LOS ANGELES – The Cardinal left it all out on the court on Saturday, falling in the MPSF final to No. 8 Pepperdine, 20-25, 19-25, 25-22, 25-22, 12-15, at Pauley Pavilion.
Stanford (14-14), which was the lowest seed to reach the MPSF championship since 2011, fell behind 0-2 to start the match. Down but not out, the Cardinal rallied as it so often has this season and forced a fifth set – this time coming up short.
Junior Will Rottman turned in another 20-plus kill performance, finishing with 22 kills, seven digs, a block and an ace. The outside hitter tallied 20 or more kills in eight matches this season, including his final four outings.
The MPSF Championship has begun and @StanfordMVB‘s Will Rottman is in the building! pic.twitter.com/fFaFk4EXjO
— FloVolleyball (@FloVolleyball) April 24, 2022
Stanford out hit Pepperdine (19-9), .291 to .285 and out blocked the Waves 12.0 to 7.0. Pepperdine held a 45-28 advantage in digs and a 4-1 edge in aces.
Junior Nathan Lietzke racked up 46 assists to go with nine digs and two kills. The setter also matched a season-best with five blocks, including to solo. Libero Justin Lui had three digs and four assists for the Cardinal.
LIETZKE??#NowWeGo #GoStanford pic.twitter.com/60uZvtU454
— Stanford Men’s Volleyball (@StanfordMVB) April 24, 2022
After committing nine hitting errors in the first two sets, Stanford limited itself to just two miscues in the third and fourth-set victories. The Cardinal then committed five attack errors in the final frame.
For the fourth time this season, outside hitter Kevin Lamp matched his career-high with 14 kills and also tied his career-best with five blocks. Middle blocker Ethan Hill hit .438 with eight kills and three blocks.
Lamp is on ??
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?? » https://t.co/d3PQ9DDeCz#GoStanford pic.twitter.com/IBP4Y494Uz
— Stanford Men’s Volleyball (@StanfordMVB) April 24, 2022
Trailing 12-7 in the fifth, Stanford went on a 4-0 run to cut it to a one-point advantage for the Waves. The run included a pair of kills by Rottman and a solo block from Hill. Pepperdine then closed out the match on a 3-1 run of its own.
Middle blocker Nathaniel Gates registered a .714 attack percentage with five kills on seven errorless swings. The junior also notched five…
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