SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – Behind Will Rottman's match-high 22 kills, No. 8 Stanford outlasted No. 14 UC Santa Barbara, 25-21, 25-22, 20-25, 22-25, 16-14, Friday, at Rob Gymnasium.
Stanford (3-0) hit .229 as a team and finished with a season-best 16.0 blocks, 47 digs and eight aces. UC Santa Barbara (2-2) hit .191 and totaled 8.0 blocks, 47 digs and six aces.
Rottman, a native of Santa Barbara, hit .314 and registered season-highs with six digs, five blocks and three aces.
Stanford trailed 5-2 early in the decisive fifth set. With Rottman back at the service line, the Cardinal reeled off seven consecutive points, including two kills by opposite Moses Wagner and a third by sophomore Alex Rottman.
Setter Nathan Lietzke controlled the offense with 51 assists and had a career-high 16 digs, four blocks, three aces and two kills. Libero Luke Turner collected 12 digs and three aces.
Middle blocker Nathaniel Gates hit .471, totaling eight kills on 17 errorless swings to go with a match-high seven blocks and an ace. Middle blocker Ethan Hill added six kills on .417 hitting and five blocks.
Wagner, who played in four of the five sets, finished with eight kills three digs and a solo block. Sophomore Theo Snoey started the third and fourth sets at opposite, notching four kills, two digs and two blocks. Outside hitter Kevin Lamp added eight kills six digs, three blocks and an ace.
The Gauchos were led by Geste Bianchi, who had 17 kills, eight digs and three aces, while Patrick Kane chipped in with 10 kills, five digs and three blocks.
Stanford and UCSB meet again on Saturday at 5 p.m. on ESPN+.
