SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – Despite 20 kills from freshman Jaylen Jasper, No. 8 Stanford dropped a 3-2 decision to Princeton, Friday, at the Thunderdome.
Stanford fell to 0-2 to start the season, while the Tigers (1-2) picked up their first win. The Cardinal out hit Princeton, .273 to .206 and held advantages in aces (7-6) and digs (51-43).
Jasper, an opposite from Annapolis, Maryland, had 20 kills and eight digs to lead Stanford. Junior outside hitter Jordan Ewert finished with 14 kills on .379 hitting and six digs, while sophomore outside hitter Eric Beatty was one dig shy of a double-double with 12 kills and nine digs.
Stanford led 24-21 in the first set, but Princeton won seven of the final nine points to capture the early 1-0 lead.
Sophomore Mason Tufuga came off the bench to spark the Cardinal midway through the second set. He took over at setter for junior Russell Dervay and tallied 29 assists to go with seven digs, three kills and two aces for the match.
The Cardinal bounced back to even the match with a 25-17 win in the second. Stanford hit .300 in the second and held the Tigers to a .000 clip.
Senior libero Evan Enriques recorded double-digit digs for the second straight match, totaling 15.
Stanford held a 21-19 lead late in the third set, but the Tigers went on a 6-1 run to win it 25-22. The Cardinal forced a fifth set with a 25-22 win of its own in the fourth, hitting .500 as a team.
Stanford jumped out to a 9-5 lead in the fifth, but hot hitting by the Tigers and errors down the stretch cost the Cardinal.
Princeton's Greg Luck had a match-best 21 kills to go with 10 digs and six blocks. Parker Dixon chipped in with 13 kills and five blocks for the Tigers.
Stanford wraps up the UCSB Asics Invitational on Saturday against host UC Santa Barbara. First serve is scheduled for 5 p.m. in Rob Gym.
