| LINESCORE | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | F | ||
| No. 10 UCSB (11-6, 7-5 MPSF) | 19 | 20 | 8 | 0 | |
| N0. 4 Stanford (11-2, 9-2 MPSF) | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 | |
| STAT COMPARISON | ||
|---|---|---|
| UCSB | STAN | |
| Kills | 29 | 36 |
| Attack pct. | .147 | .526 |
| Assists | 27 | 32 |
| Aces | 3 | 8 |
| Digs | 13 | 24 |
| Blocks | 4.0 | 8.0 |
Box Score
STANFORD, Calif. – Seeking its first win against UC Santa Barbara in nearly two years, No. 4 Stanford swept past the No. 10 Gauchos, 25-19, 25-20, 25-8, at Burnham Pavilion on Friday.
The Cardinal (11-2, 9-2 MPSF) never trailed against UCSB (11-6, 7-5 MPSF) and was tied only once, as senior Madison Hayden and redshirt junior Gabriel Vega spurred the team to its fourth consecutive win. With the victory, the Stanford has now surpassed its 2015 win total with 11 regular season contests remaining.
The Cardinal continued its dominance in first sets this season, taking the opener off the Gauchos 25-19. Stanford has won all 13 opening sets in 2016.
Led by the trio of Vega, Hayden and freshman Jordan Ewert, Stanford built a 17-12 lead before UCSB called its first timeout. While two aces by UCSB’s Jonah Seif helped cut the deficit to one at 18-17, the Cardinal closed out the set on a 7-2 run. Both teams hit well and kept errors to a minimum, but the hosts held a decided advantage in sideout percentage (75% to 58%). Vega and Hayden led all players with four kills apiece, while Ewert recorded three smashes of his own.
Stanford rolled its momentum into the second frame, jumping out to a 5-0 lead and going ahead by as many as eight en route to a 25-20 victory. Seif's third ace of the match brought the Gauchos within three at 21-18, but the attack combination of Hayden and Vega overwhelmed UCSB’s front line.
Hayden had another strong set, tallying six kills on eight attempts, with Vega adding five kills on seven attempts. The Cardinal's block, keyed by Conrad Kaminski and James Shaw, was much improved in the second, and held UCSB to a .185 hitting percentage (13-8-27). Sideout percentage was again in favor of Stanford, which also remained efficient on offense (13-3-21).
The Cardinal’s defense owned the final set, as the team rolled past the Gauchos 25-8 with just eight kills. The 17-point winning margin tied Stanford's biggest of the season (25-8 at USC on Jan. 31), and was Santa Barbara's worst loss of the 2016 campaign.
Vega and redshirt sophomore middle blocker Kevin Rakestraw heavily limited UCSB's attack, helping hold the visitors to a -.083 hitting percentage, while Hayden and Vega combined for seven of their squad's eight kills.
Hayden led all players with 14 kills, and Vega was not far behind with 12. Stanford hit .526 to UCSB's .147 for the match, and held the advantage in nearly every other statistical category. Shaw topped the team with 25 assists, adding four blocks, two aces and three digs. Evan Enriques had a match-high 12 digs, and Kaminski had two of the Cardinal's eight aces.
Henri Cherry led the Gauchos with eight kills, and Matt Marsh and Jacob Delson had seven and six, respectively. Seif totaled three aces to lead all players and collected 26 assists.
Stanford finishes its four-match homestand against No. 3 UCLA on Sunday, Feb. 21 at 11 a.m. at Maples Pavilion. The match will be televised live on Pac-12 Bay Area and Pac-12 Los Angeles.
