Jan. 20, 2013
MALIBU, Calif. - Brian Cook had 19 kills, but was unable to prevent No. 2 Stanford from losing to No. 4 Pepperdine, 25-22, 23-25, 25-16, 25-23, in a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation men's volleyball match Sunday at Firestone Fieldhouse.
Stanford (4-2 overall, 1-2) entered the weekend as the lone undefeated team in the 13-team MPSF, but was swept in a two-match Southland swing, which began with a three-set loss at No. 7 USC on Friday.
The Cardinal did not lead the Waves (3-1, 3-1) in the match until turning an 18-13 second-set deficit into a 21-20 lead after a Pepperdine service error. Stanford finally won the set on a Steven Irvin ace, but was unable to duplicate its finishing skill in the fourth set, failing to maintain a 19-17 lead.
Irvin had 11 kills and the Cardinal hit a solid .312 for the match, but still was outhit (Pepperdine hit .386) and outblocked (8-5).
Stanford returns to action on Tuesday at 7 p.m. against No. 5 UCLA (6-3, 2-1) at Maples Pavilion in an MPSF match that will televised live on the Pac-12 Networks. Admission is free.