STANFORD, Calif. – The No. 8 Stanford men's volleyball team dropped a 25-21, 25-20, 25-21 decision to third-ranked BYU, Thursday at Maples Pavilion.
Stanford (9-6, 6-4 MPSF) struggled offensively, hitting .172 for the match. BYU (13-2, 7-1 MPSF) finished with 42 kills and just nine hitting errors to post a .355 attack percentage. The Cougars also out blocked the Cardinal, 8.5 to 4.5, and held a 5-3 edge in aces. Stanford finished with a 36-33 lead in digs.
The Cardinal was led offensively by Kevin Rakestraw, who hit .500, but was unable to find the middle more often as he had just five kills on eight swings. Redshirt senior outside hitter Gabriel Vega was the only Cardinal with double-digit kills, totaling 10 to go with seven digs.
Falling backwards, Vega hits the sharp angle for his first kill of the match. Watch on @Pac12Network https://t.co/SwUAGfawX9
— Men's Volleyball (@StanfordMVB) February 24, 2017
Freshman opposite Eric Beatty, making his second collegiate start, turned in career-highs with eight kills and eight digs. Sophomore outside hitter Jordan Ewert was held to six kills.
Freshman Paul Bischoff started the match at setter for Stanford, tallying 18 assists to go with two kills, two digs and two blocks. Junior Kyle Dagostino also appeared in all three sets at setter, finishing with eight assists and three digs. Junior libero Evan Enriques led all players with 12 digs, marking his seventh double-digit dig performance of the season.
Bischoff with the dump. Cardinal up 5-4 over BYU in the 2nd. Watch on @Pac12Network https://t.co/TlgBMK29Wj
— Men's Volleyball (@StanfordMVB) February 24, 2017
BYU was led by senior Jake Langlois, a native of San Jose, California, who recorded a match-high 14 kills on .375 hitting. Junior outside hitter Brenden Sander chipped in with 10 kills on .438 hitting and three blocks.
Stanford and BYU will meet again on Friday, Feb. 24 at 7 p.m. in Burnham Pavilion. Admission is free.