April 3, 2001
STANFORD, Calif. - Fifth-ranked Stanford University (11-7 overall, 7-6 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) fell to second-ranked Brigham Young (18-3, 12-3) 30-25, 30-22, 30-25 on Tuesday evening at Maples Pavilion in the Cardinal's second three-game loss to the Cougars in as many nights.
Stanford sophomore Curt Toppel (Pacific Palisades, CA/Loyola HS) racked up a match-high 16 kills, while sophomores William Curtis (Whittier, CA/Harvard-Westlake HS) and Billy Strickland (Malibu, CA/Harvard-Westlake HS) added eight kills apiece.
The Cougars, who prevailed 30-28, 30-25, 30-23 on Monday night, hit .463 as team and out-blocked the Cardinal 17-5 en route to the victory. Junior Mike Wall led the visitors with 13 kills, while junior Joaquin Acosta had 11 kills and nine blocks. Freshman Jonathan Alleman added a double-double of 12 digs and 10 kills, while senior Scott Bunker chipped in 11 blocks and eight kills. The Cougars out-blocked the Cardinal by a combined 32-9 in the two matches.
BYU took control of the first game by going on a 5-1 run that turned a 10-10 tie into a 16-11 lead for the visitors. The Cougars pushed the lead to as many seven, and held off a late Cardinal rally that cut the deficit to 28-24. Toppel had eight of the Cardinal's 15 kills in game one, hitting .462 in the process.
The Cougars never trailed in game two, and jumped out to an early 10-7 lead. From there, the visitors pushed the advantage to 15-8 and did not let the Cardinal get closer than five points the rest of the way. BYU had eight of its 17 blocks in game two, including a block solo and six block assists from Bunker.
Stanford led for a good portion of game three, including early advantages of 9-6 and 13-10. The Cardinal maintained the lead at 19-18 before the Cougars ran off four straight to go up 22-19 and take the lead for good.
The Cardinal continues this regular season ending six-match homestand this weekend when it takes on eighth-ranked UC Santa Barbara (11-8, 4-8) on Friday and 13th-ranked Cal State Northridge (11-12, 3-10) on Saturday. First serve for both matches is 7:00 p.m. at Maples Pavilion. The Cardinal currently holds the seventh of eight playoff spots in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, and leads ninth place UC Santa Barbara by two-and-a-half games with four to play.