Stanford men’s volleyball team sends BYU Cougars to first straight set defeat in the season
With the help of match-high 14 kills by Brad Lawson, the men’s volleyball team of Stanford University managed to overcome the Brigham Young University (BYU) in a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation match on Saturday, February 4.
The Stanford Cardinal influenced the Cougars both offensively and defensively. They sent BYU to its first straight-set defeat in the season by posting 3-0 (35-33, 25-23, 25-22) on board. The match was a heated competition from start to end and it was really
a big achievement for Stanford to outdo BYU after many ups and downs.
In addition to Lawson’s 14 kills, the trio of Steven Irvin, Eric Mochalski, and Cook also went into double figure kills. They added 12, 11, and 10 kills, respectively.
Likewise, Ellis offered strong resistance to BYU attackers and had seven blocks in the match. Cardinal setter Evan Barry played an important role in his team’s victory as he added 47 assists.
On Cougars’ side, Futi Tavana and Robb Stowell notched up 11 and 10 kills, while Andrew Heap totalled six digs, in the failing effort.
Both teams entered the court with great plans of victory. Cougars got off to good start and picked up lead, while Stanford lagged behind. As the game progressed, the Cardinal hit back and chased the score. The duo of Lawson and Irvin delivered some powerful
cross court shots and put Stanford in lead at 22-19.
However, the BYU was not ready to give the game to Cardinal so easily. They resisted in full force and took the score beyond 25-point mark. The spectators stood up on the tip of their toes when the score tied at 33-all. Eventually, success graced Cardinal
as they quickly added a couple of points to end the first set at 35-33.
The next set was played in the same fashion. Both teams jumped on every little opportunity to score points. However, the luck was on Stanford’s side and they captured second set with similar 2-point margin but at 25-23.
Stanford jumped to 5-1 lead in third set before the Cougars levelled the score at 8-all. Afterwards, the score soared up with close gaps and once again tied at 18-all. Following the tie, the Stanford added 4-0 run to make it 22-18. BYU was unable to overcome
the deficit and dropped the final set 25-22.
The Head Coach of BYU, Chris McGown, said, “That's a really good Stanford team out there. They were playing with a lot of confidence tonight. One thing, for us, is that we're trying to support whoever is on the court one hundred percent, and I think the
guys have been great about that.”
He further added, “I thought we were better tonight. The biggest thing I'm going to take away is that we've got Futi (Tavana) back in the lineup and he hasn't been there for a while. He's still figuring things out but is definitely improving. Our primary
passers are two freshman and a sophomore so we're young but I thought they played well tonight and with a lot of maturity.”
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