Jan. 20, 2006
Stanford, Calif. - Stanford (2-6, 1-3 MPSF) battled tough against No. 1 ranked Long Beach State (6-0, 2-0 MPSF) before falling 3-1 in tonight's MPSF match at Maples Pavilion. The 49ers won the match with games score of 30-22, 30-21, 27-30 and 30-22.
Long Beach State started strong in the first game, taking the lead early and never looking back. Senior Ben Reddy led the Cardinal with five kills and one service ace. Senior outside hitter Robert Tarr led the 49ers with six kills and a .417 attacking percentage.
Long Beach State again took charge early in game two. After falling behind 3-5, Stanford's Reddy had a big kill to pull the Cardinal within one point. Reddy again led the Cardinal with six kills and a .556 hitting percentage. Senior Nick Manov also added three kills, while sophomore middle blocker Matt Ceran had two kills and two block assists.
In game three the Cardinal showed a different line-up, starting freshman Brandon Williams at middle blocker, freshman Miki Groppi at the setter position, and junior Brian Lindberg at libero. The change proved to be successful as Stanford took an early lead and was able to hold on to win the game 30-27. Williams hit .600 for the game with three kills and one block assist.
Stanford was not able to hold on in the last match, as Long Beach State controlled the game from the start. Five service errors by the Cardinal, and a team hitting percentage of .556 for the 49ers led to a 30-22 Long Beach State victory.
Long Beach State's Tarr led the match with 21 kills, while Reddy led the Cardinal with 18 kills. The Cardinal hit .264 for the match, while the 49ers hit .403 and had a team total of 28 block assists.
"Long Beach State is a very good team, was able to exploit our weaknesses, and allowed us to see some area where we will be able to improve," said head coach Don Shaw after the loss.
Next week the Cardinal hits the road, taking on No. 6 CS Northridge on Friday, January 27th at 7 p.m. in Northridge, Calif., and No. 8 UCSB on Saturday, January 28th at 7 p.m. in Santa Barbara, Calif.