Feb. 2, 2002
University Park, Pa. - The second-ranked Stanford men's volleyball team dropped its fourth match in five days, falling to No. 6 Penn State 3-1 (31-29, 30-26, 27-30, 30-25) Saturday night in the second day of the NCAA Preview Tournament. The Cardinal now stand at 5-5 overall, while the Nittany Lions improve to 5-2.
Penn State took the first two games, but the Cardinal battled back to win game three 30-27. The Nittany Lions then put the match away in the fifth game with a 30-25 victory. Penn State out-hit the Cardinal, recording 71 kills (.376) to Stanford's 60 (.301).
Curt Toppel (Pacific Palisades, CA) once again led Stanford's offense, recording a team-high 21 kills and a .425 hitting percentage. Marcus Skacel (Laguna Niguel, CA) and Billy Strickland (Malibu, CA) also posted double-figure kills. Skacel added 11, while Strickland pounded 10. Patrick Bomhack (Waukesha, WI) proved to be tough at the net, recording a match-high seven blocks. Kevin Hansen (Newport Beach, CA) handed out 71 of the Cardinal's 73 assists.
Penn State's Zeljko Koljesar posted a game-high 19 kills, while Carlos Guerra added 14 to the Nittany Lion attack.
The Cardinal will look to end their losing skid next weekend when they travel south to Santa Barbara and Northridge. Stanford will face the Gauchos on Friday, Feb. 8 and follow up with the Matadors on Saturday, Feb. 9. Both matches are set to start at 7 p.m.
1 2 3 4 No. 2 Stanford (5-5) 29 26 30 25 No. 6 Penn State 95-2) 31 30 27 30