| LINESCORE | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F | |
| UC Santa Cruz (0-1) | 29 | 11 | 13 | 18 | 1 |
| Stanford (1-0) | 27 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
| STAT COMPARISON | ||
|---|---|---|
| UCSC | STAN | |
| Kills | 33 | 47 |
| Attack pct. | .008 | .301 |
| Assists | 32 | 44 |
| Aces | 2 | 6 |
| Digs | 34 | 38 |
| Blocks | 6.0 | 13.0 |
Box Score
STANFORD, Calif. – The 10th-ranked Stanford men’s volleyball team registered a 27-29, 25-11, 25-13, 25-18 win in its season opener, Friday, against visiting UC Santa Cruz at Burnham Pavilion in Stanford, Calif.
As a team, Stanford hit .301 while holding UCSC to a .008 clip. The Cardinal also registered 13.0 team blocks and six service aces. Stanford sided out at a 69 percent rate, while the Banana Slugs tuned in a sideout rate of 48 percent.
“I thought we did a really nice job coming out and opening the 2015 season,” said ninth-year head coach John Kosty. “Santa Cruz is a solid opponent and they played well tonight. We had to raise our game to get the victory.”
After registering 17 kills in the opening set, the Banana Slugs managed just 20 more kills the rest of the match, hitting negative in the second and third sets, and .000 in the fourth.
“This was a good match to show our guys that we have to stay focused at practice and keep doing the things that we are doing,” said Kosty. “We are not going to be able to just settle in and earn points on one swing. We are going to have to move the ball around and do some different things from the service line. I thought we did a nice job throughout the match on doing those things.”
Fifth-year senior Daniel Tublin led Stanford with 10 kills, eight digs and three blocks. Junior opposite Alex Stephanus, who made his first collegiate start, finished with nine kills and a career high six blocks. Junior middle Conrad Kaminski also collected six blocks to go with eight kills on 10 errorless swings to hit .800.
True freshman Kyle Dagostino started at setter and controlled the offense with 38 assists to go with eight digs and two blocks.
“Kyle is our starting setter and he did a nice job tonight,” said Kosty. “He had a nice fall and he understands the game. He did a really nice job tonight spreading out our offense and getting our hitters great swings.”
Junior Madison Hayden, who also made his first career start, totaled eight kills and 10 digs for the Cardinal, while senior middle Spencer Haly hit .750 with six kills and three blocks in just one set played.
Eleven Cardinal players took the court Friday, including collegiate debuts from Dagostino, freshman Evan Enriques, redshirt freshman Colin McCall and redshirt freshman Kevin Rakestraw. McCall came off the bench to serve, and went on a streak of seven in-a-row to help close out the third set. Rakestraw, a 7-0 middle, tallied four kills, three blocks and two aces in his first outing.
“I think Colin was the player of the match tonight,” added Kosty. “He did a nice job coming in and did exactly what he needs to do in that role. He gave us a spark and some solid points down the stretch.”
UC Santa Cruz was led by freshman Lake Merchen’s 10 kills and 11 digs, while senior Jake Landel recorded nine kills for the Banana Slugs.
Stanford remains on The Farm next week to host the AVCA Showcase, Jan. 9-10. The Cardinal welcomes defending national champion Loyola Chicago, NCAA semifinal participant BYU and NCAA play-in participant Lewis University to Maples Pavilion.
