Season in Review

STANFORD, Calif. - Under the direction of 16th-year head coach John Kosty, the 2022 Cardinal finished 14-14 overall and fifth in the MPSF at 4-8. Stanford advanced to the final of the MPSF Tournament for the first time since 2014, falling in five sets to No. 8 Pepperdine at Pauley Pavilion. Outside hitter Will Rottman (first team) and libero Justin Lui (honorable mention) were named AVCA All-Americans, giving Stanford multiple selections for the first time since 2019. The Cardinal finished the season ranked No. 9 in the AVCA poll.

AVCA ALL-AMERICANS: Outside hitter Will Rottman was named an AVCA First Team All-American - Stanford's first first-team selection since 2016. Rottman led the nation in total kills with 472 - the sixth-most in a single season in the rally-scoring era in program history. Libero Justin Lui landed on the honorable mention list, giving Stanford multiple All-Americans for the first time since 2019. The Cardinal now has 74 All-America awards all-time.

ALL-MPSF: Junior Will Rottman was named to the All-MPSF first team, while middle blocker Ethan Hill and libero Justin Lui were tabbed honorable mention. Stanford now has 109 all-conference selections all-time.

ACADEMIC HONORS: Stanford led the conference with 10 selections to the MPSF All-Academic list. Redshirt junior Justin Lui was recognized for the third time, while juniors Adam Chang, Nathaniel Gates, Kevin Lamp, Nathan Lietzke and Will Rottman were repeat selections. Earning the accolade for the first time were redshirt sophomore Ethan Hill and sophomores Chris Kelly, Aidan Peters and Luke Turner.

RECORD-SETTING PERFORMANCE: Junior outside hitter Will Rottman set a school record at Grand Canyon (April 2) with a career-best 34 kills in a 3-1 loss. It was the most kills by a Cardinal player in a four-set match in the rally-scoring era in program history, and the most in a match by an MPSF player since 2017. 

RANKED WINS: Stanford registered five wins over ranked opponents in 2022, including three top 5 victories. The Cardinal's win over No. 1 UCLA on March 11 was its first win over a No. 1-ranked team since 2016.

IT HAD BEEN A WHILE: Stanford won the season series against BYU for the first time since 2015. The Cardinal registered its first sweep over the Cougars since 2012 on April 8 and pulled off a reverse sweep on April 9, which finished 24-22 Stanford in the fifth, tying for the third longest match in MPSF history and the longest fifth set since 2017.

AVCA NOD: Outside hitter Will Rottman secured AVCA National Player of the Week honors on April 12 after averaging 6.25 kills on .468 hitting and 6.81 points per set in the wins over BYU. The junior hit a career-high .680 in a sweep on April 8 and followed up with 32 kills, including nine in the decisive fifth set on April 9. 

MPSF WEEKLY AWARDS: On Jan. 10, outside hitter Will Rottman and libero Justin Lui were tabbed the MPSF Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week, respectively. Rottman received offensive honors again on March 14 for his performances versus No. 1 UCLA. Sophomore Luke Turner picked up his second career MPSF Defensive Player of the Week award on April 11 for his efforts against BYU.

COACHES POLL: Stanford was picked to finish sixth in the MPSF by the league's coaches prior to the start of the 2022 season. Pepperdine, which received five first-place votes, was selected to win the MPSF, while UCLA collected the remaining first-place votes and was second.

2022 MPSF STAT LEADERS: As a team, Stanford was third in the MPSF in digs per set (8.74) and fourth in hitting percentage (.296) and aces per set (1.28). The Cardinal was fifth in kills per set (12.28) and assists per set (11.58), and seventh in blocks per set (1.83).

