STANFORD, Calif. – Stanford men's volleyball dropped a 25-21, 27-25, 25-17 decision to No. 6 Pepperdine in its season opener, Thursday, at Maples Pavilion.
Pepperdine (3-2) out hit Stanford (0-1), .324 to .098. The Waves put up 13.0 blocks. The Cardinal held a 25-23 advantage in digs and both teams recorded four aces.
Freshman Luke Turner led Stanford with a match-high 13 kills on .308 hitting to go with five assists, four digs and two blocks. Sophomore Will Rottman registered 10 kills, four digs, two blocks and two aces.
Sophomore setter Nathan Lietzke controlled the offense with 29 assists and was 3-for-3 offensively. Redshirt sophomore libero Justin Lui had a team-high six digs.
Senior middle blocker Kyler Presho had three kills, two blocks and an ace. Redshirt freshman Ethan Hill made his Stanford debut and hit .333 with three kills and a team-high four blocks.
Freshman Aidan Peters and Kupono Browne also made their collegiate debuts on Thursday.
Pepperdine was led by senior Spencer Wickens, who had 10 kills on .318 hitting, six digs and three blocks.
Stanford and Pepperdine will meet again Saturday at 3 p.m. in Maples Pavilion.
