STANFORD, Calif. – In the second match in as many days between No. 10 Stanford and No. 1 Ohio State, the Buckeyes held off the Cardinal, 25-23, 29-27, 26-24, Saturday in Burnham Pavilion.
The set scores were as close as you can get despite Ohio State (5-0) out hitting Stanford (3-2) .379 to .221. The Buckeyes committed 24 service errors to just nine by the Cardinal, allowing Stanford to stay within striking distance.
Ohio State held an 8.0 to 5.0 advantage in blocks and posted 12 service errors while Stanford finished with seven. Senior opposite Miles Johnson paced the Buckeyes for the second straight night with 15 kills on .407 hitting. Junior Nicolas Szerszen added 12 kills on a .435 attack percentage.
Ohio State jumped out to early leads in all three sets, but the Cardinal found ways to crawl back in it. Down 19-15 in the first, Stanford's Kyle Dagostino registered two aces and kills by Kevin Rakestraw and Matt Klassen helped tie it up 20-20. Stanford took a 23-22 lead in the opening set, forcing an Ohio State timeout. Back-to-back kills by Johnson and another by Szerszen out of the break sealed the set victory for the Buckeyes.
The Cardinal trailed by as many as seven in the second, but a kill by freshman Stephen Moye and then attack errors by Johnson and Szerszen gave Stanford a 22-21 lead. The teams would continue to trade points until kills by Szerszen and setter Christy Blough gave the Buckeyes the second-set win.
It was more of the same in the third set. Ohio State took an early lead and Stanford had to play catch up. A service ace by freshman setter Paul Bischoff tied it at 23-23. However, an attack error by sophomore Jordan Ewert and another kill by Szerszen gave the Buckeyes match point, where Szerszen put down an ace.
Ewert led Stanford with 11 kills, eight digs and an ace. Rakestraw, a junior middle blocker, hit .750 with seven kills on eight swings with just one error. He also recorded a team-high three blocks.
Bischoff guided the offense with 26 assists to go with three digs, two blocks and a kill. Junior libero Evan Enriques collected seven digs.
Moye was a perfect 4-0-4 (1.000) for the Cardinal, while outside hitter Gabriel Vega chipped in with five kills, two aces and a solo block. Klassen finished with three kills, four digs and an ace.
Stanford hits the road next week, traveling to Malibu, California to open MPSF play at No. 5 Pepperdine. First serve against the Waves is slated for 7 p.m. PT.
