinal is ranked No. 3 in the nation this preseason after finishing 21-11 in 2009. (Stanford Daily File Photo)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

While the Cardinal produced one of its most successful seasons since 1997, finishing in fourth place in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) and sixth nationally, the team met an abrupt ending against USC in the first round of finals.<\/p>\n

Now, Stanford is ranked No. 3 in the coaches\u2019 poll as well as in the MPSF, behind No. 1 USC and the defending national champions, No. 2 UC-Irvine. Last season, the Card went 21-11 only to finish with a five-set loss against USC in MPSF playoffs.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe went up 2-0 and it was disappointing that we lost that match in five,\u201d said head coach John Kosty. \u201cWe thought we had our opportunity to go deep into the tournament and maybe end in the national championships.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, the attitude heading into this season thus far has been tremendously influenced by last season\u2019s highlights including libero Erik Shoji\u2019s kick set that appeared on ESPN and YouTube with over 250,000 views. Similarly, the team experienced \u201clate match heroics\u201d in Long Beach \u201cby pancaking a ball\u201d for the win, according to Kosty.<\/p>\n

Last season, the team also bid farewell to starting middle blocker Brandon Williams. His position will be filled by Gus Ellis, Charley Henrikson and Max Halvorson.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think Brandon is a tough guy to replace, but Gus Ellis got a lot of playing time last year so he\u2019ll fill in nicely,\u201d senior setter Kawika Shoji said.<\/p>\n

With the main hit to the roster coming from the graduated middle blocker, the Card returns six of its seven starters, including first team All-American brothers Kawika and Erik Shoji.<\/p>\n

The brothers are the first duo from Stanford awarded All-American honors since 1993.<\/p>\n

\u201c[Erik] helps me out because he passes me the ball,\u201d Kawika said. \u201cI tell everyone he makes me look good. He makes my job a lot easier.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Shoji brothers have brought much success to the program, including a pair of school records. Kawika set the bar for assists in a single season at 1,394, while Erik eclipsed the national record with 447 digs in a single season.<\/p>\n

Aside from the Shoji brothers, the Card returns its best hitter, senior opposite Evan Romero, who holds the Stanford record for most career kills at 1,295. Last year was Romero\u2019s third straight season leading the Card\u2019s offensive attack, averaging 4.33 kills per set.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re senior-led in team with a junior and a couple of sophomores thrown in and that gives us a definite advantage over a lot of teams,\u201d Kosty said. \u201cWe\u2019re striving to be even better than we were last year.\u201d<\/p>\n

This coming season remains a chance to prove to the volleyball world just what the Cardinal is made of. Though last season remains a successful season in Stanford history, the team expected a longer run into the MPSF playoffs. This season holds its own set of expectations as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know that I can speak for everyone on the team when I say that our expectations for this season are very high,\u201d Ellis said. \u201cWith almost all of our starters returning, strong senior leadership and a refined work ethic, we are looking forward to a great season and hopefully we will be ending it with a final match in Maples Pavilion for the NCAA title.\u201d<\/p>\n

All of these qualities will be tested as the season gets underway as the Card hosts its first opponent, University of Hawaii. Hawaii exhibits a challenging team, especially with 6-foot-9 opposite hitter Jonas Umlauft, 6-foot-5 outside hitter Steven Hunt and 6-foot-3 outside hitter Gus Tuaniga.<\/p>\n

Hawaii will be the initial test of where Stanford stands in the MPSF.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to prove that we can go deeper into the MPSF tournament,\u201d Kosty said. \u201cWe need to prove our consistency and be ranked higher all season long. Our team is ready. We filled all of our holes. We\u2019re ready to go after it.\u201d<\/p>\n

This month starts off the MPSF excitement and the team hopes to continue making its journey toward the NCAA championships in the spring here at Stanford.<\/p>\n

Support the Card as they take on Hawaii on Jan. 15 in Maples Pavilion and Jan. 16 in Burnham Pavilion. First serves are at 7 p.m.<\/p>\n

This weekend, however, the team will be playing in an alumni match on Saturday in Maples Pavilion that will feature graduates from 1990 to 2009. The match will commence at 8 p.m.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Senior setter Kawika Shoji is one of six returning starters looking to bring Stanford back into the national title chase. The Cardinal is ranked No. 3 in the nation this preseason after finishing 21-11 in 2009. (Stanford Daily File Photo) While the Cardinal produced one of its most successful seasons since 1997, finishing in fourth […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2195,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-152843","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152843","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2195"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=152843"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152843\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=152843"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=152843"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=152843"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}