Jan. 14, 2001
STANFORD, Calif. - Outside hitters Curt Toppel and Brett Youngberg each posted double-digit kills and No. 5 Stanford hit .512 as a team en route to a 30-18, 30-25, 30-23 victory over visiting Ball State at Maples Pavilion.
Stanford improves to 2-0 with the victory, while Ball State drops to 1-2.
Toppel, the 2000 MPSF Freshman of the Year, had a spectacular all-around performance, finishing with 18 kills against just one error in 26 total attempts (.654) while recording a match-high eight digs. Youngberg, a senior, pounded 10 kills with one error in 14 total attempts (.643) and also added a pair of blocks. Sophomore Billy Strickland chipped in with seven kills and a .700 hitting percentage as the trio combined to hit .660 for the match (35k, 2e, 50ta).
Stanford continued to display excellent balance, as junior Marcus Skacel had nine kills and seven digs while freshman Billy Clayton hammered eight kills with three block assists. Senior setter Josh Lukens, who helped the Cardinal post an incredible .643 hitting percentage in game three, finished with 44 assists.
Ball State was led by nine kills from senior outside hitter Doug Market. Tom Tegethoff contributed eight kills and a .412 hitting percentage while Paul Fasshauer had seven kills. Setter Keith Schunzel had 37 assists to go along with a team-high five digs.
Game one was the most lopsided of the match, as Stanford used a 17-4 run midway through to take a 15-point lead before eventually winning 30-18. Neither team could pull away in a second game that featured eight ties and a spectacular hitting display, as Ball State posted a .556 mark while Stanford hit at a .593 clip. A kill from Toppel and a pair from Youngberg sparked a 9-4 run that snapped a 21-21 tie and gave the Cardinal a 30-25 win.
Game three was also tightly contested, this time featuring seven ties and six lead changes. Again, Stanford relied on both stellar hitting - connecting for 20 kills and two errors in 28 total attempts (.643) - and a late run - this time scoring five of the game's last six points - for a 30-23 win.
Stanford is next in action on Wednesday, January 17, when it travels to Berkeley for an exhibition match against club team California at 7:30 p.m. The Cardinal then returns home to face Pepperdine in a 1:00 p.m. match at Maples Pavilion on Sunday, January 21.
Score by Games 123 Ball State (1-2)182523 Stanford (2-0)303030