| LINESCORE | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F | |
| No. 6 Stanford (7-1, 5-1 MPSF) | 25 | 19 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
| USC (1-7, 1-5 MPSF) | 20 | 25 | 19 | 8 | 1 |
| STAT COMPARISON | ||
|---|---|---|
| STAN | USC | |
| Kills | 55 | 38 |
| Attack pct. | .360 | .115 |
| Assists | 53 | 37 |
| Aces | 5 | 1 |
| Digs | 31 | 35 |
| Blocks | 13.5 | 6.0 |
LOS ANGELES – Despite a 12 minute delay due to a power outage at the Galen Center, the sixth-ranked Stanford men’s volleyball team asserted its dominance with a 25-20, 19-25, 25-19, 25-8 win over USC in Los Angeles.
The Cardinal improved to 7-1 on the year and sits in second place in the MPSF with a 5-1 mark. As a team, Stanford hit .360, while holding the Trojans (1-7, 1-5) to a .115 clip. The Cardinal also won the blocking battle, 13.5 to 6.0. The eight points the Trojans scored in the fourth set were their fewest in a non-fifth set since the rally scoring era began in 2001.
Senior Madison Hayden, who was back in the lineup after missing Friday’s match due to an ankle injury, led Stanford with 13 kills, six digs and a season-high three aces. Freshman Jordan Ewert added a career-high 11 kills on .333 hitting, while senior Conrad Kaminski totaled 10 kills and a match-best eight blocks.
Senior setter James Shaw finished with 46 assists and went 7-0-8 (.875) offensively. Redshirt junior Gabriel Vega recorded five kills and four digs, but was replaced by redshirt sophomore Clay Jones in the third set. In his season debut, Jones tallied four kills on .375 hitting, a block and an ace.
Redshirt sophomore Kevin Rakestraw tallied five kills and five blocks, including two solo. Sophomore libero Evan Enriques collected a team-high nine digs.
Stanford went on a 3-0 run in the first set to open up an 11-8 edge and USC was never able to catch up as the Cardinal hit .370 and had 3.0 blocks. USC turned the tide in the second set, building an early 5-2 lead and steadily extending it while making 12 digs.
The third set was similar to the first two, this time with Stanford scoring three unanswered points to pull ahead 5-3 and USC unable to overcome the deficit the rest of the way as the Cardinal hit .429 and had 5.5 blocks in the set. An 8-0 run early in the fourth set gave Stanford an 11-3, all the cushion it needed en route to closing out the match while hitting .500.
The Trojans were led by Jon Rivera, who notched 13 kills and five digs. Alex Slaught added nine kills, while Brooks Varni posted a match-best 16 digs.
Stanford remains on the road next week, travelling to No. 2 Long Beach State on Friday, Feb. 5 and No. 12 CSUN on Saturday, Feb. 6. The Cardinal will have played eight of its first 10 matches on the road after next weekend.