STANFORD, Calif. - Stanford wasn't just two points from losing on Saturday night, but two points from being swept.
That was the knife-edged cliff upon which the Cardinal found itself perched against No. 3 UC Santa Barbara. But those two points never came.
Behind Brad Lawson's had 25 kills and .564 hitting, Stanford pulled out a 21-25, 20-25, 25-23, 25-21, 15-10 victory in a dramatic Mountain Pacific Sports Federation men's volleyball match at Maples Pavilion.
For perspective, turnarounds from two-set deficits don't happen often. Before Saturday, Stanford had done it only twice in seven seasons, and not for two years. But this year's team is proving to be a clutch outfit, improving to 4-0 in five-set matches.
"Resiliency," is the quality that coach John Kosty defines as the intangible that allows Stanford to perform at its best when the match is on the line.
"This team believes in itself," he said.
The comeback is even more remarkable considering that UCSB (10-7 overall, 8-6 in the MPSF) starts five seniors. That's not the makeup of a team that folds.
"It shows that we've got some upperclassmen that are also willing to fight," Kosty said. "Tonight was a battle of attrition. We just made a couple of plays at some key times to get the win."
In the momentum-changing third set that featured 17 ties and five lead changes, the teams were locked at 23-23 with UCSB serving when a Stanford scramble resulted in a kill by Spencer McLachlin. The senior immediately followed by joining freshman Denny Falls on a set-point block, keeping his team alive.
The McLachlin-Falls combination was fitting given that each played crucial roles in the Cardinal reversal. McLachlin hit minus-.071 with only four kills during the first two sets. But in the third and fourth, he had nine kills and hit .350.
McLachlin's hitting took the pressure off Lawson, who had eight of Stanford's 11 first-set kills and maintained his torrid hitting throughout the match, finishing with the team's highest hitting percentage of the season, with only three errors in 39 swings.
Meanwhile, McLachlin filled out the box score with 14 kills, seven digs, six blocks, four assists and two aces - an illustration of his all-around ability.
"Spencer's such an experienced player that he knows how to turn it around," Stanford libero Erik Shoji said. "He knows what he has to do on the court to help our team succeed. If he's not playing well, he has to turn it up in another way -- serve consistent, pass well. And when he does that well, it translates into better hitting, better blocking and just better overall play."
As for Falls, the 6-foot-7 freshman was a surprise choice to start the third set at middle blocker. He had played only three sets all season and none in the past two matches. Yet there he was, in his most extensive action of his collegiate career when Stanford could afford nothing less than his best.
"Denny's just an athletic and explosive middle blocker," Kosty said. "We wanted to change something up and we gave Denny the opportunity. He came in and he took full advantage of it. Offensively, he takes great swings and he's just a big presence at the net."
Falls made his presence felt all right. He had a career-best five kills (in seven attempts, .571), along with his first career ace, plus a block. But even more importantly, UCSB hit .451 before Falls entered the match, and .222 afterward.
"The first two sets, they were basically shoving it down our throats," Shoji said. "So, we knew we had to serve a little tougher and grind it out. And that's what we did."
Lawson and McLachlin combined on 10 kills and no errors in the third set, and the team followed suit with .536 hitting - and no errors.
"A lot of it was because our serving got a lot better," Shoji said. "In the fourth game, it got them a little off balance."
With the momentum unequivocally in Stanford's favor heading into the fifth set, McLachlin fueled it even more with a solo block on the first point. Three kills in four points by Lawson pushed the lead to 6-3. Though Stanford never trailed, five times UCSB closed to within one during the set, only to be turned away each time.
Jordan Inafuku served the final three points with a McLachlin roll shot and Lawson smash slamming the door on the Gauchos.
"He played a Brad Lawson match tonight," Kosty said of his kill leader. "Everybody figured out by midway through the match what they needed to do for the team to be successful."
Moments later, Kosty relaxed into a satisfied smile. On consecutive nights, No. 4 Stanford (12-4, 9-4) beat two good teams - No. 8 UCLA in four sets, and No. 3 UCSB in a dramatic five. In danger of being swept for the fifth time during a somewhat inconsistent season, Stanford instead earned its biggest character-building victory and solidified its position near the top of the MPSF standings.
"That was a great weekend," the coach said. "A great weekend."
-- David Kiefer, Stanford Athletics