Cardinal Keeps Rolling

Box Score

IRVINE, Calif. – For the second straight night, the third-ranked Stanford men’s volleyball team posted a sweep in Mountain Pacific Sports Federation play, topping No. 13 UC Irvine, 25-16, 25-16, 27-25, at the Bren Events Center.

Stanford (14-2, 12-2 MPSF), which has now won a season-high seven straight matches, hit .275 as a team, while holding UC Irvine (4-11, 3-10 MPSF) to a .137 clip. The Cardinal held a 36-21 advantage in digs and a 7-3 edge in service aces.

Senior setter James Shaw turned in his second double-double of the season with 26 assists and 10 digs. Redshirt sophomore Kevin Rakestraw led the team with eight kills on .385 hitting to go with five blocks and an ace. Redshirt junior opposite Gabriel Vega added seven kills, three digs and two blocks.

Senior Conrad Kaminski tallied six kills on 10 errorless swings and two blocks, while senior Madison Hayden finished with five kills, five digs and four blocks. Freshman Jordan Ewert pitched in with three kills, a career-high nine digs and two aces.

After winning the first two sets by a 25-16 margin, the Cardinal struggled early in the third. Trailing 15-7, Stanford went on an 8-2 run to cut the Anteaters’ lead to 17-15 forcing a timeout. The Cardinal tied the set at 22-22 and finished off the match with a 5-3 run.

Sophomore libero Evan Enriques collected eight digs in the win, while serving specialist Kyle Dagostino put down two aces for the Cardinal off the bench.

Marty Ross and Kyle Russell led UC Irvine with nine kills apiece. Tucker Pikula added seven kills and seven digs, but the Anteaters were hurt by 18 service errors.

Stanford remains on the road next week, travelling to Pepperdine on Sunday, March 6. First serve is scheduled for 5 p.m. PT.