PROVO, Utah – No. 8 Stanford was held to .195 hitting as the Cardinal dropped a 20-25, 25-19, 21-25, 24-26 decision to No. 6 BYU, Friday, at Smith Fieldhouse.
BYU (17-6, 7-4 MPSF) recorded 16.0 blocks as a team and finished with 45 kills on .219 hitting. Stanford (13-11, 6-5 MPSF) tallied 47 kills, 38 digs and 7.0 blocks. Both teams registered three aces.
Stanford needs to either sweep BYU on Saturday or win in four sets with a better point differential to capture the No. 2 seed in the MPSF Tournament, being held next week at Maples Pavilion.
Outside hitter Kevin Lamp led Stanford with 13 kills, five digs and a block. Middle blocker Nathaniel Gates hit .778 with eight kills on nine swings with just one miscue. The senior also tallied five blocks, two digs and an assist.
Setter Nathan Lietzke controlled the offense with 40 assists, and had two kills, five digs, two blocks and two aces. For the seventh time this season, libero Justin Lui turned in double-digit digs, finishing with 10.
Outside hitter Will Rottman totaled nine kills, five digs, a block and an ace, while opposite Theo Snoey had nine kills, 10 digs and a block. Middle blocker Ethan Hill added six kills on .286 hitting and two blocks.
BYU was led by opposite Kupono Browne, who played his freshman season for the Cardinal. The junior had a match-high 18 kills to go with nine digs and six blocks. Middle blocker Teon Taylor posted a match-best nine blocks.
Stanford and BYU meet again on Saturday in Smith Fieldhouse. First serve is slated for 6 p.m. PT on BYUtv.