Jan. 30, 2009
STANFORD, Calif. - When the Stanford men's volleyball team took the court with some of its most prominent players on the bench, it was obvious this match was going to be out of the ordinary.
It was.
Stanford lost the first two sets, fought off three match points, and rallied to a stirring 26-30, 24-30, 33-31, 31-29, 15-8 home-opening victory over No. 7 Long Beach State at Maples Pavilion on Friday night.
Kill leader Evan Romero was one of those who sat for the first two sets before helping ignite the team, most notably by turning away one match point on a block and another on an overhand smash at 31-30.
"I admit, I was pretty fired up," Romero said. "It was one of those situations where you have no choice but to go for it all."
Stanford coach John Kosty chose to start only two of his regulars - Brad Lawson and Spencer McLachlin - in the wake of the Cardinal's three-set losses at USC and Pepperdine last weekend.
Lawson, in particular, answered with a monster performance. He had a team season-high 27 kills and a dead-on .438 hitting percentage, as well as 11 digs. His kill while down 30-29 saved Stanford from extinction and he followed moments later with two set-ending smashes in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation match.
"That's the type of play Brad can bring us," Kosty said of the player regarded nation's top recruit from the class of 2008. "It's very difficult to hit .438 in a five-set match."
The starting lineup featured three players making their first starts of the season: outside hitter Jason Palacios, setter Evan Barry and libero Jarod Keller. For the junior Palacios and the freshman Barry, it was their first collegiate starts. And for Barry, his first collegiate appearance.
"We have a good solid team," Kosty said. "When I make changes in the lineup, it's to make the team better. I'm not trying to get guys experience, I'm trying to win."
Though the starters played the 49ers mostly even, the Cardinal received a mental boost when Romero, setter Kawika Shoji, middle blocker Garrett Werner and libero Erik Shoji entered the match in the third set.
"The players on the court were upset at falling behind, and the guys on the bench were even more motivated to get back on the court," said freshman Gus Ellis, who had a match-high 11 blocks. "The energy was just surging everywhere."
No. 6 Stanford (6-3 overall, 2-2 MPSF) regained some confidence against the 49ers (3-4, 2-2) after suffering twin sweeps on the road last week.
"We were trying to change that momentum," Romero said. "And a good five-set win will do that."
McLachlin had 17 kills, Kawika Shoji had 38 assists in three sets of the two-hour, 27-minute marathon that may go down as turning point for this team.
"This shows we can win a long match to beat a good team," Kosty said. "We have the depth necessary to pull it off."
The Cardinal gets little time to savor the triumph by returning to action Saturday for a 7 p.m. match against UC San Diego at Burnham Pavilion.