No. 5 Stanford men’s volleyball dominated UC-Santa Cruz 30-23, 29-31, 30-22, 30-18 on Friday night.
Sophomore setter Evan Barry started his first game of the season in place of senior Kawika Shoji after having played in four games in 2009. In his season debut, Barry excelled with a career-high 58 assists.
Last year, Barry started his first collegiate match versus Long Beach State and later had a previous career best against UC-Irvine with 26 assists. He is currently expected to take over Shoji’s job after graduation.
“It was great to finally get out there and set a full match. All of the guys who got in really stepped up to allow me to set the whole match,” Barry said. “Although it wasn’t an MPSF match, our team really needed a win and so I think everyone is happy with that victory.”
The Card played a hard-fought game that started with a quick attack in the first set. Barry instantly connected with sophomore outside hitter Brad Lawson and soon after found senior opposite hitter Evan Romero and senior middle blocker Garrett Werner. Stanford controlled the tempo of the game as the team spread out its attack. UC-Santa Cruz fell behind after the Card went on a five-point run, increasing its lead to 22-18. A Jason Palacios kill finally won the set for the Card at 30-23.
“I think the tempo was similar to that of any other game. Everyone on our team who got [playing time] really wanted to win,” Barry said. “I don’t think that it was any less competitive than most league games.”
The second set saw new players and a Santa Cruz comeback. Most significantly, redshirt sophomore outside hitter Garrett Dobbs, redshirt sophomore middle blocker Charley Henrikson, and freshman outside hitter Myles Muagututia stepped in. The three came out powerfully against the Banana Slugs. Combined, they hit 17 kills.
Unfortunately, Santa Cruz met the Card’s attack and tied up the game at 26, 27, 28, and 29. Two attack errors lost the set for the Card, 31-29.
“Santa Cruz definitely came out firing,” Barry said. “They were not going to fold just because we are the better-ranked team so they made it a fun, competitive match.”
The substitutions continued as junior outside hitter Ian Connolly stepped into the third set. This time Stanford was relentless and never let the Banana Slugs see a lead. Though Santa Cruz’s Justin Lam and Salvatore La Cavera were continual threats, sophomore libero Erik Shoji directed the defense with skill. The Card took the set by eight points, 30-22.
“I think the most challenging part of the game was keeping a steady rhythm going with all the substitutions we made. However, we did a really good job of managing it,” Barry said. “I think we had 16 guys play, but not one of them negatively changed the tempo of the game when they came in. I’m really proud of everyone for stepping up and playing well.”
In the fourth and final set, errors troubled the Banana Slugs and kept junior middle blocker Max Halvorson serving to take an early 5-3 lead. Dobbs hit seven kills in the fourth set alone and at one point helped secure a nine-point lead over Santa Cruz. Dobbs ended the set with a service ace for the 30-18 win, ending the match as well.
“I think trust played a big part in the win,” Barry said. “Everyone on our team trusted whoever was in at the time and that really allowed them to step up and make a difference. It gave them the confidence they needed to play well in an important game like this.”
The men’s volleyball team earned its second victory of the week against Santa Cruz, the first being against Pacific on Wednesday, with many players coming off the bench in the much-needed wins. Next weekend, the Card will face two MPSF opponents: UCLA, Friday at Maples Pavilion, and UC-Irvine, Saturday at Burnham Pavilion. Both matches will begin at 7 p.m.