Smash and dash was the theme of the weekend as No. 17 Stanford men’s volleyball (3-6, 2-0 MPSF) swept conference opponents Jessup University (2-4, 0-1 MPSF) and UC Merced (2-3, 0-1 MPSF) in back-to-back straight-set victories in Burnham Pavilion.

Coming off of two tough losses on the road against No. 5 UC Irvine (11-0, 0-0 Big West), the Cardinal redirected their focus toward Jessup, defeating the Warriors 3-0 with set scores 25-19, 30-28 and 25-21 on Friday night. Senior setter Theoren Brouillette controlled the offense with 40 assists, while sophomore middle blocker Kaumana Carreira and sophomore libero Evan Porter shined on defense. Carreira posted a match-high seven blocks and Porter made seven digs. 

The momentum continued on Saturday evening when Stanford decisively beat UC Merced 25-16, 25-15 and 25-17. 

“The performance from yesterday really transferred over to today,” said freshman outside hitter Erik Ask on Saturday. “We talked about keeping the consistency, maintaining the energy on and off the court and just having fun.”

Ask, a Sweden native, led all players with 15 kills on 0.522 hitting and was among the several underclassmen who started the match. In total, three freshmen, three sophomores and a redshirt junior brought fresh energy to the court, confidently securing the first point of the night. After UC Merced tied it up off of a Stanford service error, the two teams battled it out with neither side leading by more than two points during the early rallies. 

The tide changed, however, at 9-8, when a kill from Ask sent the Cardinal on a 9-0 scoring run, aided by kills from freshman opposite hitter Luke Morrison, redshirt junior middle blocker Luke McFall and sophomore outside hitter David Wolff. The Bobcats managed to claw their way back to 21-15 — mainly due to multiple Stanford service errors — but the Cardinal ultimately maintained their lead, closing out the first set 25-16.

The second set began with a Stanford service error. The Bobcats followed with a service error of their own but quickly recovered with a block by graduate middle blocker Daniel Del Grande, granting them an early 2-1 lead. The Cardinal responded with gusto; freshman setter Jacob Little-Phillips dove out of bounds to keep the ball in, allowing Morrison to deliver a powerful kill and tie the score. 

On defense, Carrereira and Wolff twice shut down the Bobcats with a double block, and Porter kept the ball in play with several significant digs. As the rally went on, the Cardinal widened their lead through a combination of UC Merced service errors, aces from Little-Phillips and senior outside hitter Ryan Duross and kills from Morrison and Ask. As the crowd rose to their feet for the match point at 24-15, a dynamic kill by McFall sealed the set for Stanford.

The Cardinal went into the third set determined to finish out the match. Despite losing the first point to UC Merced, two kills and a block from Ask, along with the Bobcats knocking the ball out of bounds, brought the score to 4-1 in Stanford’s favor. UC Merced managed to get within one point to Stanford at 5-4, but the Cardinal could not be stopped. Little-Phillips once again ran off the court to save the ball, and Morrison put his body on the line when a Bobcat attack sent the ball careening toward his shoulder. Both plays were followed by a kill from Ask. In another impressive scene, Ask dove, hands outstretched, to maintain the rally and McFall delivered a block to secure the point. 

UC Merced’s offense made a valiant attempt to come back, but a final kill by Duross sent the team packing as Stanford won the set 25-17.

The Cardinal’s success was reflected in their season-high 0.425 hitting percentage. In addition to 38 kills, six aces, 38 assists and 30 digs, they also held the Bobcats to a 0.025 clip — the lowest by a Cardinal opponent this season. On an individual level, Morrison contributed nine kills, five digs, two aces and an assist, and Porter matched his season-high of 12 digs.

Stanford will round out its homestand with a doubleheader against No. 3 Hawaii (10-1, 0-0 Big West). The Rainbow Warriors, who are the 2025 Big West champions, will be competitive opponents as they look to regain their edge after the Cardinal beat them last season for the first time in 12 years.

“Hawaii is a really good serving team,” Ask said. “I think just working on passing at the end of the day, it’s going to be our serving and passing that’s going to make a win for us.”

The Cardinal will face off against the Rainbow Warriors this Friday and Saturday at Maples Pavilion at 6 p.m.