Stanford Wins Five-Set ThrillerStanford Wins Five-Set Thriller
Erin Chang/isiphotos.com
Men's Volleyball

Stanford Wins Five-Set Thriller

Box Score

IRVINE, Calif. – Led by outside hitter Will Rottman, No. 7 Stanford came back to defeat Concordia, 20-25, 26-24, 21-25, 25-21, 15-13, Friday, at CU Arena.

Stanford (10-11, 3-6 MPSF), which won for the first time at CUI, hit .293 as a team and finished with season-bests in kills (60) and digs (55) to go with nine aces and 5.0 blocks. The Carinal improves to 3-1 on the season in five-set matches.

Concordia (6-15, 0-9 MPSF), which is still winless in MPSF play, hit .329 and totaled 62 kills, five aces, 52 digs and 8.5 blocks.  

Rottman matched his season-high with 22 kills on .413 hitting, including five kills in the decisive fifth set, to go with seven digs, three aces and three assists. It was his fourth 20-plus kill outing of the season.

Outside hitter Kevin Lamp also tied his season-best with 17 kills on a .324 attack percentage, nine digs, two aces and a block.
 


It was a back-and-forth affair most of the match, which had 37 tie scores and 17 lead changes. The fifth set alone had 13 tie scores and five lead changes.
 


Setter Nathan Lietzke recorded his team-best seventh double-double of the season with 46 assists and 12 digs. The Austin native also had two kills and two blocks. Libero Luke Turner collected eight digs and three assists.

After hitting sub .250 and siding out under 60 percent in the first two sets, Stanford was over the .300 clip and sided out above 70 percent in the final three sets.

Opposite Theo Snoey also registered a double-double, his first of the season, with 12 kills and a team-best 14 digs. The sophomore also tallied two blocks, an ace and an assist.
 


Middle blocker Nathaniel Gates added four kills, three digs and a block. Redshirt senior Ethan Hill started at middle blocker, posting a kill, a block and a dig in two sets played. Fifth-year Adam Chang replaced Hill to start the third. The San Diego native matched his career-high with three aces to go with two kills, two blocks and an assist.
 


Concordia had four players with double-digit kills. The Eagles were led by Gage Doble and Clement Osahon Jr., who had 15 kills apiece, while Christian Galoppo and Makua Marumoto each tallied 11.

Stanford and Concordia meet again on Saturday at 7 p.m. in CU Arena.