Stanford University’s women’s volleyball team will open its home schedule this weekend with matches against Utah State and UC Davis at Maples Pavilion. The No. 5-ranked Cardinal, currently holding a 4-2 record, will face Utah State on Friday at 6 p.m. and UC Davis on Sunday at 3 p.m. Both games are set to be streamed on ACCNX.
Stanford has played Utah State twice before, winning both encounters, including a sweep in their last meeting in 2005. Sunday’s match marks the first time Stanford and UC Davis will compete as Division I opponents.
The Cardinal has maintained a strong home record under head coach Kevin Hambly, achieving a 100-12 mark at Maples Pavilion over eight seasons. This includes an undefeated home season in 2024 where the team dropped only three sets across all matches.
This year’s schedule features eleven matches against teams ranked in the AVCA Preseason Poll, with five of those opponents ranked among the top five nationally. Notable upcoming nonconference opponents include Nebraska, Texas, Florida, Missouri, and UCLA. In ACC play, Stanford is set to meet Pittsburgh, Louisville (twice), SMU, and Georgia Tech.
In preseason polling by ACC coaches for its second year in the conference, Stanford was selected to finish third. The program has consistently placed near the top of its league standings for nearly four decades.
Outside hitter Elia Rubin returns as Stanford’s only All-American from last season after surpassing 1,000 career kills during her junior campaign. She led the team in points per set (4.54) and was among conference leaders in kills per set (3.93).
Libero Spencer Etzler received her first career weekly honors on August 25 by being named both ACC Defensive Player of the Week and Freshman of the Week. With these recognitions included, Stanford athletes have now earned a total of 188 player-of-the-week awards across various categories since joining NCAA competition.
Historically, Stanford leads all programs nationwide with nine NCAA titles and holds records for tournament wins (141), Final Four appearances (23), and national championship match appearances (17). The Cardinal has participated in all but one NCAA Tournament since its inception.
Last season concluded with Stanford posting a 28-5 overall record while tying for second place during its inaugural Atlantic Coast Conference campaign with a conference mark of 17-3. The team reached its eighteenth regional final since the tournament expanded to sixty-four teams in 1998.
A notable moment from last season occurred when a crowd of nearly seven thousand watched No. 2 Stanford defeat No. 6 Texas at Maples Pavilion—a record attendance during Hambly’s tenure—with Texas limited to their lowest hitting percentage (.125) in more than eleven years.
Stanford alumna Kathryn Plummer added to the program’s Olympic legacy by earning a silver medal with Team USA at the Paris Games in summer 2024—becoming the eleventh Olympian produced by Stanford women’s volleyball—and continuing an unbroken streak dating back to 1988 where former Cardinal players have appeared on every U.S Olympic indoor volleyball roster.
Head coach Kevin Hambly is recognized as one of only seven Division I women’s volleyball coaches to lead his school to consecutive NCAA championships; he holds an overall record of 203-44 (.822) over nine seasons at Stanford and has mentored fourteen AVCA All-Americans who have collected twenty-nine awards along with seven Academic All-Americans.
