Stanford Claims MPSF Men's Volleyball Title
May 1, 2010
The No. 1 Stanford men's volleyball rolled to a resounding 30-24, 30-28, 30-17 victory Saturday over No. 3 Cal State Northridge in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation tournament final and earn a berth in the NCAA Tournament on its homecourt next week.
Evan Romero had 19 kills and Brad Lawson 15 to lead Stanford (22-6) to an MPSF regular season-tournament double, the first in the conference since Pepperdine accomplished the feat in 2005. It was Stanford's first conference tournament title since its national championship year of 1997.
The Cardinal earns the MPSF's automatic berth into the four-team NCAA Tournament, which will be played May 6 and 8 at Maples Pavilion. Ohio State and Penn State have also earned automatic berths and Northridge (23-9) is expected to receive the at-large bid.
"It's great to win the regular season and tournament championships," Stanford coach John Kosty said. "But we've had a season-long goal of winning the national championship. We're focused on the process of achieving that last goal."
The first set was defined by huge momentum shifts. Stanford used a 10-point Spencer McLachlin service run to bolt to a 14-2 lead. The surge was aided by four consecutive Gus Ellis blocks followed by a McLachlin ace. However, Northridge responded with a 16-6 run of its own to close within 20-18 on a kill by 7-foot-2 middle Jacek Ratajczak.
McLachlin and Brad Lawson helped Stanford regain control with back-to-back momentum-halting kills and the Cardinal never let Northridge within three the remainder of the set.
The second set featured a Stanford comeback. A triple block by Kawika Shoji, Ellis, and McLachlin gave Stanford its first lead since the opening points, and Lawson's kill finished off the set.
Stanford was in complete control in the third set, rallying from a 5-3 deficit with an 11-2 run sparked by a series of kills by Romero.
The result was that Stanford gained a measure of revenge against the only conference opponent it hadn't beaten this season.
All-American setter Kawika Shoji said the Cardinal must continue to get better as it prepares for its biggest tournament of the year, but added, "That third set was the closest we've come this year to playing to our potential. It was a great step in the right direction because we're peaking at the right time."