Cardinal Wins Fourth Straight

Box Score

STANFORD, Calif. – Notching its first Mountain Pacific Sports Federation sweep, the 13th-ranked Stanford men’s volleyball team defeated UC San Diego, 25-21, 25-17, 25-17, Friday, at Maples Pavilion in Stanford, Calif. The Cardinal move to 9-11 overall and 6-8 in the MPSF, while the Tritons drop to 2-19 on the year and 0-15 in conference.

Stanford, which has out hit its opponents in all nine of its wins this season, posted a .268 attack percentage while holding UCSD to a .099 clip. The Tritons hitting percentage was the second-lowest by a Cardinal opponent this year. The Tritons tallied 14.0 team blocks to just 4.0 by Stanford.

Junior middle blocker Conrad Kaminski led the team with a .583 hitting percentage, posting nine kills to go with four digs, three blocks and an ace. Senior middle blocker Spencer Haly chipped in with six kills on .545 hitting.

“I thought tonight was a good team win,” said ninth-year head coach John Kosty. “Our middles did a really nice job. That was pretty much the backbone of our effort. UC San Diego is a solid team that played great defense and blocked really well tonight.”

Redshirt sophomore Gabriel Vega, the reigning MPSF Player of the Week and AVCA National Player of the Week, finished with a match-high 10 kills and five digs. Junior outside hitter Madison Hayden added nine kills, eight digs and two aces.

Junior setter James Shaw controlled the offense with 32 assists to go with eight digs and three blocks. Redshirt freshman middle blocker Kevin Rakestraw played in two sets and tallied three service aces. In total, 13 Cardinal players took the court against the Tritons.

“The team works really hard day in and day out, and everyone contributes,” explained Kosty. “A match is just like any other day where guys earn their positions and roles. They are also contributors on this team who help us win and help us keep improving so we can have the type of season we want to have this year.”

UC San Diego was led by Ian Colbert, a Belmont, California native, who tallied nine kills and three blocks. Bryan Zhu and Tanner Syftestad anchored the defense with 10 and eight blocks, respectively.

Stanford will take a two-week break for winter final exams before taking the court again on Friday, March 27 at CSUN. The Cardinal will also face Long Beach State on Saturday, March 28 on its final southern California road swing this season.

“We are in finals week now, so this break is mandatory. There are a lot of schools taking a break right now,” added Kosty. “It’s time to get healthy, recover and get over some nagging injuries, and then be ready for the last push. I think we have done a nice job of putting ourselves back into the playoff picture and now we just need to keep improving week after week.”