Looking to continue its recent success and avenge some past losses, the Stanford men’s volleyball team will hit the road this weekend to face two ranked conference opponents.

However, this won’t be an easy task, as the Cardinal will face two opponents that each handed it losses earlier in the season—No. 5 Cal State Northridge (16-7, 11-6 MPSF) and No. 10 UC Santa Barbara (10-13, 7-10 MPSF). With the chance to clinch an MPSF tournament berth before the last few weeks, it is certain the Card will strive for a different result this time around.

“We have grown both mentally and physically since then [the earlier losses], and have learned from the mistakes we made in both those matches,” said senior opposite Evan Romero. “Both Northridge and Santa Barbara are very talented teams that we look forward to playing, aiming to display that the lessons we have learned since have made us a better team.”

Junior libero Jordan Inafuku also agreed that things had changed since the last time Stanford played these two teams.

“When we played in January we didn’t win close sets, and we didn’t respond well to what we perceived to be some poor officiating,” Inafuku said. “The thing that’s most different about us now is the way we respond in those situations. You’ll see a very different Stanford team if we find ourselves in a similar position.”

While this is certainly true, the Cardinal also will be facing talented opponents who boast some exceptional players. Cal State Northridge senior middle blocker, Jacek Ratajczak, listed at seven feet and two inches tall, is hard to miss. Ratajczak is currently second on the team with three kills per set and first in blocks with just over one per set. However, he is not Northridge’s main offensive weapon and is complemented by senior opposite Theo Edwards and senior middle blocker Kevin McKniff.

“Jacek Ratajczak is a difficult player to defend just because he’s a seven-footer and we just don’t match up with that kind of height,” Inafuku said. “We are definitely going to try to serve tough so that [Northridge] has a difficult time getting him the ball.”

Santa Barbara has its share of talent too, including junior outside hitter Jeff Menzel, who leads the nation in kills per set with 5.33.

“Menzel is definitely the big stick for the Gauchos,” Inafuku said. “He’s taken over a thousand swings and deservedly so—he’s a very dynamic player. We’re going to make sure we devote a good deal of attention to him and try to make things a little more difficult for him.”

In addition to avenging past losses, the Card also hopes to retain its No. 1 ranking this weekend. Last week marked the first time this season that Stanford was the unanimous choice for the No. 1 spot, beating out second-ranked Pepperdine for all 16 first-place votes. This adds a new dimension to the matches the Cardinal will play for the rest of the season, a grueling schedule that has them battling some of the top teams in the country, including No. 2 Pepperdine.

“First, [the ranking] is a reminder that we indeed have the talent to be labeled as one of the top programs in the nation, but yet it is also a tool that other teams we know will use to target us and bring the best they have to play us,” Romero said of the Cardinal’s possession of the No. 1 spot.

In the coming weeks, the Cardinal will look to defend its position atop the national rankings. Led by a dominating offense that leads the nation in hitting percentage at .365 and is second in kills per game (16.36) and a defense that has stepped up big in recent matches, the Card is in the thick of the hunt for its second national title. While it faces several top teams in the remainder of its schedule, the team is embracing the difficulty this may present.

“The remaining six matches are all against top teams in the country, yet we look forward to the challenges and aim to continue improving so that we are fully prepare for the postseason,” Romero said.

The match against Cal State Northridge takes place on Friday at 7 p.m. in Northridge, Calif., with the UCSB match at the same time on Saturday night in Santa Barbara, Calif.