Stanford men's volleyball is off to a winning start Stanford men's volleyball is off to a winning start (January 09, 2004)

Cardinal football trio will compete in annual East-West Shrine Game on Saturday

by Rick Eymer

The Stanford men's volleyball team heads to Santa Barbara for the UCSB/Elephant Bar Collegiate Invitational, which begins today, with a victory already in hand.

The Cardinal opened their season on Tuesday with a 30-21, 30-18, 30-17 nonconference victory over host UC Santa Cruz.

Following the Santa Barbara tournament, the season immediately heats up as Mountain Pacific Sports Federation play begins when UCLA comes to Stanford on Friday, Jan. 16 for a 7 p.m. showdown.

Cardinal sophomore outside hitter Ben Reddy helped get the season off to a good start with 11 kills and a .429 hitting percentage against the Banana Slugs. Stanford hit .304 as a team and limited Santa Cruz to a .052 hitting percentage.

"We had our first game mistakes, but on the whole it was a good match and got us off to a good start," said Stanford coach Don Shaw.

The Cardinal were scheduled to meet top-seeded Long Beach State in the first round of the Santa Barbara tournament today at 7 p.m. Stanford will play two matches on Saturday in either the championship or consolation rounds depending on what happens against the 49ers.

Stanford, which qualified for the MPSF playoffs last year, finished sixth in last year's tournament.
Football

Stanford seniors Luke Powell, Brett Pierce and junior Amon Gordon will play for the West squad in the East-West Shrine Game on Saturday at Pacific Bell Park at 11 a.m. (ESPN).

Gordon will forgo his final season of collegiate eligibility to make himself available for the NFL draft. Powell, named the team's co-MVP (with Oshiomogho Atogwe) finished his Cardinal career with 128 receptions for 2,080 yards and 14 touchdowns. Pierce, who started all 11 games for Stanford this season at tight end and recorded 11 receptions, caught 38 passes in his career for 391 yards and three touchdowns.

In related news, wide receiver Mark Bradford, strong safety Trevor Hooper and offensive guard Jeff Edwards were named to the Pac-10's All-Freshmen team. Bradford, who joined fellow football player Evan Moore on the Stanford basketball team, and Hooper were also named third team All-American freshman.

Also, defensive line coach Peter McCarty left Stanford for a similar position at the University of Central Florida. McCarty, who coached Stanford's defensive ends the past two years, reunites with head coach George O'Leary, who was McCarty's head coach at Georgia Tech in 2001.
Women's gymnastics

Stanford opens its season with a quadrangular today at 7:30 p.m. against Central Michigan, Sacramento State and San Jose State at Burnham Pavilion.

The sixth-ranked Cardinal features six returning All-Americans in seniors Kendall Beck, Caroline Fluhrer, Lise Léveillé and Lindsay Wing, and sophomores Natalie Foley and Glyn Sweets.

"I believe this year we have the talent, the experience and the leadership to do something extraordinary," said Stanford coach Kristen Smith. "This is the year we are looking to establish ourselves as one of the top teams in the country. Our goal, our motivation and our drive comes from a burning desire to win a National Championship."

Stanford participated in the NCAA championships last year after finishing second in the Pac-10 to eventual national champion UCLA. Central Michigan has won nine of the last 13 Mid-American Conference titles, while Sacramento State is a four-time defending champion of the MPSF and the Spartans reached the NCAA regional meet.

Stanford opens its Pac-10 season at No. 9 Arizona State on Sunday, Jan. 18.
Sailing

Stanford successfully defended its title at the Rose Bowl Regatta last weekend, winning the event at the Alamitos Bay Yacht Club in Long Beach.

The win surprised Stanford coach Jay Kehoe. "I just hoped to do well with our young team," he said.

Sophomore Brian Haines, with freshman Caroline Young as crew, sailed Stanford's "A" boat to three wins in eight races to lead a combined A and B victory by six points over USC. Freshmen Emery Wager and crew Becca Levin competed in B Division for the Cardinal.

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