STANFORD, Calif. – No. 9 Stanford dropped its MPSF opener to No. 7 Pepperdine, 25-19, 25-16, 25-22, Friday, in Burnham Pavilion.
The Waves (9-4) fired on all cylinders, hitting .571 as a team as they racked up 48 kills and nine aces. Stanford (7-5) hit .317 as a team and had its fewest hitting errors of the season (8). The Cardinal out blocked Pepperdine, 7.0 to 3.0.
With outside hitter Will Rottman sidelined, the Cardinal put out a new starting lineup, which included freshmen Alex Rottman and Theo Snoey on the left side and junior Luke Turner at opposite.
Snoey finished with a team-high nine kills to go with three digs and a block. Middle blocker Nathaniel Gates hit a team season-high .800 with eight kills on 10 errorless swings and recorded a match-best four blocks.
Straight down ??#GoStanford #NCAAMVB pic.twitter.com/k6KluEOU78
— Stanford Men's Volleyball (@StanfordMVB) February 18, 2023
Setter Nathan Lietzke dished out 26 assists and posted two kills, three digs and two blocks. For the first time in his collegiate career, libero Justin Lui did not register a dig.
Alex Rottman had two kills, two digs and two blocks in two sets played. He was replaced by senior Kevin Lamp in the second set, who totaled two kills, a dig and an ace. Turner added three kills, a dig and a block, while Ethan Hill had two kills, three blocks and two aces.
Long rally ends with a Kevin Lamp kill ??#GoStanford #NCAAMVB pic.twitter.com/80viZuH2Ya
— Stanford Men's Volleyball (@StanfordMVB) February 18, 2023
Jaylen Jasper, a 2021 Stanford graduate, led Pepperdine with 20 kills on .783 hitting (20-2-23). Outside hitter Ryan Barnett chipped in with 10 kills, four digs and five aces, while middle Akin Akinwumi hit .800 with eight kills and three blocks for the Waves.
Stanford and Pepperdine meet again on Saturday at 5 p.m. in Maples Pavilion. The match will be televised on Pac-12 Bay Area.