The awards continue to roll in for Stanford setter James Shaw as he has been tabbed the Sports Imports/AVCA Men’s Division I-II National Player of the Week, the organization announced today. The sophomore was also named the MPSF Player of the Week on Monday.
Shaw directed a Cardinal offense which hit .441 in its wins at No. 4 Pepperdine and No. 6 USC last week. He averaged 14.00 assists per set, while hitting .500 (13-3-20) and adding 11 digs and six blocks.
At No. 4 Pepperdine, the Woodside native racked up 56 assists to go with five kills and five digs as the Cardinal collected its first win over a ranked opponent on the road this season.
Shaw followed up with 42 assists in a sweep at No. 6 USC as the Cardinal hit an MPSF high this season of .527. It ties for the second-highest team hitting percentage in the rally scoring era in school history. Shaw also put down eight kills on 11 errorless attempts to hit .727 against the Trojans. It marked the first Cardinal win at USC since 2010 as Stanford sided out at a rate of 90 percent in the match.
He becomes the 14th Stanford player to be recognized by the AVCA, joining Eric Mochalski (Feb. 11) as Cardinal representatives this season.
Stanford plays host to No. 10 Hawaii on Friday and Saturday in Maples Pavilion, both nights at 7 p.m.
Men’s gymnastics
Stanford freshman Akash Modi was named the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Gymnast of the Week for the fourth time this season, as announced by the conference Tuesday.
Modi recorded four top-two finishes in four events to help Stanford post a season-best team score of 446.450. He finished first on parallel bars (15.650) and tied for second on pommel horse (15.350), vault (15.350) and high bar (15.100).
Modi’s scores on pommel horse, vault and high bar are collegiate personal bests.
Modi is ranked in the top 20 in the nation in each event and is first in the all-around with an 88.867 four-score average. His season average of 89.487 is more than 1.3 points higher than any other gymnast in the country.
Stanford will have the next two weeks off before heading to Norman, Okla., for the MPSF Championships on March 29.
Women’s gymnastics
Stanford’s Kristina Vaculik earned her third Pac-12 Gymnast of the Week award of the season, as announced by the conference Tuesday.
Vaculik continued her outstanding season in two meets last week against No. 22 California and at No. 4 Alabama.
Vaculik claimed individual wins in four of five events against California, finishing first in the all-around (39.550), bars (9.925), beam (9.875) and floor (9.900). Her score on beam tied her collegiate best.
Vaculik had a strong showing at No. 4 Alabama, posting a 9.775 or higher in three of four events. She earned a 9.875 on vault to tie for fifth and posted a 9.850 on bars and 9.775 on beam. Her 9.850 performance on bars was crucial because it helped keep the Cardinal within striking distance of the Crimson Tide after Stanford had a gymnast fall prior to Vaculik’s performance.
This is Vaculik’s third Gymnast of the Week honor this season and is Stanford’s 27th honor all-time. She leads the conference with three Gymnast of the Week awards this season.
The Cardinal will have this weekend off and will continue preparations for the Pac-12 Championships at Cal.
By Stanford Athletics
By Stanford Athletics
By Stanford Athletics
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