LONG BEACH, Calif. – The No. 8 Stanford men’s volleyball team dropped a 27-25, 23-25, 18-25, 23-25 decision at No. 5 Long Beach State, Friday, at Walter Pyramid in Long Beach, Calif. The Cardinal falls to 9-7 overall and to 6-7 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, while the 49ers move to 10-4 on the year and 9-4 in the conference.
"I thought we did some nice things tonight," said head coach John Kosty. "Brian Cook played well. If a play or two had gone the other way, the outcome would have been different. We had the opportunity."
In another defensive battle, Stanford posted 63 digs as a team, the second-most this season. Redshirt junior libero Grant Delgado, seniors Brian Cook and Steven Irvin and sophomore James Shaw all tallied 13 digs for Stanford. However, the Cardinal was outhit .284 to .253 and trailed in the block column 12.0 to 8.5. Stanford was also hurt by 17 service errors to just nine by the 49ers.
Long Beach State senior Taylor Crabb led all players with 22 kills on a .379 attack percentage. He finished with 22 kills and no errors on 58 swings. No other 49er player registered double-digit kills. Senior middle blocker Jeff Ornee tallied a match-best eight blocks.
"Taylor Crabb is putting together another Player of the Year-type season," added Kosty.
Cook led the Cardinal with 21 kills, while Irvin and senior opposite Eric Mochalski added 14 each. Sophomore middle Conrad Kaminski finished with 10 kills on a career high .833 attack percentage. That mark ties Mochalski’s rally-scoring era school record for hitting percentage set in 2012.
"Conrad Kaminski attacked well and served well for us tonight," said Kosty.
Shaw racked up 56 assists, the second-most by the sophomore this season. He also recorded four kills and three blocks for the Cardinal. As a team, Stanford finished with a season-best 65 assists.
Stanford closes out the week at Cal State Northridge on Saturday, March 1. First serve between the Cardinal and Matadors is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. PT in The Matadome.