STANFORD, Calif. – Kevin Rakestraw and Kyler Presho combined for 18 of Stanford's 36 kills, but the Cardinal came up short against No. 1 Long Beach State, Saturday, at Maples Pavilion.
The Beach improved to 7-0 with a 25-21, 25-19, 25-23 decision over the Cardinal (1-6). Long Beach State hit .316 as a team and held Stanford to a .225 clip.
Stanford's middles, Rakestraw and Presho, each tallied nine kills to pace the team. Presho hit .750 (9-0-12) and finished with three blocks. Rakestraw posted a .444 attack percentage and had a season-high four digs.
Junior setter Russell Dervay dished out 27 assists, while recording three blocks, two kills and a team-high five digs. Senior libero Evan Enriques finished with four digs for the Cardinal.
Dervay's serve leads to this kill by Presho ?? #GoStanford pic.twitter.com/gtPBD561SR
— Stanford Men's Volleyball (@StanfordMVB) January 21, 2018
Stanford starting pin hitters, Leo Henken, JP Reilly and Jaylen Jasper, struggled offensively against Long Beach State with 13 kills and 12 errors on 39 attempts (.026). Sophomores Mason Tufuga and Eli Wopat replaced Reilly and Jasper to start the third set.
Great up by Enriques leads to a kill for Jasper! Cardinal up 10-9 early in the first against the Beach #GoStanford pic.twitter.com/TFAzgB2hC7
— Stanford Men's Volleyball (@StanfordMVB) January 21, 2018
For the match, Long Beach State registered a sideout rate of 70 percent, while Stanford was at 59 percent.
The Cardinal hung with the Beach in the opening set, hitting .333 and had 10 tie scores and two lead changes. Long Beach State would not relinquish a lead in the second, holding Stanford to a .100 team attack percentage.
The Cardinal rallied a comeback in the third, tying the set at 22-22 as Presho and Dervay teamed up for back-to-back blocks. Long Beach State junior Kyle Ensing then recorded a kill and a block to give. the Beach match-point. Jasper kept Stanford's hope alive with his fifth kill, but a service error by Dervay ended it.
Ensing led the Beach with 12 kills on .385 hitting and seven digs. Junior TJ DeFalco also had 12 kills, but hit just .192. Junior libero Jordan Molina had a match-best 10 digs.
Stanford will play its next seven matches on the road, beginning with a rematch against the Beach on Friday at the Pyramid in Long Beach.