Jan. 28, 2012
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Dylan Kordic, a senior who converted to setter last season, came on in relief to lead Stanford to a 25-22, 23-25, 24-26, 25-22, 15-12 victory over Ohio State in a Saturday matchup of the past two NCAA men's volleyball champions.
Evan Barry, who has started every match this season, suffered an apparent injury in the third set. Barry walked off the court under his own power, but did not return. However, the injury does not appear to be serious.
Instead, Kordic, who has played in only four sets in two seasons, had 23 assists while guiding the No. 4 Cardinal (5-2) past the defending national champion Buckeyes (6-4), ranked No. 10, at St. John Arena.
"He played great," Stanford coach John Kosty said. "That's a credit to how hard he worked. He made the most of it."
Sophomores Brian Cook and Steven Irvin, and senior Brad Lawson, tied for team-high kill honors with 17 each, offsetting the 30 kills of Ohio State senior Shawn Sangrey.
Stanford's defense allowed it to happen. All-America libero Erik Shoji had 16 digs and kept the Cardinal withstand a potent Buckeye attack.
Kosty credited the defensive success to associate head coach Ken Shibuya's gameplan.
Stanford trailed in the fifth set, 8-5, before taking the lead 10-9 on the second of back-to-back kills by Lawson on a sequence in which Stanford fought off four Buckeye attacks.
At 10-10, an Irvin kill and service ace put Stanford ahead for good. The Cardinal finished it off with a solo block by Lawson on match point. Stanford now is 10-0 all-time against the Buckeyes.
"Down the stretch, we played like Stanford plays," Kosty said, meaning a strong performance in serving, passing, and defense.
Stanford, now four matches into a 10-match road stretch, resumes Mountain Pacific Sports Federation play next weekend with a pair at No. 1 BYU.
Kordic proved he will be ready if called upon. He arrived at Stanford as an outside hitter from Manhattan Beach, Calif., but a high school shoulder injury eventually led to the switch to setter. Friday was his first action against a Division I opponent since his collegiate debut against Pacific in 2009.
"The thing about Dylan is he competes," Kosty said of the Manhattan Beach, Calif., native. "He's won at all levels and that shows in the way he plays. He ran the team."