March 6, 2010
STANFORD, Calif. - The Stanford men's volleyball team is ranked No. 2, but made its case for No. 1 during a 30-22, 30-25, 26-30, 30-21 victory over Long Beach State on Saturday night at Maples Pavilion.
Stanford (12-4 overall) maintained its slim lead in Mountain Pacific Sports Federation with a 10-4 record (.714), staying percentage points ahead of No. 1 Pepperdine (9-4, .692) in a conference that features 11 teams ranked among the nation's top 15. But the Cardinal should be under consideration for the top spot considering Pepperdine lost on Friday at BYU.
"I told the guys, whatever our ranking is on Monday, right now we're on top of the MPSF," Stanford coach John Kosty said. "That was part of our goal and that's what we've been working so hard for over these four years, to get back on top. We've done that."
Spencer McLachlin hit a season-high 21 kills to lead a Stanford onslaught that resulted in a .412 hitting percentage for the nation's top hitting team. Evan Romero had 18 and Brad Lawson 16 as Stanford had only 13 hitting errors the entire match. Over its past five conference matches, Stanford is hitting a combined .414.
For McLachlin, the performance was a breakthrough of sorts since missing four early-season matches because of a shoulder injury. McLachlin was much more aggressive in his swinging on Saturday and hit .559, with only two errors in 34 attacks.
"I think tonight was the first match where I was definitely wasn't aware of the injury," McLachlin said. "It's almost like I forgot about it. When you play like that, your mind is more focused on the game, and less on thinking, `you can't do this.'"
Stanford knocked the No. 6 49ers off the doorstep for the MPSF lead, inching ahead in the first set on a double block by Gus Ellis and Brad Lawson for the go-ahead point, at 9-8, and McLachlin did much of the rest, with seven kills in the set without an error.
The second set featured 21 tie scores and five lead changes, with the Cardinal hitting .548 and taking the lead for good at 23-22 on a Long Beach hitting error, following by kills from Ellis and Romero.
Long Beach State (9-7, 7-5) forced Stanford onto its heels in capturing the third set, limiting the Cardinal to .167 hitting.
The 49ers hung tough again in the fourth, but Stanford broke open a 19-18 match with an 8-1 run.
"I don't know what percentage we sided out, but it was probably really high," McLachlin said. "We had the confidence going into it that we could sideout with them all the way to 30-all. It was up to us to make a block or a dig to separate it."
The Cardinal got the big plays from several people, including Lawson, who had eight kills in the set. Romero served three consecutive points during the run, unleashing a vicious jumpserve that Long Beach couldn't handle, for an over that McLachlin put back into the floor.
But the key performer in the match had to have been Kawika Shoji. The All-American setter was his typical creative and agile self. On one play Shoji rushed nearly into the stands to reach a ball to keep a rally alive, and hustled back into position to dig an attack impeded by no Stanford block. The Cardinal would lose that point, but gained many others when Shoji used great body awareness to control passes at the net and redirect them to his teammates.
"He does so many things that make us better," McLachlin said. "Whether its defense, his jump serves are awesome. He just puts people in better situations."
Shoji had 57 assists and broke Kevin Hansen's school record for career service aces in the rally-scoring era (since 2001). Shoji nailed his record-breaking 91st in the third set, to a standing ovation by some in the crowd who may have understood the significance of the dipping, spinning serve.
Stanford, only three years removed from a 3-25 season, now is a legitimate contender for No. 1, a spot the team hasn't held since Feb. 6, 2001. Of course, it's no cinch that Stanford will get the vote. After all, Pepperdine swept Stanford in their only meeting, and the Waves' two-match split at BYU this weekend certainly was no embarrassment.
"It's so early in the season that I'm not really too concerned," McLachlin said. "It's gratifying because we have been working so hard in practice to be recognized. But if it doesn't happen, I don't really care."
Of greater concern is how Stanford will handle itself down the conference homestretch. Stanford will not play for two weeks because of Dead Week and finals. There is no practice during finals week except on Friday, March 19, the day before the Cardinal plays host to NAIA power Cal Baptist.
Stanford's next MPSF match isn't for three weeks, and it will begin a homestretch in which the Cardinal must play six of its final eight regular-season matches on the road.
"The win tonight sets up our break really well," Kosty said. "It gives us confidence knowing what we need to work on to get even better. We're playing well and our expectations are that we'll get even better.
"But now we have to switch gears. We know the MPSF is going to get better over the next three weeks, and we have to do the same."
And can No. 1 be far behind?
-- David Kiefer, Stanford Athletics