There they are, all six of them proudly shown on a publicity graphic, all six Stanford starters on the preseason Pac-12 team.
Loaded and on a mission.
That’s because the stunning sting of the end of the 2022 season still looms large for the Cardinal, which not only lost to San Diego in the regional final, but lost in five on its home court.
Stanford, the Pac-12 champion, led two sets to one and was up 23-22 in the fourth set, oh so close to advancing to the NCAA national semifinals.
But San Diego won the fourth 25-22.
And in the fifth, the Toreros broke a 9-9 tie by scoring the last six points.
San Diego, the 2022 team of destiny, went on to Omaha.
Stanford players walked back to their dorms and apartments looking for answers.
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The six are redshirt senior outside Caitie Baird, junior middle Sami Francis, fifth-year right side Kendall Kipp, junior setter Kami Miner, senior libero Elena Olglive and sophomore outside Elia Rubin.
The only starter not on the list is redshirt-senior middle McKenna Vicini, who led Stanford in blocks last year with 40 more than Kipp. And Vicini led the Pac-12 in hitting percentage…
