PHOENIX – Moses Wagner and Alex Rottman combined for 36 kills, but No. 11 Stanford fell in five sets to No. 6 Loyola Chicago, 25-21, 22-25, 25-23, 24-26, 13-15, Saturday, at the First Point Collegiate Challenge in the Phoenix Convention Center.
In an offensive affair, Stanford (0-2) hit .358 as a team, while Loyola Chicago (2-1) turned in a .390 clip.
Wagner led the team with a season-high 19 kills on .333 hitting, four digs, two aces and two assists. Rottman registered a career-high 17 kills on a season-best .471 attack percentage and a career-high 10 digs for his first collegiate double-double.
Sophomore Ryan Gant started at setter for the Cardinal, totaling a career-high 57 assists to go with six digs, a kill and an ace. Sophomore libero Kai Schmitt anchored the defense with a season-best eight digs to go with a pair of assists.
The Cardinal led wire-to-wire in the first set. There were 36 tie scores and nine lead changes in the remaining four sets. Stanford sided out at a match-best 82 percent in the third.
Outside hitter Theo Snoey hit .379 with a season-high 16 kills and seven digs. Sophomore middle blocker Kumana Carreira chipped in with nine kills on .353 hitting, three digs, an assist and a solo block, while redshirt junior middle blocker Luke McFall added five kills.
Junior Carson Kneisl came off the bench as a serving sub and notched an ace, while freshman Luke Morrison collected three digs.
Loyola Chicago was led by opposite Aleksander Sosa, who recorded a match-high 26 kills on .447 hitting, six digs, an ace and a block. Outside hitter Daniel Fabikovic added 21 kills on .474 hitting, eight digs and two blocks.
Stanford closes out the First Point Collegiate Challenge on Sunday versus No. 16 Ball State. First serve is scheduled for 3 p.m. PT