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The Stanford men's volleyball team looks to continue its improvement when the regular season opens Friday against BYU at the UC Santa Barbara tournament.

The eighth-ranked Cardinal (17-11 last year) recorded its first winning season since 2003 as junior setter Kawika Shoji had an All-American season. He led Stanford with 990 assists (10.31 per game) and a 14-game turnaround from the 2007 season. Shoji was a second-team AVCA All-American.
The 17 wins last year nearly matched the total of the previous three years combined (18-66).

John Kosty enters his third year as Cardinal head coach, although he's no stranger to the program. He served as a Stanford assistant coach for 16 years, two as associate head coach.

In addition to Shoji, Stanford boasts four seniors on the roster: 6-6 middle blocker Brandon Williams, who had a team-leading 78 blocks last year; 6-1 libero Jarod Keller; 6-4 setter Miki Groppi; and 6-6 middle blocker Cameron Christoffers.

Stanford's schedule is loaded, as the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation has nine of the top 15 preseason nationally ranked teams. The Cardinal could play as many as 25 matches against ranked foes.

The Cougars (25-5 in 2008) return five starters. BYU is a three-time NCAA champion.

--Palo Alto Online Sports