Jan. 23, 2009
LOS ANGELES - The No. 3 Stanford men's volleyball team, holding its highest ranking in seven years, was swept by No. 6 USC, 30-22, 31-29, 30-23, in a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation match Friday night at Galen Center.
Stanford (5-2, 1-1) got 11 kills and seven digs from junior Evan Romero, nine kills and five digs from freshman Brad Lawson and eight kills from sophomore Spencer McLachlin.
But the Cardinal fell behind quickly in the first set, unable to stop USC's 42 percent hitting. Stanford played its best at the end of the first set and continued the momentum into the second, taking a 5-1 lead before the Trojans pulled back.
"We knew they were going to come out really hot, and they did." Stanford coach John Kosty said. "We ran into a really good USC team that played really well. With every team in the MPSF, it always comes down to serving and passing. They were just better in those categories tonight."
Overall, the Cardinal hit at a .230 clip, to .371 for USC (4-1, 1-0), which finished strong with a third-set hitting percentage of .483.
"We're still a fairly young team," said Kosty, who starts three freshmen and a sophomore. "So, this is a very good learning experience for us. We just have to learn from our mistakes and refocus."
The Cardinal will have to learn quickly. It plays at No. 4 Pepperdine (4-0, 3-0) on Saturday (7 p.m.) in Malibu. Stanford hasn't beaten Pepperdine since the Cardinal's 1997 national championship season, losing 21 consecutive times in the series and 11 in a row at Firestone Fieldhouse.