March 31, 2009
STANFORD, Calif. - Playing in a conference in which 11 of 12 teams are ranked among the nation's top 15, Stanford won its sixth in a row.
Stanford beat Pacific, 30-22, 30-23, 30-18, at Maples Pavilion on Tuesday to continue its climb up the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation standings, moving into a tie for fifth.
No. 5 Stanford (17-8, 10-6) had been as low as eighth before starting its run.
"Our motivation is to continue to win and with what comes a top-four seed," said freshman Brad Lawson, who had 11 kills and five digs. "Those are definitely the two big goals for us."
A top-four finish would give Stanford a first-round home match in the MPSF tournament. That would be a huge benefit in an event that will determine the conference's only automatic entrant into the four-team NCAA tournament.
Having just completed a run of seven consecutive home matches -- without a road match in the entire month of March -- Stanford still is in good position. After its final regular-season trip, Friday at Long Beach State and Saturday at UC San Diego, Stanford closes with four more at home.
"We feel like we're hitting our stride right now," said libero Erik Shoji, who had 11 digs and leads the nation in that category. "We feel like we can possibly win out and also keep improving."
Spencer McLachlin led three Stanford players with double figures in kills, with 12. Evan Romero had 10 in helping deal Pacific (3-22, 0-16) its 31st consecutive conference loss.
Junior setter Kawika Shoji had 39 assists for Stanford, which remained undefeated at Maples Pavilion (6-0), winning its 10th consecutive match in the building dating back to 2007.
"Playing at home definitely helps," Lawson said. "But we're also clicking more than ever right now."