March 4, 2011
IRVINE, Calif. - Like being in a car careening down an icy road, you know there will be an impact. It's how you brace yourself that makes all the difference.
For the Stanford men's volleyball team, that's what it was like to play against UC Irvine. As a team of veterans and savvy players, the Anteaters know how to avoid the block, and they practically dare the opponent to absorb its best shots.
Stanford did all right. The Cardinal covered the floor, and dug 51 swings to pull out a 25-20, 25-23, 20-25, 25-23 victory over No. 7 UC Irvine in Mountain Pacific Sports Federation action Friday night from the Bren Center.
Defense or offense, Stanford produced when it needed. That meant getting 23 kills from Brad Lawson, a career-high 14 from freshman Brian Cook, and 55 assists from Evan Barry, a career-high for a four-set match.
But number meant little compared to the Cardinal's competitiveness, illustrated in its ability to trail 16-10 in the fourth set and rally to win.
Again, a red-headed freshman came off the bench to provide a spark. A week ago, Denny Falls was a surprise choice to ignite a comeback from a two-set deficit against UC Santa Barbara. This time, the middle blocker entered the match in the fourth set and immediately affected the match - having a hand in three consecutive points during a five-point run that brought the Cardinal back to within 16-15.
Falls began with a kill, followed with a solo block, and completed the sequence with an assist to Spencer McLachlin in transition. Suddenly, the set - which would feature 17 ties and five lead changes - was within Stanford's grasp, though the Cardinal wouldn't take its first lead until a kill from Cook set up match point at 24-23.
"Those three plays really changed the dynamic of that fourth game," Stanford coach John Kosty said. "It's a spark. We were fighting from behind all Game 3 and all Game 4. He came in and gave us the spark we needed."
Lawson continued his habit of late-match heroics by slamming eight kills in 13 attacks, and only two errors in the decisive fourth set.
How hard did Stanford fight for this one?
"Tooth and nail," Kosty said. "It's a great win."
McLachlin had 17 kills and Cook had only one attack error in 22 attempts to hit .591, the highest hitting percentage for a Stanford player this season. And Stanford as a whole hit .397.
"This was a great show of character by our team," Kosty said. "Irvine is a very good team, and it's tough to come down and win on their home floor."
Stanford (13-4 overall, 10-4 MPSF) inched into second place in the MPSF, gaining a half-match advantage over BYU, a five-set loser to leader USC (10-1, 10-1).
The Cardinal withstood a balanced attack from UC Irvine (10-9, 7-6), which had four players in double figures in kills in the matchup between the past two NCAA champions.
Stanford extended its winning streak to four and seeks its first conference road weekend sweep of the season when it plays at No. 13 UC San Diego on Saturday at 7 p.m. The Tritons stunned Stanford last month by ending the Cardinal's18-match home winning streak, a result the Cardinal is determined to overturn.
"Every weekend, we're going in looking to win two," Kosty said. "This was a great win tonight, but the guys are already looking forward."