COSTA MESA -- Men's volleyball finished its two-game stint with #10 Stanford in a 3-0 defeat at the Freed Center Saturday afternoon. VU marked the pace in sets one (24-26) and three (27-29) to push the Cardinal to their limits, while set two was a decisive 25-14 win for the visitors. The Lions drop to 3-6 and Stanford will head back to The Farm at 6-5.
The Blue and Gold were led by
Grant Dvorak's nine kills for the contest.
Logan Freemon and
Micah Sybesma each found four kills, with Freemon clipping two aces and Sybesma snagging four block assists.
Brock Henderson earned 19 assists and four blocks while freshman
Nick Dvorak was monstrous in the front row, snaring a career-best seven blocks, including three of the solo variety. Stanford's Moses Wagner had a career-high in kills (16) and hitting percentage (.538, 16-2-26).
The Lions struggled to produce a consistent offense, hitting a season-low .039 (26-23-76). Stanford went for a rate of .263 (34-14-76) after their season-high .404 the previous night. VU led in aces (6-5) and was neck-and-neck in blocks (11-10 STAN). The Cardinal were ahead in digs (22-18) and assists (31-23).
What Happened? The Lions were on the front foot to open the first frame as they led 8-6 on Freemon's left-side shot. Henderson tickled one off the tape from the service line for VU's next point and
Grant Dvorak got to work on the right side to make it 10-7 VU. The Cardinal played catchup until the set's 17th point, where Stanford pushed a 3-0 run to lead 18-16. The Lions roared back on a 5-1 run, as Freemon stung a flat serve to tally an ace and place the Lions up 21-19. Stanford played scrappy defensively to hoist themselves back in control, as their pressure in the front row forced four straight VU attacking errors for a 24-22 Stanford scoreline. Though the Lions tracked a 2-0 response led by Sybesma, Stanford closed the door on a service ace to take the first game.
Set 2- The Cardinal hit a match-high .471 (10-2-17) in the second stanza and sported an impressive 78% side-out percentage. As for the Lions, they swung for a game-low -.211 (4-8-19) in what proved a tougher interval. The Lions traded blows in the early stages of the set, as a dump from Henderson and a kill from Freemon placed the score at 5-4 VU. A potent Stanford serving run blew open a six-point Cardinal advantage (12-6), and though the Lions shot into double-figures after an ace from Sybesma, Stanford continued their forward momentum, claiming the set 25-14.
Set 3- The Blue and Gold landed 13 kills to hit .207 (13-7-29) compared to Stanford's .300 (16-7-29) rate for the final period of play.
Nick Dvorak had the first Lion kill of the frame, which was quickly followed by a cross-court detonation from
Grant Dvorak. Phineas Wiley converted on a free ball to put the home team up 8-6. Much like the first set, VU established the rhythm, but the Cardinal continued to scrape together crucial runs. Vanguard was up 18-14 and hitting .615 in the set when trouble approached. The Lions picked up five attacking errors and one miscue from the service line to watch the Cardinal claim the lead 20-19. VU gathered its bearings and dealt a 5-3 run to clinch set point at 24-23, but Stanford found the answer to stay alive and dashed Vanguard's hope through Wagner, as he torched his 10th kill in the set to cap a 6-3 run and hand the Cardinal the road victory.
What's Next? Men's volleyball will welcome #5 USC on Wednesday, February 26 at 7 p.m. in the program's fist Mountain Pacific Sporst Federation contest.
