Pepperdine University
Stanford
Pepperdine Suffers 3-1 Loss at Stanford
2/24/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Volleyball
Feb. 24, 2012
Stanford 3, Pepperdine 1 Box Score 
PALO ALTO, Calif. - Maurice Torres had 13 kills and Matt Tarantino had a career-best effort with 11 kills, but the #10 Pepperdine men's volleyball team suffered a 3-1 loss to #1-ranked Stanford inside Maples Pavilion on Friday night.
The Cardinal (12-2, 9-1 MPSF) took the first set 25-21, before the Waves fired back with a 26-24 win to even the score. It would be the last set they would win, however, as the home team took the final two frames 25-19, 25-18.
Pepperdine (7-6, 5-5 MPSF) hit for a respectable .255 attacking percentage, but that number was overshadowed by the Cardinal's .394 clip. Brad Lawson paced Stanford with 14 kills earned on a .600 success rate.
Torres (Riverside, Calif./Orange Lutheran HS) tagged down 13 kills, while picking up a pair of service aces in the effort. His career kill tally currently stands at 974 as the junior nears the 1,000 kills milestone.
Freshman middle blocker Tarantino (Van Nuys, Calif./Bishop Alemany HS) returned to the lineup with 11 kills on 13 swings for a blistering .692 hitting percentage.
Matt Pollock (Orland Park, Ill./Sandburg HS) recorded eight blocks, followed by Matt West (Seattle, Wash./Shorewood HS) with six. On the offensive end, Pollock contributed with five kills while West dished 43 assists.
Although the Waves tallied 13 kills and committed just two errors for a .524 percentage in the opening frame, the Cardinal hit .692 (19 kills, 1 error) to win 25-21 and take a one set lead.
Pepperdine and Stanford engaged in a closely-fought battle in the second set, as the lead was exchanged five times and tied on 11 occasions. Down 23-24, Chase Ross (Carlsbad, Calif./Carlsbad HS) came up with a kill to knot the score at 24. Beau Vandeweghe (Carlsbad, Calif./La Costa Canyon HS) was called off the bench to serve, and a timely tandem block courtesy of West and Pollock would give the Waves set point.
Coming out of a Stanford timeout, Vandeweghe once again got the rally underway with a jump serve. Brian Cook smashed down an attack but Kyle Gerrans (Los Gatos, Calif./Valley Christian HS) came up with a diving save to keep the ball in play.
Lawson's attempt to terminate the ball was returned to the Cardinal side of the net, once again by West and Pollock, but the rally continued. On the third attack of the rally, this time by Steven Irvin, West and Pollock blocked the ball back once again, this time to the floor to secure the 26-24 win for Pepperdine.
Unfortunately for the Waves, it would be the last time they would hold the lead as Stanford went on to win sets three and four.
Gerrans picked up a team-best five digs for Pepperdine, while Erik Shoji led all players with six.
The Waves continue their tour of Northern California tomorrow, when they make a stop in Stockton to take on Pacific at 7 p.m. Fans can watch live and for free by clicking here.
