STANFORD, Calif. -- Behind a rally-scoring era program-record 21.5 blocks, No. 9 Stanford swept fifth-ranked UC Santa Barbara 25-17, 25-18, 25-17 on Friday at Maples Pavilion. The Cardinal moved to 9-5 overall and 6-5 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, while the Gauchos dropped to 8-4 on the season and 7-4 in conference.
Stanford had five players register at least five blocks, and three who notched at least seven against UCSB. Sophomore middle Conrad Kaminski tied his season best with eight blocks, while senior middle Denny Falls registered a season-high seven. Sophomore setter James Shaw also collected seven blocks with a team-best three in the solo column.
The Cardinal’s defensive effort at the net forced the Gauchos into a .011 hitting night, the second lowest by an opponent in the rally-scoring era. Stanford finished with a .373 team attack percentage and did not allow an ace to one of the tougher serving teams in the conference.
Offensively, senior opposite Eric Mochalski led the team with 13 kills on 18 swings with just one error to hit .667. Falls finished with seven kills on a .556 hitting percentage, while Brian Cook recorded eight kills to go with six blocks. Shaw tallied 34 assists, while junior Grant Delgado totaled a match-high 11 digs.
No. 6 Long Beach State 3, UC San Diego 0
LONG BEACH, Calif. -- Sixth-ranked Long Beach State needed just 67 minutes to top UC San Diego 25-11, 25-15, 25-16 on Friday night at the Walter Pyramid.
With the sweep, LBSU completed a perfect week as it also defeated No. 9 UC Irvine 3-0 on Wednesday. The 49ers improved to 9-4 overall and 8-4 in MPSF action.
Long Beach State hit a season-best .493 and owned a 9-to-1 advantage in total team blocks. Senior Dalton Ammerman led the way with a match-high 11 kills and two aces. He did not commit an error on 17 swings for a career-best .647 hitting percentage.
Senior Taylor Crabb also finished in double figures with 10 kills (.562) to go along with six digs. Sophomore Taylor Gregory contributed four kills and a match-high six blocks, while senior Connor Olbright compiled 36 assists, six digs and four blocks.
UC San Diego (0-15, 0-14 MPSF) hit just .143 on the night. Mike Brunsting paced the Tritons with nine kills and five digs. Mathew Schnitzer also had six kills on .556 hitting.
No. 7 UC Irvine 3, No. 15 Cal State Northridge 1
NORTHRIDGE, Calif. -- Opposite Zack La Cavera put away a match-high 18 kills as No. 7 UC Irvine defeated No. 15 Cal State Northridge 3-1 (25-23, 25-17, 20-25, 25-17) on Friday night at the Matadome.
The Anteaters improved to 10-8 overall and 7-7 in the MPSF, while the Matadors fell to 4-9 and 4-8 in the MPSF.
La Cavera collected a match-best 20 points on 18 kills, one ace and two block assists. Outside hitter Jeremy Dejno recorded 14 kills followed by seniors Connor Hughes and Scott Kevorken with 10 kills each. Hughes also had a team-high two aces and 11 digs. Middle blocker Colin Mehring added eight kills and matched Kevorken with three blocks. Setter Roberto Frazzoni totaled 49 set assists.
Sam Holt (16) and Greg Faulkner (10) led Cal State Northridge in kills.
