Comeback Falls Short

Comeback Falls Short
LINESCORE
  1 2 3 4 5 F
No. 6 UC Santa Barbara (20-9) 25 25 23 21 15 3
No. 5 Stanford (19-6) 20 23 25 25 12 2
STAT COMPARISON
  UCSB STAN
 Kills 68 67
 Attack pct. .358 .367
 Assists 66 62
 Aces 2 2
 Digs 48 40
 Blocks 5.5 9.0

Box Score

STANFORD, Calif. – The fifth-ranked Stanford men's volleyball team fought back from an 0-2 deficit to force a deciding fifth set against No. 6 UC Santa Barbara, where it came up just short, 20-25, 23-25, 25-23, 25-21, 12-15, Saturday, in the MPSF Quarterfinals at Maples Pavilion.

The Cardinal (19-6) edged the Gauchos (20-9) in hitting percentage for the match, .367 to .358. Stanford also held a 9.0 to 5.5 advantage in blocks, but UCSB capitalized on 22 Cardinal service errors.

Despite hitting .517 (15-0-29) in the second, Stanford trailed by three for most of the set and was unable to overcome the deficit, putting it in an 0-2 hole for the match.

Senior Madison Hayden led the team with 20 kills on .319 hitting, eight digs and four blocks. It marked the third 20-point match of the season for the outside hitter. Redshirt junior opposite Gabriel Vega turned in his second career double-double, and first of the season, with 12 kills on .357 hitting and 10 digs.

Senior setter James Shaw directed the Cardinal offense with a season-best 56 assists. He also tallied five kills and seven digs. Both of Stanford's middle blockers, Conrad Kaminski and Kevin Rakestraw, recorded double-digit kills on the night. Kaminski totaled 13 kills and four blocks, while Rakestraw finished with 11 kills (.588) and three blocks.

Sophomore Kyle Dagostino provided a spark off the bench with his serves, while also picking up three assists. Freshman Jordan Ewert added six kills and four digs, while sophomore libero Evan Enriques notched seven digs.

UCSB was led by redshirt junior opposite Matt Marsh, who tied Hayden for a match-high 20 kills. Austin Kingi chipped in with 16 kills and seven digs, while middle blocker Ryan Hardy totaled 12 kills on .733 hitting.

The Gauchos advance to the MPSF semifinals next Thursday, April 21, where they will face top-seed and host BYU. UCLA and Long Beach State will meet in the other semifinal match in Provo, Utah.

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