California Baptist University
Stanford
Another Ranked One
1/26/2014 4:41:00 AM | Men's Volleyball
RIVERSIDE, Calif. --- Facing its fifth ranked opponent in the short season, California Baptist University couldn't hold off No. 6-ranked Stanford University Saturday night, dropping three sets (25-15, 25-18, 25-25-18).
The Lancers fall to 2-5 on the season, 2-4 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. Stanford improves to 4-3 overall and picks up its first conference win to stand 1-3 in the MPSF.
Jonathan Tuttle led the Lancers with nine kills and Kristopher Johnson followed with eight off a .467 attack percentage.
The Cardinal had four players hit over a .400 clip, two of which didn't commit a single error, to finish with a .408 collective percentage.
Stanford opened the first set with three-straight points before the Lancers could get on the board. Amir Lugo-Rodriguez laid down the first kill, but CBU couldn't string together runs.
Down 20-11, CBU tried to put something together, taking advantage of a Cardinal error to spark a 3-0 run. Rocky DeLyon smacked down a kill in the next play and Johnson's ace put the Lancers within six at 20-14.
CBU couldn't hold off Stanford, however, dropping the first set 25-15.
Determined to shake off the first, the Lancers jumped on the board first off a block from DeLyon. The two teams battled back-and-forth, trying to take control of the game until Stanford went in front by three at 11-8.
The Lancers called a timeout, looking to regroup, and scored four-straight points to take the lead at 12-11. Joel Blocksom and Johnson teamed up twice to deny the Cardinal's attack in that span, giving the Lancers energy.
Before CBU could grab too much momentum, Stanford rallied to take a three-point advantage. Johnson's kill ended the spree, but the Cardinal continued on to finish the set, 25-18.
In need of a set win to keep the match going, CBU once again took an early 3-1 lead, but Stanford battled to steal back the upper hand.
Down 21-16, Johnson and DeLyon teamed up on the block, but Stanford responded with three unanswered points to reach match point at 24-18. Tuttle powered down a cross-court kill to keep the set alive, but the Cardinal found the next point to claim the three-set match victory.
CBU will get two days to prepare for its third match in six days, hosting Princeton on Tuesday at 7 p.m. for a non-conference matchup. The very next day, the Lancers will take on No. 4-ranked USC in Los Angeles to return to MPSF action.
