IRVINE, Calif. – Playing for the second time in six days, No. 15 UC Irvine got the best of No. 12 Stanford in round two, 25-23, 25-17, 23-25, 25-22, Friday, at the Bren Events Center.
UC Irvine (3-1) held Stanford (3-1) to a season-low .155 attack percentage while hitting .300 as a team. The Anteaters held a 10.0 to 9.0 edge in blocks and a 6-4 advantage in aces.
Stanford libero Justin Lui, who was tabbed MPSF Defensive Player of the Week on Monday, racked up a match and season-best 14 digs to lead the Cardinal defense.
Trailing 2-0, Stanford fought back in the third, avoiding the sweep with a 25-23 victory despite hitting .000 in the frame. In a tightly-contested battle, there were 20 tie scores and five lead changes in the match.
Middle blocker Ethan Hill earned a spot in the Stanford starting lineup for the first time this season. The redshirt sophomore recorded a career-high seven kills on 13 swings with just one error to hit a team-high and career-best .462. He also notched three blocks and a dig for the Cardinal.
Junior Nathan Lietzke finished with 34 assists and had three kills on a .400 clip. The setter also tallied four digs and three blocks. Middle blocker Nathaniel Gates added five kills and a team-best five blocks.
Junior outside hitter Will Rottman led the team with 10 kills, but was held to .103 hitting. The Santa Barbara native, who has registered double-digit kills in all four matches this season, also collected seven digs, three blocks and an ace.
Stanford outside hitter Kevin Lamp posted a season-high nine kills and had six digs for the third consecutive match. Sophomore Luke Turner had six kills, four digs, three blocks and an ace.
UC Irvine was led by Hilir Henno, the reigning Big West Defensive Player and Freshman of the Week, who registered a match-high 18 kills on .457 hitting to go with six blocks and two aces. Middle blocker Connor Campbell had a match-best eight blocks, while outside hitter Francesco Sani chipped in with 14 kills and a pair of aces.
Stanford is back in action on Saturday at No. 10 UC San Diego at 7 p.m. on ESPN+.