STANFORD, Calif. – Senior Eric Beatty led all players with 10 kills as No. 7 Stanford swept UC Santa Cruz, 25-17, 25-18, 25-13, Saturday, at Maples Pavilion.
Stanford (2-0) hit .267 as a team and held UC Santa Cruz (1-2) to a -.058 clip. The Cardinal was locked in on the defensive side of the ball, posting 15.5 blocks and 35 digs in the sweep.
Beatty hit .333 and finished with six digs and three blocks for the Cardinal. Junior opposite Jaylen Jasper started the match and had six kills, two blocks and an ace in the opening set. Senior Eli Wopat replaced Jasper at opposite in the second and third sets, totaling six kills on .364 hitting, four digs and two blocks.
Senior setter Paul Bischoff played the first two sets, racking up 20 assists, three digs, three blocks and two kills. Freshman Kevin Lamp took over setting duties in the third set and had 12 assists and three blocks. Redshirt freshman libero Justin Lui collected 12 digs.
Stanford (2-0) utilized 13 of its 15 players on the roster against UC Santa Cruz (1-2). Making their collegiate debuts against the Banana Slugs were Adam Chang and Nathaniel Gates. Chang finished with a kill, an ace and three blocks, while Gates had two kills and five blocks.
Freshman Will Rottman started at outside hitter for the second straight night and registered four kills on .500 hitting in one set played. Junior JP Reilly took over for Rottman and had three kills, five digs and four blocks, including two solo.
UC Santa Cruz's Aaron Fox, Ian Pizzuti and Phillip Grote each had four kills to lead the Banana Slugs.
Stanford hits the road next week, traveling to St. Francis on Wednesday and will then face NJIT on Friday and George Mason on Saturday in Fairfax, Virginia.