Proving its ranking, No. 1 Hawaii blew past Stanford over the weekend, handing the 11th-ranked Cardinal two of their worst losses of the season.

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The women’s swimming and diving senior class ended its four-year regular-season career without a dual meet loss. No. 5 Stanford trounced (7-0, 6-0 Pac-12) second-ranked Cal (7-1, 5-1 Pac-12) in Avery 193-104, the largest margin of victory in the rivalry’s history.

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After breaking its four-game losing streak last weekend, No. 11 men’s volleyball now welcomes top-ranked Hawaii to the Farm to play matches on back-to-back days.

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Riding an .857 hitting percentage in the first frame, No. 13 Stanford (5-5, 1-2 MPSF) swept the seventh-ranked Bruins (5-5, 0-2 MPSF) in three sets.

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Despite a 12-1 run to force a fifth set in Maples, No. 13 men’s volleyball could not close out the match against eighth-ranked Pepperdine Thursday night. The 25-18, 25-22, 25-22, 25-20, 15-9 loss is the team’s fourth in a row.

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For the first time in program history, ninth-ranked men’s volleyball lost to Grand Canyon University (8-2, 1-0 MPSF). To open conference play, the Antelopes upset Stanford in just three sets, 25-20, 25-18, 25-19.

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Without its starting setter or libero, the No. 8 men’s volleyball team struggled to find momentum against third-ranked UC Santa Barbara. The Gauchos claimed the 25-21, 25-18, 25-18 match in just under 90 minutes.

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Guided by this simple mantra, men’s swimming and diving secured two ranked Pac-12 wins on Friday and Saturday. Through these photo finishes and more than a few dominant performances, the No. 19 Cardinal downed No. 13 Arizona State 183-93 before drowning No. 10 Arizona 192-72.

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The Daily has established a mailbag to field questions from the Cardinal faithful. Beat writers from each sport, plugged into their sources on campus, will be tapped to answer any and all questions to the best of their abilities. Questions can be sent through Twitter, Facebook or email (sports ‘at’ www.g8da.cn).

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Both swimming and diving teams will race this weekend against each of the Arizona schools in a combined, dual meet format. Arizona State will take the deck first on Friday before Arizona’s turn on Saturday.

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Eighth-ranked men’s volleyball is set to host No. 3 UC Santa Barbara on Saturday. The Cardinal — who lost their last match to No. 5 UC Irvine — enter the weekend with a question mark at the setter position.

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Denise Corlett, associate head coach of Stanford women’s volleyball, will retire after 31 years with the program. The school will begin a national search for her replacement.

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After losing a disappointing five-set match on Jan. 8, seventh-ranked men’s volleyball rebounded to win the AVCA Showcase in Fairfax, VA. The Cardinal earned the title with a 3-1 victory over New Jersey Institute on Jan. 10 and a sweep of George Mason on Jan. 11.

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For the 10th-straight year, No. 19 men’s swimming and diving drowned the University of Pacific. The Cardinal opened their 2020 winter dual meet season with a comfortable 198-82 victory, winning all 16 events.

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Stanford named Dan Schemmel as the sixth head coach of the men’s swimming and diving program in May of 2019. Schemmel was the head of both the men’s and women’s programs at Hawaii, where the Rainbow Warriors and Wahines enjoyed new levels of success.

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St. Francis stunned the seventh-ranked men’s volleyball team with a five-set win in Loretto, PA, on Wednesday night. The Cardinal won the first two sets before collapsing and dropping their first match of the 2020 season.

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For the second-straight year, men’s volleyball opened its season by hosting Menlo College and UC Santa Cruz. Mirroring last season’s efforts, the seventh-ranked Cardinal (2-0, 0-0 MPSF) took down both opponents in straight sets. All available players listed on the roster saw action on the court, with six men making their collegiate debuts.

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No. 3 Stanford dropped fourth-seeded Wisconsin in straight sets to claim the program’s nation-leading ninth national championship. The 25-16, 25-17, 25-20 win is already Stanford’s third of the year, and brings the school total to a NCAA-best 126.

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Stanford punched its ticket to the NCAA national championship with a sweep over Minnesota on Saturday evening. The 25-19, 25-22, 25-22 victory avenged an early-season loss to the Golden Gophers. The third-seeded Cardinal will battle No. 4-seed Wisconsin for the title on Saturday.

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Thursday marks the beginning of the final leg of the volleyball team’s journey this year. The Cardinal will be competing in their fourth-straight Final Four match with the ultimate goal of securing their third national title in four years.

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The No. 3 Cardinal had their best offensive performance of the season, sweeping away the No. 11 Nittany Lions in under 90 minutes. After overcoming a six-point deficit in the first set, Stanford never looked back. The Cardinal would finish with a 75% side-out rate, and Penn State’s only other lead would come at 0-1 to start the second set.

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In a bona-fide Pac-12 slugfest, No. 3 Stanford outlasted Utah in five sets on Friday night. The Utes did their best to harness some Friday-the-13th spookiness, but each Cardinal player on the floor did her job and held fast. For its efforts, Stanford has won an Elite Eight date with Penn State in Maples — the exact scenario the title-winning team was put in last year.

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Stanford had one of its best offensive outings of the season, sweeping the Mustangs in three sets to advance to the Sweet Sixteen for the fourth consecutive year. Five of six Cardinal attackers hit .300 or better, and the passers did not concede an ace.

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Senior outside Kathryn Plummer had more than double anyone else’s kills. The Cardinal serve was aggressive and highly effective. The defense held Denver to its second-worst offensive outing of the season. It was a textbook Stanford win, and it came in the opening round of the 2019 NCAA Tournament. In just over an hour, the defending champion Cardinal sent the Pioneers packing with a three-set sweep.

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