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Stanford men's volleyball coach John Kosty was an assistant to Ruben Nieves when the Cardinal won the national championship in 1997.

He's in his third year as the head coach and eighth-ranked Stanford has that championship feeling again after knocking off two talented, nationally-ranked opponents on the first day of the UC Santa Barbara Invitational on Friday.

Sophomore outside hitter Spencer McLachlin recorded a block on match point that secured the Cardinal's 28-30, 30-27, 30-20, 30-28 semifinal victory over No. 4 Long Beach State.

Stanford (2-0) opened proceedings with a 30-25, 30-24, 30-18 win over BYU, which won 25 of 30 matches last season and is a three-time NCAA champion.

The Cardinal meets fifth-ranked Cal State Northridge in Saturday's title tilt, with first serve scheduled for 6:30 p.m.

"We just played consistent," said Kosty, a UC Santa Barbara grad. "We've put two really good matches together and we're going to have to be very consistent again to beat Northridge."

Freshman middle blocker Gus Ellis made his first collegiate start and joined junior middle blocker Garrett Werner to help slow down the 49ers' highly-regarded offensive attack.

Freshmen outside hitter Brad Lawson and libero Erik Shoji made their starting debuts in the win over the Cougars. The Hawaiian products and high school All-Americans are helping to mold the Cardinal into a championship-caliber team along with several others from the Pacific Ocean paradise and volleyball haven.

The last Hawaiian players at Stanford who made significant contributions were outside hitter Mike Lambert and setter Stewart Chong and they graduated in 1997.

Lawson and Shoji played on opposite sides of the Hawaiian Division I state championship match last season. They are two of six Hawaiian players that grace Stanford's roster.

Junior setter Kawika Shoji, Erik's older brother, is considered one of the best all-around athletes to come out of Hawaii. McLachlin, a sophomore, also hails from the islands. Sophomore middle blocker Max Halvorson and sophomore libero Jordan Inafuku complete the sextet.

"(Shoji) spread out the offense very well and got the middles involved early," Kosty said. "If there were statistics, both outside hitters and the opposites probably had the same amount of kills.

"For us, and just volleyball in general, it's all about serving and passing," Kosty said. "We did a very good job in those departments and created a lot of scoring opportunities. If we're going to have good serving and passing, we can compete with anyone."

-- PA Weekly Online Sports