Class of 2010 has led volleyball resurgence

To say that the senior class of the Stanford men’s volleyball team has come a long way since its freshman year is an understatement. In fact, considering that the Cardinal went 3-25 overall in the 2006-2007 season — also the first year with head coach John Kosty at the helm — it would be an impressive achievement just to have a winning record this year.

Not for the Stanford seniors though, who merely three years later are finishing their season on the highest note possible, with a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) regular season championship and the No. 1 seed in the MPSF Tournament.

“Coming from very successful volleyball backgrounds to a program that was struggling at the time was an interesting and oftentimes difficult transition,” said senior Ed Howell. “Although our record didn’t reflect it, freshman year, we were in every match that we played . . . figuring out how to play a complete game and not just the first 20 points was probably the most valuable lesson we learned after that first year.”

Stanford’s five senior players — Evan Romero, Kawika Shoji, Howell, Garrett Werner and Jason Palacios — hail from diverse backgrounds and geographic areas, from Hawaii to Wisconsin to Miami. As a group, however, they have bonded as they struggled through the adversity of losing and helped Stanford men’s volleyball return to prominence.

“It was a goal we set for ourselves, and while most freshman would most likely say that and wish for that to come true, we have been fortunate enough to be surrounded by hardworking individuals that have helped us achieve that goal,” said Romero, who will leave Stanford as its career leader in kills, of going from tied for last in the conference freshman year to winning the conference regular season this year. “That fact that our hard work has helped put us in a position to achieve our ultimate goal of a national championship is a blessing, and we are focused and determined to complete what we have started.”

To complete its ultimate goal and win a national championship, Stanford will certainly need a lot of help from the senior class, a group where each individual has contributed significantly to the Cardinal’s success this season.

In no other case is this truer than that of Howell, who, although he was out for the season with an injury, stayed on as team manager and has played an important role by energizing the team during matches.

“One thing that I cherish the most is the friendship that I have gained with the four other seniors,” Howell said. “I consider every one of them my brothers, and I know they feel the same way.”

One of those “brothers,” Palacios, has provided solid play in crucial situations off the bench for the Card this season. It was his service ace that put Stanford ahead for the first time in the second set of the Senior Night match against USC, which sparked a Cardinal run and resulted in a two-set lead for Stanford.

Another of the seniors, Werner, has also contributed significantly to Stanford’s success this season, starting 24 matches for the Card and averaging 1.78 kills per set and 1.11 blocks per set — a number that ties him with fellow middle blocker sophomore Gus Ellis as the team’s leader.

Rounding out the “Fab Five,” as labeled by Romero, are Romero himself and Shoji. Both players have been standouts on the team since the beginning, and this season has been no exception.

Shoji, who is a two-time All-American setter, has anchored the Cardinal offense this year, averaging 13.56 assists per set. Shoji will leave Stanford with 4,256 assists in his career and holds the Stanford single season assists mark, which he set last year with 1,394.

Romero has also been a powerful force on offense for the Cardinal, as he is the Stanford career leader in kills with 1,694. This season in particular, Romero has come up big when the Card needed him. In an April 9 game against Pepperdine, then the No. 3 ranked team in the country, Romero recorded a career-high 37 kills and a .492 hitting percentage, carrying Stanford to a crucial five-set win.

Now, as Stanford turns its attention to the MPSF Tournament, and possibly to the NCAA Tournament, the seniors have their goal from freshman year in sight. But regardless of the outcome, they can look back on their time at Stanford and know that they have succeeded, often through adversity, embodying the true Cardinal spirit and forging a lasting bond with their fellow seniors.

“We have faced many challenges over the course of our four years here . . . Most recently, the loss of one of our beloved coaches, Big Al,” Romero said. “However, all these ‘obstacles’ have also led to the best of times of our journey. We have grown together both in volleyball and in life. The obstacles have made us bond together to overcome them, and the good times have added to the memories that we will never forget.”