Cardinal Falls in Four

Box Score

STANFORD, Calif. – Behind 12.5 team blocks, the 10th-ranked Long Beach State men’s volleyball team defeated No. 12 Stanford, 18-25, 25-23, 25-20, 25-22, Wednesday, at Maples Pavilion in Stanford, Calif. The Cardinal drops to 2-4 overall and 1-2 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, while the 49ers move to 5-1 and 2-1 in the conference.

“I think Long Beach is a good solid team and they make you play,” said head coach John Kosty. “They make you win rallies and they extend rallies really well. That is something that we are going to continue to get better at.”

Junior setter James Shaw controlled the Cardinal offense, which hit .225, totaling a season high 44 assists. He also tallied seven kills on 11 attempts with just one error to hit .545 while registering three service aces, three digs and two blocks.

“James had a nice night tonight,” explained Kosty. “This is a new season for him. This is his second or third week setting. His location is going to continue to get better. He is going to start understanding our hitters better.

“We have a lot of room to improve and I think this start of the season is not indicative of how we are going to be playing in the middle of the season.”

Redshirt senior Daniel Tublin turned in his second double-double of the season with 16 kills and 12 digs. Freshman outside hitter Evan Enriques, who made his second career start Wednesday, finished with 12 kills, six digs and four assists.

“I thought Evan played well and did a good job,” said Kosty. “For a freshman to get into that situation, I thought he did his job, but we all need to get better. The team needs to figure out how to keep earning points and how to stay focused every single point.”

Freshman Kyle Dagostino started and played his first collegiate match at the libero position. He finished with a team-high 14 digs.

“I thought he had a great debut at the libero position,” added Kosty. “It’s a situation where we still need to play more together. Kyle was our setter the entire fall and now James is back.

“We are still a new team and need to continually work together and stay as a family and understand that this is a long journey. We are only getting started.”

After Stanford hit .407 (13-2-27) in the opening set, Long Beach State settled in and outhit the Cardinal in each of the final three sets.

The 49ers were led by Dan Glamack’s 13 kills and five blocks. Bryce Yould added 11 kills on a .643 attack percentage, while Taylor Gregory totaled eight kills and seven blocks.

Stanford completes its homestand on Friday, Jan. 23 as it plays host to CSUN. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. in Maples Pavilion. Admission is free.

“Every season is different. This journey is going to be different from last year,” said Kosty. “Right now I am counting on us to come out against Northridge and put a better effort together, a more consistent effort to get a win.”