HONOLULU – No. 8 Stanford dropped a 25-22, 25-17, 25-22 decision at No. 4 Hawai'i, Friday, in front of 4,578 fans at the Stan Sheriff Center.
Hawai'i (19-2, 9-2 MPSF), which clinched an MPSF Tournament berth with the win, set a school record by winning its 29th consecutive set during the sweep.
Stanford (11-8, 6-6 MPSF) lost for the first time this season when hitting over .300 for the match. The Cardinal posted a .311 clip, but was out hit by the Rainbow Warriors (.370). Both teams tallied 6.0 blocks, while Stanford held a 29-26 edge in digs.
The Cardinal led early on in the first set as it had the Rainbow Warriors on their heels, but was unable to hang on to the lead down the stretch. After a poor hitting performance in the second, Stanford continued to battle in the third, which had 12 tie scores and three lead changes.
Stanford did not have an answer for Hawai'i sophomore opposite Stijn van Tilburg, who led all players with 21 kills on .515 hitting. Senior middle blocker Hendrik Mol added six kills and five blocks for the Rainbow Warriros.
Hawai'i natives Gabriel Vega and Evan Enriques led the way for the Cardinal. Vega finished with 11 kills on .421 hitting, while Enriques had a match-high 10 digs and a career-best eight assists.
Freshman Eric Beatty, who started his second straight match in place of an injured Jordan Ewert, recorded eight kills, six digs and an ace for Stanford. Redshirt junior opposite Clay Jones added seven kills, two digs and a block, while redshirt junior middle blocker Kevin Rakestraw tallied four kills on .571 hitting and four blocks.
Freshman setter Paul Bischoff was back in the starting lineup after junior Kyle Dagostino started the previous two outings for Stanford. Bischoff posted 25 assists, seven digs, two blocks and two kills.
Stanford and Hawai'i will meet again on Saturday, March 11 at 7 p.m. to wrap up the season series. The Rainbow Warriors won their 14th straight match Friday and remain undefeated at home this season.
