No. 3 Stanford men’s volleyball (14-2, 12-2 MPSF) will get a bit of a break this weekend as it plays a single match on the road against No. 10 Pepperdine (7-5, 6-5 MPSF) on Sunday.
The Cardinal have faced nothing but strong opponents since the beginning of the season, culminating in a big win against then-No. 2 UCLA two weeks ago. With its strong performances against top teams, Stanford is well-equipped to take on the 10th-ranked Waves this weekend. The Cardinal will then have time to recover before facing the Waves at home again the next weekend.
Despite its lower ranking, Pepperdine may still prove to be tough competition for the Cardinal. The Waves’ main strength is their tight defense, which has averaged an impressive 3.3 blocks per set – the highest in the nation. Pepperdine middle blocker Tommy Carmody is also ranked first individually in the NCAA in blocks per set.
Stanford will counter with its strong attack, which has proven to be adept at overcoming teams with strong defensive lines all season. The Cardinal are ranked fourth in the country with 13.12 kills per set, illustrating the power of their attack.
The Cardinal is hitting .351 as a team, placing them third in national rankings and second in the MPSF. The accuracy of their attack has contributed significantly to their success so far this season.
“We always push ourselves to keep the ball alive and scrap for any kind of strange play that gets a little out of our control, and just try to put that back in control,” said redshirt sophomore middle blocker Kevin Rakestraw.
With their recent level of play, the Cardinal should be strongly favored to beat Pepperdine, which has lost to several of the teams that the Cardinal have already beaten, including UCLA, UC Santa Barbara and USC.
If the Cardinal excel early in the game, this will also be an opportunity to try new lineups and new combinations of players out on the court.
“Lately, we’ve been running the middles a lot. Earlier on we were more pin-heavy. So I think just finding a balance between the two would be a great thing,” Rakestraw said.
The Cardinal will play Pepperdine in Malibu, California, on Sunday at 5 p.m.
Contact Laura Sussman at [email protected].