Individual Rankings (MPSF)
Hitting percentage: Ethan Hill - 4th (.475)
Kills per set: Will Rottman - 1st (4.37)
Assists per set: Nathan Lietzke - 4th (9.91); Justin Lui - 10th (0.79)
Service Aces per set: Kevin Lamp - 9th (0.31); Will Rottman - 10th (0.31)
Digs per set: Justin Lui - 3rd (2.18); Nathan Lietzke - 6th (1.69)
Points per set: Will Rottman - 1st (4.88)

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES: Ethan Hill's .786 (12-1-14) attack percentage against Menlo College (Feb. 11) was the second-highest by an MPSF player in a match this season (min. 12 kills), and his 10 blocks at Concordia (March 4) were tied for the most by an MPSF player since 2020. 

HERE TO STAY: Galvanized by the since-reversed decision to discontinue the program as a varsity sport, Stanford alumni and donors have joined together to provide long-term sources of financial support, including the endowments of all three coaching positions. John Kosty, who is in his 16th year at the helm of the program, is the inaugural Birkhofer Family Head Coach. Ken Shibuya, who is also in his 16th season on The Farm, is now the Kawika and Erik Shoji Associate Head Coach, while Daniel Rasay is the Al Roderigues Assistant Coach.

INCOMING CLASS: In November, Stanford signed six high school standouts to National Letters of Intent. The group, consisting of Theoren Brouillette (San Jose, Calif.), Ryan DuRoss (Gilroy, Calif.), Luke McFall (Pleasanton, Calif.), Alex Rottman (Santa Barbara, Calif.), Theo Snoey (Berkeley, Calif.) and Moses Wagner (San Jose, Calif.), will join the Cardinal in the fall. Wagner was named an AVCA Boys High School First Team All-American, while Snoey was tabbed the No. 5 recruit in the country by VolleyballMag.com. Snoey was joined on the Fab 50 list by DuRoss, Rottman and Wagner.

INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION: In the summer of 2021, redshirt junior Justin Lui (Canada) and Will Rottman (USA) competed at the Men's NORCECA Continental Championship in Durango, Mexico. Lui helped lead Canada to a runner-up finish and a silver medal. Joining Rottman in representing the Red, White and Blue was Cardinal alum Kyle Dagostino, helping the U.S. to a fifth-place finish. Junior Nathan Lietzke joined Dagostino and the U.S. Men at the Pan American Cup in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, earning a bronze medal.

HEAD COACH JOHN KOSTY: Stanford head coach John Kosty is in his 16th season at the helm of the Cardinal program and his 32nd overall on staff in 2022. He is now 231-198 in his career. He guided Stanford to the 2010 NCAA national championship and the 2014 NCAA finals. The Cardinal has produced a first team AVCA All-America selection in nine of the past 16 seasons under Kosty. Stanford has appeared in the MPSF Tournament in 13 of Kosty's 16 seasons (missing out in 2007 and 2015. The tournament was canceled in 2020).

2022 INDIVIDUAL AWARDS:

Adam Chang
• MPSF All-Academic

Nathaniel Gates
• MPSF All-Academic

Ethan Hill
• All-MPSF honorable mention
• MPSF All-Academic

Chris Kelly
• MPSF All-Academic

Kevin Lamp
• MPSF All-Academic

Nathan Lietzke
• OffTheBlock National Setter of the Week (March 28)
• MPSF All-Academic

Justin Lui
• AVCA All-America honorable mention
• All-MPSF honorable mention
• MPSF Defensive Player of the Week (Jan. 10)
• MPSF All-Academic

Chris Kelly
• MPSF All-Academic

Will Rottman
• AVCA All-America first team
• All-MPSF first team
• MPSF All-Tournament Team
• OffTheBlock Karch Kiraly Award finalist
• AVCA National Player of the Week (April 12)
• MPSF Offensive Player of the Week (Jan. 10)
• MPSF Offensive Player of the Week (March 14)
• OffTheBlock National Outside Attacker of the Week (March 14)
• OffTheBlock National Outside Attacker of the Week (April 11)
• MPSF All-Academic

Luke Turner
• MPSF Defensive Player of the Week (April 11)
• MPSF All-Academic