IRVINE Calif. – Four Cardinal players reached double-digit kills, but No. 9 Stanford dropped an 18-25, 23-25, 25-21, 21-25 decision at No. 7 UC Irvine, Friday, at the Bren Events Center.
UC Irvine (3-1) capitalized on 28 service errors and 21 hitting errors by the Cardinal. Stanford (4-2) hit .297 in the match and finished with 59 kills to just 42 by the Anteaters. UCI held an 8.0-3.0 advantage in blocks and both teams tallied 42 digs.
Stanford was without starting setter Paul Bischoff on Friday. Freshman Kevin Lamp made his first collegiate start, totaling 50 assists – a team season-high. The rookie also had seven digs and two aces for the Cardinal.
Senior Eric Beatty and junior Jaylen Jasper each recorded 15 kills to lead the team. Beatty hit .370 and finished with six digs and two assists, while Jasper had a season-high 12 digs (one shy of his career-high) and an ace.
Freshman outside hitter Will Rottman had 13 kills, three digs and a block for the Cardinal. Junior middle blocker Kyler Presho, whose father, Mark, is an assistant coach for the Anteaters, added 10 kills on .368 hitting and two blocks.
Senior middle Stephen Moye finished with five kills, but was held to .182 hitting. Redshirt freshman libero Justin Lui matched Jasper with a match-best 12 digs.
UC Irvine was led by Alexandre Nsakanda's match-high 16 kills on .387 hitting. Joel Schneidmiller chipped in with 11 kills and seven digs, while middle Scott Stadick hit .545 and had eight blocks.
Stanford returns to The Farm next week to play host to No. 4 UC Santa Barbara on Saturday, Jan. 25. First serve is scheduled for 5 p.m. in Maples Pavilion.