IRVINE, Calif. – Despite 20 kills from Gabriel Vega, the No. 9 Stanford men's volleyball team fell 32-30, 25-18, 25-27, 25-22 at No. 5 UC Irvine, Friday at the Bren Center.
UC Irvine (18-6, 12-5 MPSF) kept the Cardinal hitters off-balance all night long with its defense. The Anteaters racked up 16.0 blocks and collected 35 digs, holding Stanford (12-12, 7-10 MPSF) to a .164 attack percentage. UC Irvine hit .303, while both teams recorded seven aces.
After trailing 25-24 in the third set, Stanford reeled off three straight points to avoid the sweep. The run was capped off with an ace from freshman Eric Beatty.
The match was seemingly out of reach with the Cardinal down 18-12 in the fourth set. A 9-5 Stanford run cut the UC Irvine lead to 23-21. The Anteaters turned to its setter, Michael Saeta, who registered the final kills of the set for UCI, closing the door on the chances of a Cardinal comeback.
After moving to the right side last week, it was the second straight match Vega had reached the 20-kill plateau. Beatty added eight kills on .417 hitting in three sets played. Middle blocker Kevin Rakestraw totaled seven kills, five blocks and a season-high three aces. Three of Rakestraw's blocks were solo, the most by a Cardinal player this season.
Freshman setter Paul Bischoff posted 42 assists and three blocks for Stanford. Freshman Jacob Thoenen pitched in with three kills, three blocks and two aces in his fourth straight start at middle blocker.
Juniors Evan Enriques and Kyle Dagostino split time at libero for the Cardinal. Enriques donned the different colored jersey in the first two sets and finished with eight digs. Dagostino replaced him in the third and fourth sets, totaling five digs.
UC Irvine was led by Aaron Koubi and Tamir Hershko. Koubi tallied a double-double with 15 kills and 11 digs, while Hershko added 14 kills and six blocks. Saeta controlled the offense for the Anteaters with 51 assists to go with six kills, seven digs and three aces.
Stanford closes out the regular season on Saturday at UC San Diego. The Cardinal defeated the Tritons one week ago, a five-set thriller at Maples Pavilion.
