Jan. 29, 2002
Stanford, Calif. - The No. 2 Stanford men's volleyball lost a five-game match to No. 4 Hawai'i (36-34, 23-30, 30-23, 27-30, 15-12) tonight in Burnham Pavilion. Marcus Skacel (Laguna Niguel, CA) led the Cardinal with 23 kills and a match-high 17 digs.
With the loss, Stanford falls to 5-2 overall and 4-2 in MPSF play. The Warriors improve to 4-2 overall and picked up their first conference win to stand at 1-0.
Stanford found themselves down 14-7, but rallied back to get within one behind the serving of Skacel and kills from Billy Strickland (Malibu, CA) and Chris Sandman (San Jose, CA). Both teams traded points for the remainder of the game and the Cardinal held off five Hawai'i game points, before a kill by Eyal Zimet and a Stanford hitting error gave the Warriors the first game 36-34. Curt Toppel (Pacific Palisades, CA) and Skacel each recorded six kills, while both teams hit an identical .439 clip.
A kill from Sandman gave the Cardinal the serve leading 18-16 in game two. Skacel then served up five straight points, including an ace to go up 23-16. Consecutive kills by Paul Bocage (Princeton, NJ) and Kevin Hansen (Newport Beach, CA) pushed the Cardinal lead to 26-18. Toppel then pounded a kill down the line to give Stanford the victory in the second game, 30-23. The Cardinal managed to record 20 kills and just three errors, hitting .548.
The third game proved to go the exact opposite as the second, with Hawai'i taking control early. The Warriors jumped out to an 18-13 lead, and continued their hot hitting en route to winning game three 30-23.
Stanford led 18-12 in game four, but let Hawai'i climb back into the game on hitting errors. The Warriors came within 22-21, but could get no closer. Two kills each from Toppel and Skacel and one from Bocage and Hansen forced a game five, with the Cardinal winning the fourth 30-27.
Game five was knotted at 4-4, before Hawai'i started to pull away. The Warriors went up 11-6, but Stanford battled back behind two kills from Skacel to make it 12-10. Hawai'i then went to its hot hitter, Costas Theocharidis. Theocharidis collected his 32nd and 33rd kill of the night, giving the Warriors game five, 15-12.
Stanford had five players record double-figures in kills, led by Skacel's 23 kills and 17 digs. Toppel added 21 kills, while Strickland and Bocage finished with 12. Sandman collected a career-high 10 kills, while Hansen dished out 73 of the Cardinal's 82 assists. Hawai'i's Theocharidis led all hitters, with a match-high 33 kills in 55 swings.
Both teams will meet tomorrow night at 7 p.m. in Burnham Pavilion.
1 2 3 4 5 No. 4 Hawai'i (4-2, 1-0) 36 23 30 27 15 No. 2 Stanford (5-2, 4-2) 34 30 23 30 12