STANFORD, Calif. — No. 6 BYU men’s volleyball fell 3-0 against No. 7 Stanford in a conference matchup on Saturday evening in Maples Pavilion, splitting games with the Cardinal this weekend after defeating them 3-2 on Friday evening.
BYU's defense showed out with 33 digs compared to Stanford's 22, but the Cardinal offense conquered all with a season-high 12 aces while holding BYU to just two. Five players from Stanford recorded atleast two aces, including Will Rottman and Nathan Lietzke with three each.
Miks Ramanis led all players in kills with a season-high 16 on a .444 hitting percentage, including a match-high six digs. Jon Stanley had a career-high five kills off the bench.
Set One
The first set began at an even pace, with two consecutive kills by BYU from Teon Taylor and Luke Benson tying the score at five. Stanford eventually got into a system, finding a way to reach a four point lead at 13-9 and forcing a BYU timeout. A 3-0 run by the Cardinal made it 18-12 courtesy of a kill, ace and Cougar attack error, making BYU burn its second timeout.
Stanford continued to coast, finishing up set one at 25-19 after a kill by middle blocker Nathaniel Gates. Only one lead change occurred as the Cardinal held BYU entirely in the rearview except when trailing a single moment at 2-1.
Set Two
The Cougars entered the second set with a new energy fueled behind a Taylor kill and back-to-back Ramanis kills, leading to a 5-1 score and forcing a Stanford timeout. The Cardinal battled from there, tying the set at eight points after a Gates ace and Moses Wagner ace. Five consecutive points by Stanford brought the score to 11-8, causing a BYU timeout.
The Cardinal kept the momentum with another run, going on a 3-0 spree after its eighth ace of the night by Lietzke to make it 17-12, forcing another BYU timeout. Stanley entered off the BYU bench and recorded a kill immediately following the timeout for a 17-13 score. The Cougars were unable to develop any more momentum, and would lose set two 25-20 off another Lietzke ace.
Set Three
Stanford controlled the opening of the third set, beginning with a 8-2 lead after two more aces and a double-play by Gates consisting of a kill and solo block. The Cougars followed by going on a 3-0 run of their own, led behind two Ramanis kills for an 8-5 score.
When BYU called a timeout once down five points at 12-17, Miks Ramanis would follow with a kill, his 14th and final of the night. Stanley recorded another kill for BYU at 20-16, with BYU fighting to trail by four. A 3-0 run by the Cougars would take the score to 23-20, but Stanford claimed the next two points off a block and Lietzke ace, winning the match 3-0.
Up Next
Next weekend, the Cougars return to Provo for a bye-week and then will travel to Pepperdine for a pair of matches, starting on Friday, March 22 at 6 p.m. PST.