STANFORD, Calif. – Led by freshman outside hitter Erik Ask, No. 17 Stanford swept UC Merced, 25-16, 25-15, 25-17, Saturday, in Burnham Pavilion.
Stanford (3-6, 2-0 MPSF) hit a season-high .425, while holding UC Merced (2-3, 0-1 MPSF) to a .025 clip – the lowest by a Cardinal opponent this season.
Ask, who hails from Sweden, led all players with 15 kills on .522 hitting to go with a dig and a block. Freshman opposite Luke Morrison added nine kills on a .412 attack percentage, five digs, two aces and an assist.
Stanford started three freshmen, three sophomores and a redshirt junior against the Bobcats. Freshman setter Jacob Little-Phillips controlled the offense, dishing out 27 assists. The Winter Park, Florida, native also posted seven digs, three aces, two blocks and a kill.
Sophomore libero Evan Porter anchored the defense, matching his season-high with 12 digs – tied for the most by a Cardinal player this season. On the weekend, Porter averaged 3.17 digs per set.
Middle blocker Luke McFall chipped in with four kills on .375 hitting, two digs and a match-best four blocks. Middle blocker Kaumana Carreira added two blocks and a kill, while outside hitter David Wolff turned in four kills on a .444 attack percentage, three blocks, three assists and a dig.
Coming off the bench in all three sets were senior Ryan DuRoss, junior Carson Kneisl and sophomore Ryan Gant. Kneisl finished with three kills and a dig, while Gant tallied five assists and a dig. DuRoss put down an ace and recorded a kill on match-point.
Stanford remains on The Farm next week playing host to No. 3 Hawaii on Friday and Saturday in Maples Pavilion.