No. 6 Stanford men’s volleyball (8-2, 6-2 MPSF) saw mixed results this weekend, as it fell to No. 2 Long Beach State (9-2, 6-2) on Friday but swept No. 12 Cal State Northridge (7-4, 2-4) on Sunday.
Although the Cardinal claimed the first set on Friday night, they were unable to recover from a 2-1 set deficit, and the Beach won the match 21-25, 25-18, 25-20, 25-23.
Stanford came out strong in the first set, as has been its standard — the Cardinal have now taken the first set in every match this season. The teams traded blows for the majority of the set, but the Cardinal pulled ahead in the end, capping off the win with a pair of kills from freshman outside hitter Jordan Ewert and senior outside hitter Madison Hayden to bring the score to 25-21.
LBSU’s defense heated up after the first set and used its strong blocking to dismantle Stanford’s attack. Over the course of the match, the Beach managed 13 blocks to Stanford’s 7. Additionally, Stanford was bested on the serve as Long Beach notched 9 aces in the match.
In the second set, the score was tied at 6-6, but Long Beach pulled ahead with a kill from freshman outside hitter TJ DeFalco and never looked back. LBSU would take the set 25-18, propelled by its superior attack. The Beach outhit the Cardinal .550 to .207 in the set.
Stanford kept the score tighter in the third set, but Long Beach capitalized on Stanford errors in order to maintain a lead throughout the set for a final score of 25-20.
The fourth set came down to the wire as Stanford fought hard to stay alive. Long Beach was one point from victory at 24-21, but the Cardinal took the next two points to force another match point. DeFalco capped off LBSU’s victory with his team-leading 14th kill of the night. Although Stanford outhit the Beach .250 to .171 in the final set, the final score favored Long Beach, 25-23.
Stanford performed well individually in spite of the loss. Redshirt junior outside hitter Gabriel Vega tallied a season-high 17 kills, while sophomore libero Evan Enriques set a career high with 18 digs. Hayden also recorded 17 kills.
The Cardinal rebounded on Sunday, sweeping the Cal State Northridge Matadors 25-19, 25-21, 25-17. Over the course of the match, Stanford outhit CSUN .342 to .128.
Although the Matadors briefly led in the middle of the first set, Stanford tied the score at 11-11 and used a 10-5 tear to put some distance between them. The Cardinal would take the set 25-19.
The second set was closer, featuring eight tie scores and two lead changes. Northridge rallied at the end, but it was ultimately unable to overcome the Cardinal, which won the set 25-21.
The Cardinal dominated the third set, outhitting the Matadors .391 to .161, and never ceded the lead, completing the sweep with a final score of 25-17.
Vega led the Cardinal with 13 kills, while Hayden hit .500 and recorded 10 kills. Senior setter James Shaw directed the offense, spreading out Stanford’s attack while registering 34 assists — his highest total this season in three-set matches.
The Cardinal are coming home for a doubleheader against No. 4 Hawaii this weekend. The first match will take place on Friday, Feb. 12, in Burnham Pavilion at 7 p.m. The second will be held in Maples Pavilion on Saturday, Feb. 13, at 7 p.m.
Contact Olivia Hummer at ohummer ‘at’ stanford.edu.