Stanford men’s volleyball (17-1) hosted Pacific on Thursday night in the Tigers’ final match at Maples Pavilion, as Pacific recently announced that this will be its final season in the sport. The Cardinal marked the historic night by sweeping Pacific 25-17, 25-18, 25-21, to win their eighth match in a row. Stanford is continuing to dominate its opponents with aggressive offense and is looking confident and strong heading into the final three matches of the season.
While the first set started off close and was tied at 8-8, the Cardinal quickly took control of the points and pulled ahead. Stanford won the first set 25-17, going on a six-point run to close out the set.
Stanford hit an impressive .385 and senior outside hitter Steven Irvin had 4 kills in the set. While the second set also started off slowly for Stanford and was once again tied at 8-8, an impressive blocking performance by the Cardinal gave Stanford the advantage. Pacific started to struggle and Stanford began to capitalize off Pacific’s unsteady offense, winning the set easily.
Pacific rallied back in the third set to gain a lead at 15-13, but ultimately Stanford’s offense proved too strong to withhold and the Cardinal retook the lead. Pacific made a critical attack error late in the match, putting the Cardinal up 20-19. In the end, Stanford won the match in three sets.
Stanford will play California Baptist in its final home match of the season tomorrow night. The Cardinal will celebrate their seniors, who will play for the last time in the incredible home environment that Maples provides.
The current seniors have been critical to the team’s success in the second half of the season by providing leadership and the ability to keep fighting after starting the season 9-7. California Baptist heads into the match 4-20 overall and only 2-18 in conference. It has not won since the beginning of March, losing its last eight matches to mirror the Cardinal’s own eight-match winning streak. As a team, the Lancers hit .278 and their offense is led by junior outside hitter Johannes Brink, who averages 4.05 kills per set.
Stanford’s Senior Night will begin at 7 p.m. at Maples Pavilion.
Contact Eliza Thompson at elizat ‘at’ stanford.edu.