Brian Cook recorded 17 kills in helping the eighth-ranked Stanford men’s volleyball team sweep host Pacific, 25-18, 26-24, 25-17, in a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation contest Wednesday night.
Steven Irvin added 11 kills and matched his career high with six service aces as the Cardinal (5-4 in the MPSF, 8-4 overall) won its fourth straight and five of six overall.
Stanford, which hosts No. 4 BYU at 7 p.m. Saturday in an MPSF match, hit .271 as a team against the Tigers, with Irvin hitting at a .556 clip.
“I thought we came out and played well,” Stanford coach John Kosty said. “Cook and Irvin led us. They put up some really solid numbers. I think the thing that stood out for us was our serving. These are the types of outings we need to have to be successful in the MPSF.”
Cook had a .343 attack percentage to go with eight digs, three blocks and two aces. His 17 kills were the most in a three-set match by a Stanford player this season.
“Brian has come out with a determination over the last couple of matches,” said Kosty. “It is great to see him continue to elevate his play. He has shown his leadership and the ability to take over a match.”
Sophomore setter James Shaw controlled the offense with 32 assists and recorded a match-high nine digs.
“I thought James Shaw set a really nice match,” Kosty said. “He did the things he needed to do to get nine digs out of the back row. He set a really nice match and distributed the ball really well.”
Pacific, which is dropping its men’s volleyball program after the season, was led by Christian Franceschi’s 15 kills and a .406 hitting percentage. The Tigers out blocked the Cardinal 12 1/2 to 5 1/2.
Saturday’s match will be televised on the Pac-12 Networks.
Women’s water polo
No. 2 Stanford marked its “Sustainability” Day at Santa Clara with a 14-6 victory over the No. 15 Broncos on Wednesday.
The Cardinal (5-0), which traveled to and from the game on Caltrain and utilized reusable water bottles to highlight its focus on sustainable energy and conservation, got hat tricks from Annika Dries and Ashley Grossman to lead the offensive effort.
Dani Jackovich, Kiley Neushul and Anna Yelizarova each scored twice while Jamie Neushul and Maggie Steffens added a goal apiece.
Dries scored twice within the opening 2:56 and Kiley Neushul added a goal at the 4:21 mark as Stanford raced to a 3-0 lead.
The Broncos got two consecutive goals from Gunn High grad Elizabeth Anderson and Laura Burtness to cut the Cardinal’s lead to one at 4-3 with 11 seconds left in the period.
Stanford held a one-goal less than a minute into the second period before scoring four unanswered goals that raised the Cardinal’s advantage to 9-4 with 5:40 to go in the third period.
By Stanford Athletics
By Stanford Athletics
By Stanford Athletics