STANFORD, Calif. – For a second straight night, No. 18 Stanford upset No. 7 BYU, defeating the Cougars 23-25, 25-21, 25-22, 22-25, 15-10, Saturday, in Maples Pavilion.
Stanford (9-8, 6-0 MPSF) has won three in a row over BYU (15-6, 2-2 MPSF) dating back to last season, and carries a six-match winning streak into its finals break.
Opposite Moses Wagner led Stanford with a season-best 21 kills on .341 hitting, eight digs, five blocks and two aces. Outside hitter Alex Rottman added 14 kills, six digs, four blocks and two aces.
As a team, the Cardinal hit .338 and registered a season-high nine aces. Stanford’s six highest hitting percentages of the season have all come in conference play.
Freshman setter Jacob Little-Phillips controlled the offense with a career-high 52 assists to go with six digs, two aces, a kill and a block. Libero Evan Porter anchored the defense with a match-high 14 digs.
Middle blocker Kaumana Carreira went 9-0-13 for a season-high .692 attack percentage. The sophomore also tallied four blocks, three digs and an ace. Outside hitter Nate Clinton finished with 10 kills on .364 hitting, five digs, four blocks and an ace.
Middle blocker Luke McFall turned in six kills, four blocks and two digs. Freshman Luke Morrison came off the bench as a serving sub in the final three sets. Trailing 17-19 in the third, Morrison reeled off four straight points to give the Cardinal the lead in the pivotal set.
BYU was led by outside hitter Trent Moser, who had a match-high 22 kills on .342 hitting, four blocks, three digs and an ace. Setter Tyler Herget posted a double-double with 50 assists and 11 digs.
Up next, the Cardinal hosts an alumni match on Saturday, March 21 at 6 p.m. in Burnham Pavilion.