RIVERSIDE, Calif. – The sixth-ranked Stanford men’s volleyball team captured its first conference win, Saturday, sweeping Cal Baptist (25-15, 25-18, 25-18) in Riverside, Calif. The Cardinal moves to 4-3 overall and 1-3 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, while the Lancers drop to 2-5 on the year and 2-4 in the conference.
“I thought we played a really nice match tonight,” said head coach John Kosty. “We served and passed really well. I also thought we did a nice job on our block defense.”
As a team, Stanford hit .408 while holding Cal Baptist to a .176 clip and recorded eight team blocks. Sophomore setter James Shaw controlled the offense, racking up 31 assists. He also notched five kills and four blocks.
“James had a solid match for us tonight offensively and defensively,” added Kosty.
Senior outside hitter Brian Cook paced the Cardinal with 13 kills on 23 swings with just one error to hit .522. Senior outside hitter Steven Irvin chipped in with eight kills on a .400 hitting percentage to go to seven digs.
Stanford’s middles also performed well against Cal Baptist, combining for 13 kills on 16 attempts and eight blocks. Senior Denny Falls was 7-0-9 (.778) with three blocks, while junior Spencer Haly was 6-0-7 (.857) with a match-high five blocks.
Cal Baptist was led by Jonathan Tuttle’s nine kills and four digs. Kristopher Johnson added eight kills on a .467 attack percentage.
Stanford returns to The Farm next week to play host to Long Beach State on Friday, Jan. 31 and Cal State Northridge on Saturday, Feb. 1. Both matches will start at 7 p.m. PT in Maples Pavilion.