January 28, 1999
STANFORD, Calif. - For the second time this season, the Stanford men's volleyball team came from two games down to pull out a five-game victory, this time over fourth-ranked Hawaii, tonight at Burnham Pavilion. Game scores were 4-15, 10-15, 15-9, 15-5, 22-20.
The No. 8 Cardinal fell behind early in game one, and was never able to recover. Although Stanford junior outside hitter Andy Witt posted eight kills in the first frame, Hawaii countered with 13 kills and no hitting errors for a .722 percentage.
Stanford sophomore middle blocker Dan Zhang posted seven kills in game two, but the Rainbows defense registered nine blocks, five by the duo of Mason Kuo and Dejan Miladinovic. Stanford did hold off five game points before falling to Hawaii.
The Cardinal held onto to game three, watching Witt post his 1,000th career kill. He finished the night with 1,022. Stanford then pumped out a 6-0 lead in game four. Game five rallied back and fourth. Although the Cardinal was outblocked by Hawaii 20-8, sophomore middle blocker Brett Youngberg and junior Josh Palacios combined on a block to give Stanford a 10-8 lead. On the next play, Zhang and junior outside hitter Gabe Gardner blocked another Rainbow attack to give Stanford momentum. Hawaii tied the game at 14 and held off two match points. Stanford repelled four Rainbow match points, before a Hawaii hitting error ended the 2:35 match.
Stanford improves to 2-1 overall, 1-1 in the MPSF. Hawaii dropped to 4-2, 2-1 in league action. The Cardinal defeated Loyola Marymount in a five-game thriller to start the season.
Witt led all attackers with 38 kills, follwed by Gardner with 31. Sophomore setter Brad Griffith registered 69 assists while Palacios posted 12 digs. Garder scored his first double-double as a Cardinal, adding 10 digs to the winning effort.
Torry Tukuafu led Hawaii with 27 kills and 14 digs.
The Cardinal will face Hawaii again tomorrow night in Maples Pavilion, Stanford's second home court. The Sat., Jan. 29 match will begin at 7 p.m.