Jan. 30, 2007
Fourteenth-ranked University of the Pacific started off slow, dropping game one in Burnham Pavilion tonight, but gained momentum on the Cardinal taking the next three straight games. Stanford, plagued by hitting errors could not muster up the attacking power needed to come out on top over Pacific. Stanford remains winless with a 0-10 overall record while Pacific improves to 4-5 overall, 2-3 in MPSF play.
Stanford's balanced attack proved very effective against UOP in game one. Stanford started the game with a strong 5-1 run, a lead which they maintained resulting in a Pacific timeout at 9-4. The Cardinal continued to bring the heat with key kills by junior Matt Ceran and freshman Evan Romero. A block by freshman Kawika Shoji and sophomore Brandon Williams gave the Cardinal their biggest lead of that game at 25-19. However, the Tigers rallied back with a few kills and a service ace by Pekka Seppanen to bring the game within a point (26-25). The Cardinal responded with back-to-back kills from Matt Ceran, and a kill by Evan Romero to go up 29-27. Stanford closed out game one 30-28 on a Pacific service error.
Pacific came out swinging, taking an early 0-8 lead to start game two. After a series of runs, the Tigers were able to maintain and extend their lead on the Cardinal to 10-20. However, a 4-0 Cardinal run, which included back-to-back kills by freshman Ed Howell, brought the Cardinal within six at 14-20. Stanford hung tough with Pacific and crept back further to within three (21-24) on a kill by Matt Ceran, who led the Cardinal in the game with seven kills. The Tigers responded with a few timely kills of their own to take game two 23-30.
The Cardinal found themselves down early in game three following a 9-1 Tiger run to start the game. Stanford, plagued by hitting errors, could not find a rhythm in the game. In what was potentially a momentum shift for the Cardinal on a kill by junior Brian Skinner to bring the Cardinal to within five (15-20), Pacific went on a 9-0 run topped off with a kill by Simon Chen-Byerley to take game three 16-30.
Stanford fought hard in the beginning on the crucial fourth game of the match. Despite the Tigers' 4-0 fun to take a 7-9 lead, the Cardinal stayed poised and evened the game at 13 off back-to-back kills by Evan Romero. However, hitting errors caught up with the Cardinal. Stanford was able to pull to within three points at 24-27, but Pacific would not be denied. The Tigers took game four 25-30.
Up next Stanford will head south to take on Long Beach State and UC San Diego on Friday and Saturday evening, respectively. The Cardinal return to Stanford to complete the first half of conference play against UC Irvine and UCLA on February 16 and 17.
#14 Pacific d. Stanford University (28-30, 30-23, 30-16, 30-25)