Feb. 1, 2002
University Park, Pa. - Despite a match-high 30 kills from Curt Toppel (Pacific Palisades, CA), the second-ranked Stanford men's volleyball team fell to No. 10 Lewis 3-2 (30-24, 32-30, 20-30, 32-34, 15-11) on Friday night in the first match of the NCAA Preview Tournament hosted by Penn State University.
The Cardinal, who have lost three straight, drop to 5-4 overall while Lewis moves to 4-3 on the year.
Stanford lost the first and second games, but battled back to take games three and four. Lewis then hit .467 in game five to the Cardinal's .133 to take the fifth game 15-11.
Toppel led the Cardinal with 30 kills and six blocks. Billy Strickland (Malibu, CA) and Marcus Skacel (Laguna Niguel, CA) each finished with 13 kills. Freshman Craig Buell (Solana Beach, CA) recorded 10 kills and hit for a .533 clip. Kevin Hansen (Newport Beach, CA) dished out 71 assists and posted a match-high 11 digs. Gustavo Meyer and Fabiano Barreto led the Flyers with 21 and 18 kills, respectively.
The Cardinal will look to bounce back tomorrow night against No. 6 Penn State in the final match of the NCAA Preview Tournament. First serve is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. (EST) and will be broadcast live on the official website of Penn State athletics, www.GoPSUsports.com.
1 2 3 4 5 No. 10 Lewis (4-3) 30 32 28 32 15 No. 2 Stanford (5-4) 24 30 30 34 11