Stanford looks to secure No. 1 seed for MPSF Tournament

The No. 1 Stanford men’s volleyball team has a big weekend ahead as it looks to build momentum before the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Tournament.

After dominating in its final two home games last weekend to clinch home-court advantage through the quarterfinals of the MPSF Tourney, the Cardinal (18-5, 15-5 MPSF) is looking to clinch its first conference title since 1997. One win on the road this weekend guarantees the team a share of the championship, while two wins would win it outright.

However, winning the title won’t be an easy task for the Card, as it faces two quality league opponents in UCLA (15-12, 10-10) and defending national champion UC-Irvine (14-13, 9-11).

Outside of the conference championship, stakes are also high with regard to home-court advantage and consideration for the single NCAA Tournament at-large berth should the Cardinal fail to win the MPSF Tournament. In a conference as competitive as the MPSF, where the top five teams are separated by only two games, home-court advantage provides a needed boost in the playoffs. If the Cardinal wins both of its matches this weekend, it will play at home throughout the MPSF Tournament—but if it were to lose both matches, the team could end up as low as the No. 4 seed.

The Cardinal has been rolling recently, winning its last three matches and 11 of 12 overall—a streak that has elevated Stanford to the No. 1 national ranking. A variety of players have led the Cardinal, including senior opposite Evan Romero, sophomore outside hitter Brad Lawson and senior setter Kawika Shoji.

Romero, who set a career high of 37 kills in last weekend’s win over Pepperdine, was named the MPSF co-Player of the Week last week for his efforts in the wins over the Waves and USC. Lawson, for his part, is a two-time AVCA National Player of the Week this season and has 400 kills on the season to lead the Cardinal, while Shoji is second in the nation with 13.86 assists per game.

While Stanford has plenty of star power, UCLA has a few stars of its own, in particular senior outside hitter Garrett Muagututia. Muagututia and sophomore opposite Jack Polales each average over 3.5 kills per set for an offense that contains a considerable amount of firepower.

The Bruins will be further motivated by a desire to advance to the postseason, something that is not yet guaranteed for them. Currently, UCLA sits at seventh place in the MPSF and needs one win this weekend over the Card or Pacific to advance to the tournament.

UC-Irvine faces a similar challenge to the Bruins, and is currently sitting in the final playoff spot at eighth in the conference. The Anteaters can potentially finish anywhere from seventh to 11th place and will need a strong showing this weekend against Pacific and Stanford to advance into the MPSF Tournament.

The Anteaters also boast a successful offense, led by sophomore opposite Carson Clark, who is third in the nation with 5.01 kills per set. He is complemented by junior outside hitter Jordan DuFault, who hammers 4.04 kills per set. The Cardinal will also have to deal with the strong service game of the Anteaters, who rank second in the MPSF with 1.46 service aces per set.

The games this weekend are incredibly important for Stanford, and while the team’s success up to this point has guaranteed it a spot in the MPSF Tournament, a strong finish to the season will bring the Card that much closer to a berth in the four-team NCAA Tournament and the ultimate goal of an NCAA championship.

The season-ending road trip starts with the UCLA match at 7 p.m. in Los Angeles on Friday night and ends at UC-Irvine on Saturday, also at 7 p.m.