The No. 2 Stanford men’s volleyball team, led by sophomore outside hitter Brad Lawson, powered past Pacific 3-1 in a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) match for its second victory against the Tigers this season.
The 30-24, 28-30, 30-16, 31-29 win over Pacific improved the Cardinal’s record to 10-4 overall and 8-4 in the conference. Lawson hit .561 and recorded 27 kills for Stanford. Senior opposite hitter Evan Romero and junior outside hitter Spencer McLachlin each registered 14 kills. Pacific’s Taylor Hughes rivaled Lawson with 23 kills.
“As a team, we were very resilient. We handled UOP’s service pressure well and stayed composed during the tough points in the match,” said senior setter Kawika Shoji, who tallied 61 assists on the night. “Everyone fulfilled their assignments, and Brad [Lawson] had an unbelievable night.”
In the first set, Pacific took an early 5-2 lead, but it was not long before Stanford would control the tempo of the game. Romero’s service ace tied it at 6-6, followed by McLachlin’s kill to get Stanford back on top 7-6. Stanford scored the next five points before Pacific’s Nikola Vukicevic hammered in a kill to end the run. At 13-9, Shoji took a McLachlin set for the kill. Stanford stayed afloat the entire set and Shoji had the last say in the match with a kill followed by a Tiger attack error for the 30-24 set win.
The next set started out the same way with Pacific taking the early 5-3 lead and Stanford rallying back. The Card tied it up four times at six, seven, eight and nine before finally taking the lead at 10-9. A Shoji service ace followed by attack errors from Pacific gave Stanford the 13-9 edge. However, Pacific’s Hughes helped regain the lead with a kill to make it 14-13 after a five-point run. Despite Lawson’s efforts, Stanford trailed for the remainder of the set. The last two points resulted in Cardinal errors as Pacific took the set, 30-28.
In the third set, the Cardinal came out firing from the start as Lawson battled Hughes at the net. With kills from McLachlin and senior middle blocker Garrett Werner, Stanford led the Tigers at 5-3. Lawson came back with a pair of kills and an ace to set up Stanford for a seven-point run that included kills from Romero, sophomore middle blocker Gus Ellis and McLachlin. Lawson secured a 10-point lead at 20-10. Ultimately, Romero had the final say – hammering in a kill for the 30-16 set victory.
Up two sets to one, Stanford approached the fourth set hungry for the match win. Pacific, on the other hand, did not let up. A head-to-head battle between the Tigers and the Cardinal kept it close to start out the set. Pacific came within one multiple times until the Card pulled ahead 12-7. McLachlin increased the lead to 15-10 as Stanford kept on rolling. Freshman outside hitter Myles Muagututia’s service ace solidified a four-point edge over the Tigers at 22-18, but a Pacific comeback brought the Tigers within one, 23-22. A Stanford timeout allowed the team to regroup and refocus. Eventually, two Pacific errors secured the win for the Cardinal at 31-29.
“As a whole, we played well,” Shoji said. “We didn’t play our best, but we played consistently well, which is what we needed to do to get a win in a hostile road environment.”
The road win puts Stanford in second place in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Poll, right below Pepperdine. The Card is still in the race for a national championship, which will be determined at Maples Pavilion this year on May 6 and 8.
On Friday, Stanford men’s volleyball will host UC-San Diego and Long Beach State for two conference matches. First serves are scheduled for 7 p.m. on Friday and 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, respectively, in Maples Pavilion.