LOS ANGELES – Back in action for the first time in 20 days, No. 6 Stanford came up short at No. 2 UCLA, 18-25, 22-25, 25-22, 18-25, Friday, at Pauley Pavilion.
Stanford (9-10, 2-5 MPSF) was held to .196 hitting, while totaling 39 kills, seven aces and 5.0 blocks. UCLA (17-4, 6-1 MPSF) hit .327 as a team and finished with 49 kills, eight aces and 8.5 blocks.
Outside hitter Will Rottman registered a match-high 16 kills on .333 hitting to go with eight digs, three aces and two blocks. Middle blocker Ethan Hill, who started his career at UCLA, hit 625 with five kills on eight errorless swings.
Rottman finishes off the long rally ??
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— Stanford Men’s Volleyball (@StanfordMVB) March 30, 2024
For the match, UCLA recorded a sideout rate of 71 percent to just 61 percent by the Cardinal. The Bruins led wire-to-wire in the first set. There were 26 tie scores and 12 lead changes in the final three sets.
Setter Nathan Lietzke turned in his team-leading sixth double-double of the season with 29 assists and a match-high 12 digs. The Austin native was also had four kills on four swings and tallied three aces and three blocks, including two solo.
W??W
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— Stanford Men’s Volleyball (@StanfordMVB) March 30, 2024
Opposite Moses Wagner totaled seven kills and four digs for the Cardinal, while outside hitter Kevin Lamp added three kills and four digs. Middle blocker Nathaniel Gates chipped in with three kills, two blocks and two digs.
Sophomore Theo Snoey came off the bench in the fourth and had a kill, an ace and an assist. Libero Luke Turner collected six digs and an assist.
Lietzke keeps it in play ?? Rottman ends the play
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— Stanford Men’s Volleyball (@StanfordMVB) March 30, 2024
UCLA had three players record 10 kills – Ethan Champlin, Cooper Robinson and Grant Sloan. Middle blocker Merrick McHenry added eight kills on .667 hitting, seven blocks, eight digs and an ace for the Bruins.
Stanford and UCLA will meet again on Saturday at 5 p.m. in Pauley Pavilion.
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