FAIRFAX, Va. – After dropping the opening set, No. 7 Stanford regrouped to defeat NJIT, 21-25, 25-16, 25-14, 25-14, Friday, in the first game of the AVCA Men's Showcase at the Recreation Athletic Complex (RAC) on the campus of George Mason.
Stanford (3-1) hit .402 and held NJIT to a .089 clip in the Highlanders's season opener. The Cardinal out blocked NJIT, 13.0 to 4.0 and held a 29-19 advantage in digs. Stanford closed out the match on a 9-0 run.
Junior opposite Jaylen Jasper led Stanford offensively with 11 kills on .474 hitting to go with five digs and two blocks. Senior middle blocker Stephen Moye added eight kills on .538 hitting and four blocks.
Junior middle blocker Kyler Presho posted a match-high eight blocks, including three solo. Both are Stanford-highs this season. The junior was also 5-0-6 (.833) on offense.
After hitting .250 in the opening set, Stanford countered with a .524 hitting percentage (13-2-21) in the second to tie it up. The Cardinal held the Highlanders to negative hitting in the third and fourth sets to seal the match.
Freshman Will Rottman hit .400 with eight kills and notched four digs and two aces for the Cardinal. Senior Eric Beatty also recorded eight kills, while senior Eli Wopat came off the bench and had two kills and two aces in two sets played.
Senior setter Paul Bischoff racked up 37 assists, six digs and four blocks while going 3-0-3 (1.000) on offense. Redshirt freshman Justin Lui tallied a match-best nine digs.
NJIT was led by Alvaro Gimeno, who had a match-high 13 kills. The Highlanders will face No. 12 USC on Saturday in Fairfax.
Stanford wraps up the AVCA Men's Showcase on Saturday against host George Mason. First serve is scheduled for 4 p.m. PT from the RAC.