Feb. 8, 2013
STANFORD, Calif. - Steven Irvin and Brian Cook combined for 39 of Stanford's 46 kills, but couldn't prevent the No. 4 Cardinal from falling to No. 1 UC Irvine, 25-18, 25-18, 20-25, 25-23, in Mountain Pacific Sports Federation men's volleyball at Burnham Pavilion on Friday night.
Stanford (7-4 overall, 4-4 MPSF) had its 12-match home winning streak snapped, but not without a fight, rallying from two sets down to nearly force a fifth. The Cardinal trailed 13-7 in the fourth set before tying the score at 17-17. But UCI (9-3, 6-3), the defending national champion, managed to hold off the Cardinal down the stretch.
Irvin (match-high 21 kills, .375) and Cook (18, .421) combined to hit .397. It was the third consecutive 20-kill performance for Irvin, whose previous collegiate high had been 18.
Stanford next plays UC San Diego on Saturday (7 p.m.) at Maples Pavilion.