Brian Cook, Steven Irvin and James Shaw helped the Stanford men’s volleyball team make program history on Thursday.
Cook and Irvin, both senior outside hitters, and sophomore Shaw, the team’s setter, became Stanford’s first trio to be named first team pick on the all-Mountain Pacific Sports Federation team.
The Cardinal landed six overall selections, with the three first-team picks the most by any team in the conference.
Senior opposite Eric Mochalski and sophomore middle Conrad Kaminski were tabbed to the All-MPSF second team, while redshirt junior libero Grant Delgado garnered honorable mention accolades.
Cook was honored for the third time. He was a second team pick in 2012 and first team last season.
Cook leads the Cardinal and ranks in the top-15 in the MPSF with 3.68 kills and 4.20 points per set. He upped those marks to 3.77 kills and 4.26 points per set in MPSF play. He has led the team in kills 18 times and has registered five double-doubles on the year.
Irvin, who was an honorable mention selection in 2012 and notched second team honors a year ago, also earned his third career recognition. He is second on the squad with 3.28 kills and 3.83 points per set, and is hitting over .300 for the first time in his career (.313). Both marks rank in the top-15 in the MPSF. He also leads the team with 0.32 aces per set, good for seventh in the conference.
Shaw, who earned All-MPSF honorable mention and freshman team accolades last season, has guided the Cardinal offense to an MPSF-best .334 team hitting percentage, which ranks third nationally.
He averages 10.78 assists per set, ranking fourth in the MPSF, to go with 1.02 kills and 1.51 digs per set. Earlier this season he was named the MPSF and AVCA National Player of the Week after the Cardinal knocked off Pepperdine and USC on the road.
Mochalski, who was an All-MPSF freshman pick in 2011 and an honorable mention selection in 2012, has made the transition from middle to opposite this season.
He ranks third on the team with 2.18 kills per set, while hitting .289. His 0.30 aces per set is eighth-best in the MPSF. He has picked up MPSF and AVCA National Player of the Week honors this season as well.
Kaminski collected the first conference honors of his career. He is the only player in the MPSF hitting over .500 (.502) this season. He averages 1.62 kills and 1.02 blocks per set for the Cardinal. He has tallied eight blocks in a match on three occasions, the most by a Cardinal player this season.
Delgado was also recognized for the first time in his career. The libero has started 26 of the Cardinal’s 27 matches this season, ranking fourth in the MPSF and 11th in the nation with 2.44 digs per set.
He has twice registered 18 digs in a match this season, against UCLA in the season opener (Jan. 4) and versus Long Beach State at home (Jan. 31).
Stanford earned the No. 3 seed in the MPSF Tournament, its seventh consecutive appearance in the postseason. The Cardinal will host No. 6 seed UC Irvine on Saturday in Maples Pavilion at 7 p.m.
Softball
Erin Ashby hit a home run and drove in four runs but Stanford lost to host Utah, 12-7, in a Pac-12 Conference contest Thursday.
Leah White also homered and freshman Kylie Sorenson had two hits and two RBI as the Cardinal (2-11 Pac-12, 25-17) could not hold onto a 7-0 lead heading into the bottom of the second inning.
Utah scored four in the fourth and five in the fifth to overcome the deficit.
The same two teams meet again Friday at 2 p.m.
Earlier in the day, Sorenson was named a top-25 finalist for the inaugural National Fastpitch Coaches Association Freshman of the Year Award, as announced by the organization.
Sorenson has been outstanding at shortstop and leads the team in batting average (.375), doubles (14), walks (33), slugging percentage (.616) and on-base percentage (.520) on the season. She ranks second on the team in RBI (33) and third in hits (41).
Sorenson has also taken over some of the pitching duties due to injuries and has pitched 42 1/3 innings, notching a 3-4 record with one save.
Sorenson is one of six Pac-12 players included on the list that includes players from 25 schools and 11 leagues.
The top 10 finalists will be announced on May 8 and the top three will be named on May 22. The inaugural award will be presented during a live ceremony on May 27 prior to the opening of the Women’s College World Series.
By Stanford Athletics
By Stanford Athletics
By Stanford Athletics