Feb. 21, 2004
PROVO, Utah - The No. 11 Stanford University men's volleyball team gave No. 4 BYU all it could handle, before falling to the Cougars in three games. Game scores for the match were 38-36, 30-28, and 30-25. With the loss, the Cardinal fall to 5-11 on the season and 3-9 in MPSF play. The Cougars improve to 9-3 overall and 7-1 in MPSF contests.
The Cardinal pushed the Cougars to the brink in game one before BYU was able to capture game in a marathon, 38-36. Both teams played well, with the Cardinal registering a .500 hitting percentage, while the Cougars posted a .605 hitting average. Midway through the game, the Cougars grabbed an 18-15 lead, but the Cardinal rallied to pull even at 28-28. BYU reached game point at 29-28, but a kill by junior middle blocker Craig Buell knotted the score at 29-29. The Cougars would have multiple opportunities to win the game, but the Cardinal responded, receiving kills from junior outside hitter David Vogel and sophomore outside hitter William Clayton to tie the score. The Cougars would eventually win the game on a service error from Stanford and a kill from Jonathan Alleman.
The Cardinal battled the Cougars in the second game and grabbed an 11-9 lead thanks to a block from redshirt junior Patrick Bomhack and sophomore Chris Ahlfeldt. The Cougars would go on a 15-10 run to take a 24-21 lead which they wouldn't relinquish. A kill by redshirt junior Kevin Hansen brought the Cardinal within one at 28-27, but that is as close as the Cardinal would get as the Cougars would take the second game 30-28. Both teams cooled down a bit as the Cardinal hit .324 while the Cougars hit .386.
Stanford started strong in the third game, grabbing an early four point lead at 11-7 thanks to a kill from Vogel. BYU responded with an 8-0 run to take a 15-11 advantage. A kill by Buell and an attack error by the Cougars, brought the Cardinal within two at 25-23, but that is as close as Stanford would get.
Clayton paced the Cardinal's with a season-high 12 kills, while hitting .688 for the match. Vogel added 10 kills, while Bomhack chipped in eight kills. BYU's Fernando Pessoa led all players with 20 kills, while Joe Hillman added 18 kills and Alleman registered 17.
The Cardinal return to The Farm for two games next week. Stanford will play host to Cal on Wednesday, February 25th, and then welcome LaVerne on the 27th.