LOS ANGELES – The No. 10 Stanford men’s volleyball notched a win at No. 6 USC (25-15, 25-14, 25-22) for the first time since 2010, Sunday, at the Galen Center in Los Angeles. The Cardinal improves 12-7 overall and 9-7 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, while the Trojans drops to 11-7 overall and 10-7 in the conference.
Stanford hit a season-high .527 as a team, tying for the second-highest hitting percentage in the rally-scoring era in program history. The Cardinal finished with 52 kills, a season-best in a three-set match, and committed just four attack errors against the Trojans.
“I think the focus was on Eric Mochalski, he had an incredible match,” said head coach John Kosty. “He put together the kind of match that we envision Eric Mochalski to have. He hit at a high percentage, served effectively and showed what a dynamic player he can be.”
Mochalski registered a season-high 18 kills on 24 attempts with just two errors to hit .667. He also tallied five digs and put on a serving display with 22 attempts, 10 more than the next highest Cardinal player.
Stanford used a 9-0 run in the first set to take a 13-6 lead and was able to put USC away handily with a .609 hitting percentage. The Cardinal jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the second and benefited from a .500 hitting percentage and five blocks as the Trojans scored their fewest points in a 25-point set this season.
Sophomore setter James Shaw benefited from a strong passing game by the Cardinal, collecting 42 assists to go with eight kills on 11 errorless swings and four blocks. His .727 hitting percentage was the third-highest by a Cardinal player with at least 10 attempts this season.
“James had a very good match,” added Kosty. “He kept USC’s defense off guard and off balance all night. The passing had a lot to do with that. Out hitting percentage and sideout percentage reflects how well James played tonight.”
Senior outside hitters Steven Irvin and Brian Cook both hit .316, registering eight and six kills, respectively. Redshirt junior libero Grant Delgado finished with a match-high 13 digs.
USC was led by Lucas Yoder’s 12 kills, while setter Micah Christenson totaled 35 assists and seven digs for the Trojans.
Stanford returns to The Farm next week to play host to No. 8 Hawai’i, Friday, March 14 and Saturday, March 15. Both matches are slated for 7 p.m. from Maples Pavilion.