March 5, 2011
LA JOLLA, Calif. - Now is this point in the men's volleyball season - with the annual two-week break from competition at the end of the winter quarter - that Stanford coach John Kosty considers its halfway point.
That Stanford has played 15 conference matches and has only seven to go does not make Kosty as mathematically-challenged as it appears at first glance. Rather, this is the point when Stanford plans to gather itself for a championship run.
Stanford is in a good spot. Spencer McLachlin had 21 kills and Brad Lawson 17 to lead the No. 3 Cardinal to a 25-22, 22-25, 25-21, 25-17 victory at No. 13 UC San Diego before 1,012 -- UCSD's largest crowd ever -- on Saturday night.
The victory reversed a shocking three-set defeat to UCSD (6-14, 3-11) at Stanford on Feb. 11 that ended the Cardinal's 18-match home winning streak. This time, Stanford made sure not to overlook the Tritons while extending its winning streak to five, including a four-set victory at UC Irvine on Friday.
Stanford (14-4 overall) completed its first weekend road sweep in conference play, improving to 11-4 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. The records match the Cardinal's marks during the same points of its 2010 NCAA championship season and have allowed the Cardinal to move into second in the MPSF standings, 1½ matches behind No. 1 USC (12-1).
"We've gotten to the point of the season where we're comfortable with what were doing," Kosty said. "Now, we've got to get our legs back and get ready to for the final push."
Stanford does not play again until a March 19 nonconference contest against Cal Baptist at Burnham Pavilion because of Dead Week and finals. The Cardinal resumes MPSF play on March 25 against Cal State Northridge at Maples Pavilion, beginning a stretch of four consecutive home conference matches that includes a showdown with USC on April 1 at Maples Pavilion.
Stanford hopes to bring USC back to the pack. As it stands now, five schools are breathing down the neck of Stanford, all within two matches of each other in the standings and all jockeying for position and seeds in the eight-team MPSF tournament, which will determine the conference's lone automatic berth into the four-team NCAA playoffs.
Stanford's key will be to maintain the momentum it has built over the past two weeks. On Saturday, junior setter Evan Barry matched his day-old career high in assists for a four-set match, with 55, and led the Cardinal to a .369 hitting percentage. And Erik Shoji had 13 digs to follow up on his 16 against UCI, and Lawson had 11 digs for a double-double.
"We're playing really good defense," Kosty said. "And getting us a lot of opportunities to score points.
"And Erik's back on track, Erik's playing like Erik again. And the block is getting better (nine blocks against UCSD) and understanding our defensive schemes."
UCSD never gave in, forcing Stanford to grind out the victory in workmanlike fashion. That Stanford was able to respond in such circumstances says much about its ability to adapt to whatever style of play is needed to win.
"It was a great weekend for us," Kosty said. "If you're going to write up a script, this is how you would want it."
Now, as it heads into the "second half," the senses heighten and the focus is enhanced because of urgency. The championship run begins now.