STANFORD, Calif. – Behind a career-high 18 kills from Kevin Lamp, No. 9 Stanford outlasted No. 7 Pepperdine, 20-25, 25-20, 25-17, 23-25, 15-12, Saturday, in Maples Pavilion.
Stanford (8-5, 1-1 MPSF) snapped a 14-match losing streak to Pepperdine (9-5, 1-1 MPSF), defeating the Waves for the first time since Jan. 20, 2017. It was the first home win for the Cardinal over Pepperdine since March 28, 2014.
Playing its second match without First Team All-American Will Rottman, Cardinal pin hitters Lamp, Luke Turner and Theo Snoey filled the void. Lamp's team-high 18 kills came on a .500 attack percentage. The senior also tallied three digs, three blocks, two aces and two assists.
Oh wow ????
— Stanford Men's Volleyball (@StanfordMVB) February 19, 2023
?? » https://t.co/6aGLdQVcbD #GoStanford #NCAAMVB pic.twitter.com/NU0ISnfzI6
Snoey, a freshman from Berkeley, registered 14 kills on .385 hitting, a match-high eight digs and two aces. Turner hit .360 with a season-highs of 10 kills, four digs, two blocks and four assists.
?? Snoey gets it done on match point!#GoStanford #NCAAMVB pic.twitter.com/6tbdm0sgMk
— Stanford Men's Volleyball (@StanfordMVB) February 19, 2023
As a team, Stanford posted its second-highest hitting percentage of the season at .389, while Pepperdine hit at a clip of .387. The Cardinal doubled-up the Waves on blocks, 10.0 to 5.0, and held an 8-4 advantage in aces.
Setter Nathan Lietzke did a little bit of everything, dishing out 45 assists to go with three kills, four digs, four blocks and two aces. Libero Justin Lui collected six digs and had zero reception errors on 19 attempts.
Middle blocker Ethan Hill had a match-high five blocks, including one with Turner that gave Stanford a 13-10 lead in the fifth. The redshirt junior also notched five kills and an ace. Senior middle blocker Nathaniel Gates had another solid outing against the Waves, totaling five kills on .500 hitting, four blocks and two digs.
Not this time ?????
— Stanford Men's Volleyball (@StanfordMVB) February 19, 2023
?? » https://t.co/6aGLdQVcbD #GoStanford #NCAAMVB pic.twitter.com/AQARrchHIk
Pepperdine was once again led by opposite Jaylen Jasper, a 2021 Stanford graduate, who finished with 27 kills on .396 hitting and seven digs. Middle blocker Akin Akinwumi added 12 kills on a .526 attack percentage and four blocks.
Stanford hits the road next week, traveling to No. 12 USC on Friday and Sunday. Both matches will be televised on Pac-12 Networks.