March 20, 2010
STANFORD, Calif. -
All-America setter Kawika Shoji added to his Stanford legacy by breaking the school's all-time record for digs during the top-ranked Cardinal's three-set sweep of visiting California Baptist in men's volleyball action on Saturday night.
Playing for the first time since earning a No. 1 ranking, Stanford got 13 kills from Brad Lawson on the way to a 30-21, 30-26, 30-22 nonconference victory at Burnham Pavilion.
Stanford (13-4) hadn't played in two weeks or had an organized practice in a week. Though the team felt rusty, the Cardinal was able to control the NAIA's No. 1 team and reverse a three-set loss to the Lancers (14-8) from a year ago.
Shoji had 34 assists overall and four kills in the third to help break open a close set. But it was his six digs in the match that allowed him to surpass the career record of 711 for the rally-scoring era (since 2001) held by current U.S. national team setter Kevin Hansen. Shoji now has 713, allowing him to break two Hansen school marks this month, having already set the all-time record for service aces. Shoji had three of those to give him 95.
Senior middle blocker Garrett Werner echoed the sentiments of his teammates after the match when he said, "I felt rusty, but it felt good getting back in the swing. Coming in and winning was a good first step."
Stanford now has won its past six matches and 10 of its past 11. However, the Cardinal now embarks on the most difficult part of its schedule, with six of its eight remaining regular-season matches on the road, and all against ranked Mountain Pacific Sports Federation opponents.
The Cardinal is tied for first in the MPSF with Pepperdine at 10-4, and will play its first conference match in three weeks when it travels to No. 13 UC San Diego on Friday, and follows at No. 8 Long Beach State on Saturday.
Stanford honored longtime assistant coach Al Roderigues with a moment of silence before Saturday's match. Roderigues had been an assistant coach with the team since 1992, and died peacefully early Friday morning at age 67. However, he will serve as an inspiration to the team, as he always has.