April 1, 2011
STANFORD, Calif. - There are no such things as moral victories when it comes to Stanford against USC in any sport, particularly in men's volleyball.
But there was the feeling among the Cardinal that the team turned a corner despite its 25-22, 21-25, 25-22, 25-22 loss to the No. 1 Trojans before 1,645 at Maples Pavilion on Friday night.
"We came out and showed that we're moving in the right direction," Stanford coach John Kosty said. "This match was a good indication that we're doing the right thing, and we're excited about the opportunities we have in front of us."
Those opportunities won't include a successful defense of a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation regular-season title, because USC (17-1 overall, 16-1 MPSF) will clinch it, and the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament, by beating Pacific on Saturday night.
Stanford (16-7, 12-6) faces a different task. The Cardinal dropped behind BYU (14-6) in the MPSF standings, but still controls its own destiny for the No. 2 seed. If Stanford wins its final four MPSF matches, the Cardinal can do no worse than tie for second with BYU, but holds the tiebreaker edge over the Cougars by sweeping their season series.
The No. 2 seed brings a clear path to the lone NCAA at-large berth, which should go to an MPSF team. Therefore, a No. 2 seeded team that reaches the MPSF final seems all but assured of an NCAA invitation.
Brad Lawson had 17 kills and freshman Steven Irvin had a collegiate career high 15 for Stanford. Spencer McLachlin had 14 kills and 12 digs to join Lawson (10 digs) in earning a double-double. Setter Evan Barry had 56 assists, a career-high for a four-set match, and helped Stanford outhit the Trojans, .305 to .290.
For Stanford, Irvin's numbers were especially sweet.
"He played great," Kosty said. "He worked himself into a good rhythm in the match. He passed well, he hit well. Right now, heading to the end of the season, we're creating a lot of reliable roles within the team. It's good to see and it will only make us better."
A confident Irvin proved to be a strong offensive option in his fifth start of the season. He finished off Stanford's second-set victory and provided the Cardinal with a versatile three-pronged attack, alongside Lawson and McLachlin.
With both teams unleashing the full fury of their offenses, and responding by withstanding the best shots the other could dish out, the match evolved into a back-and-forth, high-level, powerful swing-and-parry duel.
With the score tied 16-16 in the third set, a tip by USC setter Riley McKibbin turned the match on its axis ever so slightly. The Trojans never surrendered the lead, gathering seven blocks of its 14 blocks in that set alone to push ahead two sets to one.
Stanford kept fighting in the fourth set, playing some of its best volleyball of the season while inching ahead 21-20 on a Lawson smash down the line. But another McKibbin tip evened it up and sparked a 5-1 Trojan run to the finish line.
Stanford returns to action Saturday for its' regular-season home finale against No. 13 Pepperdine at 7 p.m. Stanford will honor its five seniors before the match. After that, three road matches will determine the Cardinal's fate.
"We know we're going to have to win on the road," Kosty said. "The MPSF tournament is not going to go through Stanford, it's probably going to go through S.C. So, if we're going to be successful and reach our goals, we're going to have to do it on the road. It poses a different challenge, but I think this team is ready for it."
-- David Kiefer, Stanford Athletics