STANFORD, Calif. – The fourth-ranked Stanford men's volleyball team outscored No. 8 Lewis 15-6 late in the fourth set to defeat the Flyers, 25-16, 21-25, 25-19, 25-23, Friday, at Maples Pavilion in Stanford, Calif. The Cardinal improves to 2-0 on the year, while Lewis drops to 1-2.
Senior outside hitter Steven Irvin led all players with 20 kills, hitting .400. Redshirt Junior Daniel Tublin added 12 kills and three blocks. Setter James Shaw controlled the offense with 44 assists. The sophomore also came up with a big block and a kill down the stretch, helping cement the win.
“James [Shaw] put me in a lot of good spots tonight,” said Irvin after the match. “Our middles got their block up so I didn’t have to, and then some of my line shots were working and I was able to stay within myself.”
Despite being outhit .306 to .294 and getting edged 9-8 in the block column, the Cardinal found a way to win. Stanford registered 14 aces in the match, including eight in the opening set. Senior Brian Cook and Tublin each put down four for the Cardinal, while Irvin added three.
“We have three key words for the season – grind, junkyard dog and blue collar,” added Irvin. “Blue collar and grind are the mentality to go for every ball and not give up. Junkyard dog is protecting our house and we did that tonight.”
Sophomore middle Conrad Kaminski finished with seven kills and four blocks, while Cook tallied seven kills and three blocks. Junior libero Grant Delgado had a match-high eight digs.
Lewis was led by junior outside hitter Greg Petty who totaled 15 kills on a .385 attack percentage. Eric Fitterer added 11 kills, six digs and two blocks for the Flyers.
Stanford will face Grand Canyon on Saturday, Jan. 11 at 7 p.m. It will be the Cardinal’s only match of the year in Burnham Pavilion.