SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – No. 8 Stanford improved to 4-0 with a 25-22, 24-26, 25-23, 25-21 win at No. 14 UC Santa Barbara, Saturday, at Rob Gymnasium.
The Cardinal hit .325 as a team, while holding the Gauchos (2-3) to a .216 clip. Stanford was also solid defensively, totaling 14.0 blocks and 46 digs.
Santa Barbara natives Will and Alex Rottman started together for the first time in their Stanford careers. Will Rottman registered a team-high 16 kills, four digs, three blocks and a season-high five assists. Alex Rottman added 11 kills on .421 hitting, a career-high seven digs, an ace and a solo block.
Setter Nathan Lietzke posted his second-straight double-double with 40 assists and 16 digs to go with two kills, two aces and three blocks. Libero Luke Turner finished with five digs and three assists.
Opposite Moses Wagner tallied 15 kills on .303 hitting and a career-high 10 digs for his first collegiate double-double. The sophomore also posted a career-best five blocks and an ace.
Middle blocker Nathaniel Gates tied his career-high with eight blocks, including two solo, and added three kills, two digs and an ace. Middle blocker Ethan Hill hit .571 with four kills on seven errorless swings. Making his season-debut, fifth-year Adam Chang finished the match at middle, notching a kill and a dig.
UC Santa Barbara was led by Geste Bianchi for a second straight night. Bianchi had a match-high 21 kills on .250 hitting and four aces, while Ben Coordt chipped in with 11 kills, 10 digs and two blocks.
Stanford remains on the road next week, traveling to Austin, Texas for the First Point Collegiate Challenge. The Cardinal will take on No. 7 Penn State on Friday and No. 13 Ball State on Saturday. The matches will be streamed by FloVolleyball.
