Feb. 8, 2003
LOS ANGELES, Calif. - The sixth-ranked Stanford men's volleyball team concluded a three-week, six-match road swing with a 4-2 mark after posting a convincing 30-26, 36-34, 30-25 victory over USC on Saturday night at the Lyon Center. The win was the 499th of Stanford head coach Don Shaw's collegiate career, with 440 of those coming with the Cardinal women's program.
The Cardinal improved to 6-6 overall and 4-4 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, while the Trojans dropped to 3-8 and 1-6.
After winning game one 30-26, the Cardinal took complete control in game two. USC led 28-22, but Stanford rallied to win 14 of the final 20 points to take the game 36-34. Stanford then held USC to just a .121 (13 k-9 e-33 ta) hitting percentage in game three to close out its second sweep of the season.
Senior outside hitter William Strickland (Malibu, CA) led the Cardinal by hitting .621 with 20 kills, five digs, a block and a service ace. Senior middle blocker Paul Bocage (Princeton, NJ) added 12 kills and a match-high six blocks, while sophomore David Vogel (Poway, CA) pitched in seven kills and three digs.
The Cardinal hit .353 (52-16-102) for the match compared to just .147 (40-26-95) for the Trojans. Stanford also out-blocked USC 11.0-6.0.
Mark Dusharme had 12 kills and eight digs to pace the Trojans.
Stanford, which has played nine of its first 12 matches away from home, opens up an 11-match homestand on Friday against No. 5 Long Beach State (7-5, 3-4) at 7:00 p.m. at Maples Pavilion. The Cardinal will then host UC San Diego (3-8, 0-7) on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. at Burnham Pavilion.