No. 5 Stanford men’s volleyball lost both games against No. 7 UC Irvine on Friday and Saturday despite valiant efforts.
The Cardinal lost Friday’s match by set scores 26-28, 25-22, 19-25, 19-25 and Saturday’s match 22-25, 22-25, 25-20, 21-25. Fifth-year outside hitter Will Rottman and sophomore opposite Moses Wagner were both out due to injuries.
On Friday night sophomore opposite Theo Snoey led the team in kills with a season-high 19 while hitting .441. Fifth-year setter Nathan Lietzke had an impressive double-double, consisting of 10 digs and 44 assists. The middles for the Cardinal, fifth-year Nathaniel Gates and redshirt senior Ethan Hill, both had high hitting percentages, at .562 and .588, respectively. However, Irvine’s overall hitting percentage was .368 and Stanford was unable to match it at .276.
Friday’s set one proved to be close, even though the Cardinal maintained a solid lead throughout most of the set. The set began with dynamic assists from Lietzke and kills from Snoey, followed by kills from Gates. This set marked the first time sophomore outside Ryan DuRoss started in a collegiate match. Fifth-year middle blocker Adam Chang was subbed in and delivered, acing the Anteaters 18-13. However, at 21-18, the Cardinal lost speed, the Anteaters stacking up 3 kills in a row. Their attacking improvements resulted in a close first-set win for U.C. Irvine.
Despite the first set loss, the Cardinal found success in set two. Hill brought the momentum, racking up two kills at the beginning of the set. Lietzke took advantage of two hitting opportunities, getting kills for the Cardinal off of senior libero Luke Turner and DuRoss’s sets. At 17-17, senior setter Chris Kelly was subbed in to serve, acing the Anteaters and securing the Cardinal lead. The set ended 25-22 with Hill’s attack.
Sets three and four both ended 19-25. In both sets, Stanford started strong but eventually lost momentum, despite Snoey tallying 11 kills in these two sets. The Cardinal couldn’t keep up, ending with a night one win for UC Irvine.
Stanford sought retribution on Saturday at Maples, but ultimately lost in four sets like the night before. While the Cardinal tallied its third-most blocks of the season, the Anteaters dominated, hitting with a .343 compared to the Cardinal’s .254 hitting percentage.
Despite the result, many Cardinal players achieved career and season-highs. Sophomore outside Alex Rottman was a standout, tying his career-high of 15 kills as the team’s kill leader of the night. He also got five digs, an ace and a career-high of five blocks. Gates also had an incredible match, achieving a season-high of 11 kills and hitting .500. He had a successful match-high of seven blocks and matched his career-best of six digs. Snoey had 13 kills Saturday and DuRoss had a career-high of 12 kills.
The first set on Saturday went back and forth at the start. At 16-17, Rottman had his seventh kill of the evening, bringing the game to a tie. Lietzke and Gates continued the momentum with a huge block. Moreover, Gates, Snoey and DuRoss got kills shortly after for the Cardinal. However, Stanford lost momentum by the end, and UC Irvine achieved five consecutive points. The final score was 22-25.
Set two proved to be a slow start for the Cardinal, although a kill from DuRoss and a block from DuRoss and Hill resulted in a score of 4-6. The Anteaters followed with 4 points in a row, leaving the Cardinal in a deficit of 4-10. Eventually, the Cardinal climbed back into the game, and Rottman and Gates got two consecutive blocks, resulting in a 21-19 lead. UC Irvine responded with five more kills, clinching a second set win.
The Cardinal fought back in set 3, preventing a sweep. Rottman proved to be a powerful asset, getting the first kill of the set. Stanford kept a significant lead until a sudden surge in energy from Irvine brought the score to 15-14. But the Cardinal regained their strength, and the match closed at 25-20 with multiple kills from DuRoss.
Set four proved to be the final one of the night, as the Cardinal could not maintain their momentum from the third set. Stanford tied the game with a block by Rottman and Hill at 4-5. A set from Rottman resulted in a kill by Lietzke to tie the game at 6 . But ultimately Stanford’s offense didn’t match Irvine’s 17 kills in this set, and Irvine won the final set 25-21.
The Cardinal play Pepperdine in Malibu next weekend, followed by Grand Canyon in Phoenix the weekend after. The games against Pepperdine are scheduled for 6 p.m. PT on Friday and 7 p.m. PT on Saturday.