No. 9 Stanford men’s volleyball (0-1, 0-0 MPSF) fell to No. 12 Lewis University (2-0, 0-0 MIVA) in its season opener at Burnham Pavilion Saturday evening. Despite a hard-fought battle, the Cardinal ultimately lost the match in straight sets of 30-28, 25-21 and 25-22.
“Our team came out a little flat in the beginning, and there were some plays that didn’t go our way, but overall, I liked the fight,” said senior opposite hitter Moses Wagner, who led the team with 12 kills, six digs, an ace and a block. “It’s the first game of the season, and there’s definitely a lot to improve. I think it’s just about fighting a little bit harder going into this week, serving better, passing better, and focusing on all the small stuff.”
Stanford started slow in the first set, with the Flyers quickly taking a 5-2 lead. The Cardinal returned points, however, in the following rallies, with kills from Wagner and sophomore middle blocker Kaumana Carreira and an ace from senior outsider hitter Theo Snoey bringing the score to a tight 8-8. Stanford was able to temporarily widen the gap to 15-11, but the Flyers responded with powerful blocks and well-placed kills that led to a lead change at 17-16.
The Cardinal reclaimed the lead at 20-19 with a kill by junior outside hitter Nate Clinton and even brought the crowd to its feet for the match point at 24-21. Lewis clawed its way back, though, to 24-24 and matched each Cardinal point until 28-28. Unfortunately, this was followed by a kill from Lewis senior outside hitter Daniel Haber and the ball tipping over the net in an unlucky play, closing out the first set in a 30-28 win for the Flyers.
The second set was equally tight, with neither team leading by more than one point until an ace by Lewis junior setter Diego Estrada gave the Flyers a 15-13 lead. Several Lewis service errors and a kill by Cardinal middle blocker Gray Mandelbaum kept the score within four points for subsequent rallies, but Lewis increased its lead to 23-18 with a kill by redshirt sophomore setter Cameron Hoying that left the crowd groaning. Although the Cardinal managed to secure the next three points and Carreira made a significant block, the Flyers won the second set 25-21 off of a Stanford service error.
Stanford took the court for the third set with renewed energy and some new additions. Freshman Erik Ask started at outside hitter and contributed three kills and a dig, sophomore libero Evan Porter totaled six digs and sophomore setter Ryan Grant had 12 assists and two digs. Still, Lewis carried the momentum, scoring the first point of the set. A kill by Cardinal redshirt junior middle blocker Luke McFall tied the score early on, but the Flyers regained their lead, earning six points in a row and maintaining a gap of at least three points for the remainder of the set. Toward the end, Stanford made a valiant push, scoring four consecutive points to narrow the deficit from 18-24 to 22-24. Regrettably, they came up short. Lewis scored the final point to close out the set 25-22 and win the match.
In spite of the disappointing result, the team remains optimistic heading into the regular season, according to Wagner.
The Cardinal will face off against No. 7 Loyola Chicago (1-1, 0-0 MIVA) at the First Point Collegiate Challenge tournament in Phoenix, Arizona on Jan. 17 at 3 p.m.