The top-ranked Stanford women’s volleyball team will begin its pursuit of the program’s record seventh NCAA title tonight. The Cardinal faces Santa Clara — the team that ended its tournament two years ago — in tonight’s first round, with the winner playing either Minnesota or Sacramento State on Saturday.

Enlarge
#gallery http://daily.stanford.edu/image/full/8271
Alvin Chow

Freshman outside hitter Alix Klineman will get her first taste of NCAA Tournament action today when the Cardinal takes on Santa Clara at Maples Pavilion in the team’s opening round match.

Pac-10 champion for the second year in a row, the Cardinal (27-2, 6-2) was named the top seed in the tournament, despite being ranked fourth in the last coaches’ poll. The Cardinal has played in the championship match in four of the last six years, with NCAA titles won in 2001 and 2004. If neither team is upset, Stanford might just be headed for a rematch of last year’s four-game loss to No. 2 Nebraska when the final match is played in Sacramento on December 15.

Also a host for next week’s Regional, Stanford kicks off the 2007 postseason at home in tonight’s second match. The Broncos (18-11, 10-3 West Coast Conference) started the regular season slow, but came on strong at the end, claiming a share of the WCC title and earning the conference’s automatic bid.

Stanford has played Santa Clara 25 times — the Broncos’ first win came in a 2005 match. The Cardinal played that match without current junior outside hitter Cynthia Barboza, however, who had torn her ACL earlier that year. Further, senior setter Bryn Kehoe was unable to set as she recovered from a broken hand.

The Broncos, on the other hand, went on to win the Regional and qualify for the team’s first-ever Final Four. Stanford played Santa Clara again last year in a preseason tournament, with the Cardinal earning a sweep.

With Anna Cmaylo, a 2005 All-American middle blocker, missing the season with an injury, the outside hitting tandem of Brittany Lowe and Krista Kelley have taken on the majority of the Broncos’ offensive burden. Each is averaging over four kills per game and Lowe has a team-high 405 on the season.

WCC Player of the Year and 2005 All-American setter Crystal Matich averages over 13 assists per game, while fellow senior Caroline Walters anchors the defense at libero.

If the Cardinal wins tonight, the team will play again tomorrow, taking on the winner of the Minnesota-Sacramento State match. The Cardinal beat the Golden Gophers (18-12, 11-9 Big Ten) in a preseason tournament in September and faced the Hornets in last year’s first round. Because the NCAA attempts to minimize travel for teams in the early rounds of the tournament, the Hornets (28-7, 13-3) have seen their season end in Maples three of the last five years.

In three matches against Minnesota and seven against Sacramento State in the past, Stanford has not lost to either.

Minnesota was ranked No. 12 in the preseason poll, but dropped out of the Top 25 in October. The Golden Gophers ended the preseason 7-3, with losses to Stanford, Ohio and California, and then won their first five conference matches. After that, though, the team hit a seven-game skid, managing only two wins in the month of October. They come to Maples having lost to No. 7 Wisconsin last week but with five straight wins before that.

Brook Dieter and Kyla Roehrig lead the Minnesota offense with 396 and 350 kills, respectively, while Jessy Jones — the only player still on the roster from the Minnesota team that faced Stanford in the 2004 National Championship match — is a force at the net with 160 blocks. Libero Christine Tan will likely pass the 500-dig mark for the season tonight.

Sacramento State earned a spot in the postseason by upsetting Portland State in the Big Sky Conference Tournament, just a week after losing to the same team in regular season play. In her 32nd and final season with the Hornets, retiring coach Debby Colberg saw her team win the conference tournament for the sixth straight time.

This year’s Hornets are led by Missie Stidham, a senior transfer who was on the St. Mary’s squad that beat the Cardinal twice in 2004. In her first season with the team, Stidham has 676 kills, 570 digs and 56 aces — all team highs — and was named Sports Imports/AVCA National Player of the Week. Lindsay Haupt is Sacramento State’s top blocker with 174 on the season and Rose Burke is the setter.

Minnesota and Sacramento State will play tonight at 5 p.m, with the Stanford-Santa Clara match scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. The winners will face off Saturday at 8 p.m. to compete for a spot in next week’s Stanford Regional.