| LINESCORE | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F | |
| No. 4 Hawaii (9-4, 4-4 MPSF) | 17 | 25 | 26 | 15 | 1 |
| No. 6 Stanford (10-2, 8-2 MPSF) | 25 | 18 | 28 | 25 | 3 |
| STAT COMPARISON | ||
|---|---|---|
| UH | STAN | |
| Kills | 57 | 53 |
| Attack pct. | .283 | .348 |
| Assists | 56 | 50 |
| Aces | 2 | 6 |
| Digs | 36 | 34 |
| Blocks | 8.5 | 13.0 |
Box Score
STANFORD, Calif. - Gabriel Vega and Madison Hayden combined for over half of No. 6 Stanford's 53 kills as the Cardinal upended No. 4 Hawaii for the second straight night, 25-17, 18-25, 28-26, 25-15. Stanford has won three consecutive matches and seven of its last eight.
Stanford (10-2 8-2 MPSF) took the opening set 25-17, never trailing while continuing to frustrate the Hawaii (9-4, 4-4 MPSF) offense. Thanks to three early kills from Vega, the Cardinal took a 10-5 lead before the Rainbow Warriors took their first timeout. Coming out of the break, Hawaii was able to trim the deficit to 17-15 on a Cardinal error, but Stanford closed the set on an 8-2 run to secure the win.
Vega and Hayden keyed the Cardinal with four kills apiece, and the team held the visitors to a .000 hitting percentage while committing only four errors of its own. Senior middle blocker Conrad Kaminski was the key cog on his team's front line, recording four blocks to slow the Rainbow Warriors.
The second set belonged to Hawaii, as the nation's fourth-ranked squad finally found its rhythm on offense en route to a 25-18 victory. Outside hitter and Hawaiian native Kupono Fey paced his squad with six kills in the set, including two consecutive smashes that forced Stanford head coach John Kosty to call his first timeout down 14-9.
The Cardinal never pulled closer than six points thereafter, and lost its first set in its last three matches. Stijn van Tilburg matched Kupono's output with six kills of his own on just 10 total attacks, helping Hawaii to a .607 hitting percentage (19-2-28).
Stanford regained control early in the third, jumping out to a 6-1 advantage before eventually winning 28-26. The Rainbow Warriors battled back from that early deficit though, going on an 8-3 spurt to narrow the Cardinal's lead to one at 16-15.
Stanford regained its composure out of a timeout, with Hayden scoring the team's next three points (two kills and a block) to keep Hawaii at bay temporarily. Consecutive kills from Sinisa Zarkovic and Fey brought the Rainbow Warriors back to within one at 22-21. A Cardinal error tied the set at 22, and the two MPSF squads went point-for-point until Hayden shut the door with his first service ace of the night. Stanford withstood another withering attack from Hawaii (19-3-29; .552), while Vega and Hayden combined for 11 kills.
The fourth set proved to be the last of the match, as the Cardinal finished off the Rainbow Warriors 25-15. Much like the first set, Stanford took an early lead and never let Hawaii get close, gapping its opponents by five points or more for a majority of the set. Hawaii used both of its timeouts in an attempt to regroup, but was unable to claw back into contention, as its attack was once again smothered by the Cardinal. Stanford held the Rainbow Warriors to a .029 hitting percentage, while maintaining its offensive efficiency (11-3-24).
Vega matched his season-high with 17 kills and a .405 hitting clip, while Hayden totaled 15 kills at a .462 rate. Kaminski nearly had a double-double, finishing with nine kills and nine blocks. Senior setter James Shaw topped the team with 47 assists, and libero Evan Enriques led all players with 14 digs.
Fey and Tilburg led Hawaii with 17 and 15 kills, respectively, while Zarkovic tallied 11.
Stanford remains on The Farm next week, welcoming UC Santa Barbara and UCLA next Friday and Sunday, respectively.
