PHOENIX – Jaylen Jasper returned to the Cardinal lineup and helped lead No. 9 Stanford to a 25-20, 25-14, 25-21 win over Grand Canyon, Saturday, at Antelope Gymnasium.
The win clinched the No. 4 seed in the MPSF playoffs for Stanford (15-10). The Cardinal will host No. 5 seed BYU on Saturday, April 13 in a quarterfinal match at Maples Pavilion.
Senior Jordan Ewert let Stanford with 11 kills, including six in the opening set. The outside hitter also registered four digs, two aces and had zero reception errors on 26 attempts. Jasper, who missed the previous two matches with an injury, added his second double-double of the season with 10 kills and 10 digs.
As a team, Stanford hit .287 and held Grand Canyon (13-15) to a .050 clip – the third-lowest by a Cardinal opponent this season. It marked just the second road win of the year for Stanford.
The Cardinal came out slow in the opening set, trailing the Lopes 15-14 at the media timeout. Out of the break, Stanford went on a 7-1 run to give itself the cushion it needed to close out the first on an Ewert kill.
Junior setter Paul Bischoff dished out 34 assists and tallied four digs, two blocks and an ace. Middle blockers Stephen Moye and Kyler Presho combined for 10 kills and five blocks, while outside hitter Eric Beatty chipped in with six kills and four digs.
Fifth-year senior libero Kyle Dagostino finished with eight digs for Stanford, which out dug Grand Canyon 31-18. Junior serving specialist Mason Tufuga recorded two of Stanford's eight aces off the bench.
Grand Canyon was led by Will Schwob's nine kills, while David Kisiel added six kills and seven digs. The Lopes finished MPSF play at 3-9 and will be the No. 6 seed.
Tickets for Stanford's quarterfinal match versus BYU are on-sale now. Visit gostanford.com for more information.
