Final MPSF Standings in PDF Format
STOCKTON, Calif. - Driving down Highway 5 from Stanford's regular-season finale victory over Pacific on Saturday night, coach John Kosty took a moment to point out some fireworks on the horizon to his awe-struck children.
For the defending national champion men's volleyball team, the symbolism could not be overlooked. The goal, heading into next Saturday's first round home match in the conference tournament, is to recreate those fireworks on the court.
In its final preparation for the postseason, Stanford did just that, hitting .377 as a team while Brad Lawson and Spencer McLachlin combined for 44 kills to lead No. 4 Stanford to a 25-23, 26-28, 25-20, 25-16 victory over No. 14 Pacific.
Stanford (19-8 overall) finished third in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation at 15-7 and next plays host to sixth-place Long Beach State in the first round of the eight-team conference tournament, on Saturday (7 p.m.) at Maples Pavilion. Only the winner of the conference tournament is guaranteed a spot in the four-team NCAA tournament.
Stanford had no tangible goals for the Pacific match, with the third seed already established. But that wasn't enough.
"It's all about rhythm," Kosty said. "We want to make sure we're playing well at the end of the season. Tonight was the start of our tournament push. We can't expect to lose anywhere along the way and expect to make the NCAA tournament."
Besides No. 1 USC, Long Beach State has given Stanford more trouble than any other team this seasonn. The 49ers (14-13, 12-10) beat Stanford twice, first in a sweep in Long Beach and then in a five-setter at Maples on March 26. The winner will play No. 2 seed BYU or No. 7 seed UC Santa Barbara in the semifinals at the home of the tournament's highest remaining seed.
But no matter its seed, it was likely Stanford would be paired with some team that has given it trouble in what has been a typically competitive and even season.
"In the MPSF playoffs, you're going to face a quality opponent," Kosty said. "Coming into this weekend, we knew it would be Long Beach or UC Santa Barbara, a team we split with and needed to rally from two sets down to beat. We're all evenly-matched teams."
Stanford got a career-high 63 assists from setter Evan Barry, who continues to impress in his first season as a starter.
"He played well tonight and has done a tremendous job growing this season," Kosty said. "It's all about running an offense and understanding your hitters - what they like to hit, and don't like to hit, and situations they like to hit in. Evan Barry truly has a grasp on what we need to do and at what time."
Among other highlights, All-American libero Erik Shoji had 15 digs. Lawson led the team with 23 kills and a .556 hitting percentage, and McLachlin had 21 kills and hit .378 against the Tigers (11-19, 5-17).
A key set was the second, when Stanford fell behind 20-15, only to tie it and fight off two set points before Pacific prevailed. A Gus Ellis kill sparked a comeback that was further fueled by a Jake Kneller service ace.
Though Stanford lost the set, it acted as a platform for the rest of the match, which was one-sided in the Cardinal's favor.
The victory allowed the Stanford senior class of 2011 to take sole possession of the title of the winningest class in program history, with its 81st victory. The class of McLachlin, Ian Connolly, Garrett Dobbs, Charley Henrikson, Jordan Inafuku, and Max Halvorson, broke the mark held by the classes of '98 and '95, and has a four-year record of 81-36 (.692).
But the biggest fireworks, the team hopes, are yet to come.