Playing its first league matches in almost three weeks, the No. 1 Stanford men’s volleyball team deftly handled two Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) opponents this past weekend. The Cardinal played both games on the road and not only maintained its place at the top of the national rankings, but also found itself alone in first in the MPSF.
On Friday, Stanford (15-4, 12-4 MPSF) took on No. 14 UC-San Diego (8-15, 4-12) in La Jolla, playing its first game on the road since being voted No. 1. UCSD’s home court advantage proved no match for the Cardinal, who trailed only briefly in the first set and swept the Tritons 30-18, 30-12, 30-20.
The Cardinal offense was nearly flawless, with the team hitting a season-high .527. Senior opposite Evan Romero and sophomore outside hitter Brad Lawson finished the match with 12 kills and only two errors apiece while junior outside hitter Spencer McLachlin added nine kills with no errors for the night.
The Card shone defensively as well, out-blocking the Tritons 12 to 3.5. Senior middle blocker Garrett Werner contributed seven blocks, and senior setter Kawika Shoji added three, in addition to his 33 assists and six digs. Frank Fritsch led the way for the Tritons with 11 kills, but recorded seven errors and a subpar hitting percentage of .174.
Lawson attributed the team’s mistake-free style of play, particularly its stellar hitting, to “patience, maturity and intelligence.”
“Over this entire season, our team has demonstrated patience when attacking the ball and it has paid off time and again,” he said. “We’ve hit over .400 in a number of matches, and I think this can be attributed to a presence of mind that we have developed to not have to put the ball away on every swing. When the set isn’t there or our timing is off, we’ve learned to keep the ball in and rely on our defense to generate transition opportunities.”
Following its success on Friday, Stanford put its seven-game winning streak on the line against No. 9 Long Beach State (12-11, 8-8) on Saturday. The Cardinal effortlessly dispatched the 49ers in straight sets, 30-28, 30-22, 30-21, breaking a tie with Pepperdine for first place in the MPSF standings.
“I think one way to avoid a letdown is to remind ourselves of the goals that we set during the fall and at the outset of the season,” Lawson said. “Before we had even played a match, we made it our objective to win the MPSF regular season and to peak as the postseason approached, and if we keep these two goals in mind, I think we’ll be reminded to stay motivated and focused for the final month of our season.”
Romero and Lawson again led the way for Stanford, notching 18 kills apiece while accurately piloting the Card to .420 hitting on the night. McLachlin and Werner also chipped in offensively with seven and six kills, respectively. Stanford only recorded 13 hitting errors in the match, yielding a phenomenal two-match error total of 19.
While the Cardinal quickly found its offensive groove, Long Beach State struggled mightily against Stanford’s dominant frontline. Senior opposite Dean Bittner led the 49ers with 15 kills, and senior setter Conor Eaton recorded 37 assists.
Sophomore middle blocker Gus Ellis continued his dominant play in the middle, recording three of the Card’s seven blocks. Stanford managed to hold its opponent to just .183 hitting and used its length to force 22 errors. Sophomore libero Erik Shoji added 15 digs, bringing his season dig total to 209.
However, the Cardinal did struggle in one area this weekend: serving. In each match, the team tallied 14 errors with only three aces.
“I expect us to take a bunch of serving reps in practice to help us get back into our serving routines,” Lawson said. “I also think visualization will come into play. Sometimes your timing just gets a little off and you miss an uncharacteristic number of serves, and I think we just need to recalibrate physically and mentally.”
By no means is the squad resting comfortably on top. The Cardinal recognizes how important – and challenging – the remainder of its season is.
“We have one of the toughest schedules left in the conference,” Lawson said. “But I believe that if we keep playing the consistent type of volleyball that we are currently playing, we have a good chance of securing first place in the MPSF and making a serious run at the national title. It will be important to get back to our preseason goals of peaking late and focusing down the stretch, which I think our team can do.”
Up next for Stanford is a two-match road trip against Cal State Northridge and UC-Santa Barbara. With just six games remaining, the Cardinal will look to secure the No. 1 seed in the MPSF tournament and continue its run toward the NCAA Championships here on The Farm.