STANFORD, Calif. – Led by middle blockers Ethan Hill and Nathaniel Gates, No. 9 Stanford outlasted No. 6 Grand Canyon, 25-21, 23-25, 25-18, 22-25, 15-10, Saturday, in Maples Pavilion.
Stanford's two wins over GCU moved the Cardinal into a tie for second place in the MPSF with BYU with two matches remaining in the regular season.
Hill and Gates combined to hit .676 to lead the Cardinal offensively. Hill registered a career-high 15 kills on 19 swings with just two errors for a .684 attack percentage to go with two blocks. Gates notched 13 kills on 18 attempts with just one miscue to hit .667, and tied for a match-high with five blocks.
Stanford (13-10, 6-4 MPSF) hit .358 as a team and registered 8.0 blocks, eight aces and 31 digs. Grand Canyon (21-6, 6-6 MPSF) hit .381 and totaled 9.5 blocks and 28 digs. The Cardinal won its fourth five-set match of the season, and its second while being out hit by its opponent.
Setter Nathan Lietzke controlled the offense with 57 assists and recorded two kills, two aces and two digs. Libero Justin Lui tied for a team-high with seven digs and had two assists.
Outside hitter Will Rottman turned in 14 kills, seven digs and three aces, including one in the decisive fifth set. With the Cardinal leading 7-6 in the fifth, the senior served five straight points putting pressure on the Lopes.
Outside hitter Kevin Lamp recorded 12 kills, four digs and a block, while opposite Theo Snoey added seven kills, six digs, two aces and tied for a match-high with five blocks.
Following the match, the Cardinal recognized its two departing seniors, Lui and Hunter Dickey, during its Senior Night ceremony.
Up next, Stanford closes out the regular season on the road at No. 7 BYU on April 14-15 with MPSF seeding implications on the line.
