STANFORD, Calif. – Though the final result didn't show it, the No. 10 Stanford men's volleyball team bounced back from a desultory loss the night before to play a competitive match against No. 3 UCLA on Saturday at Burnham Pavilion.
The No. 3 Bruins won the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation rematch, 25-18, 25-21, 25-20, but this version was more in line with what Stanford can do. The Cardinal (9-10 overall, 2-4 MPSF) dropped its fifth straight, but were in every set, which was different from Friday when Stanford combined for only 36 points.
Theo Snoey had a match-high 11 kills and a .273 hitting percentage to lead the Stanford attack. Nathan Lietzke had 23 assists before a crowd of 908.
Stanford came out firing, scoring the first point on a kills by Ethan Hill, and a service ace by Will Rottman pumped the Stanford lead to 8-4. The first set featured seven tie scores and five lead changes.
Stanford's final first-set lead came on a kill by Snoey for an 11-10 edge, but the Bruins (21-2, 6-0) went on a 4-0 run and never relinquished their advantage.
The second set included three ties and the third set had four. Stanford had a glimmer of hope in the third set when it closed to within 21-18 after Rottman set Snoey for the kill. But, again, UCLA responded down the stretch to put the match away.
Stanford resumes MPSF play on March 31 and April 1 with a pair against Concordia at Maples Pavilion.