By Olivia Hummer on February 16, 2016

After coming off a tough loss to No. 2 Long Beach State last weekend, the No. 6 Stanford men’s volleyball team (10-2, 8-2 MPSF) got another opportunity to make a statement against a top-five team. The Cardinal more than succeeded, twice defeating the No. 4 Hawaii Rainbow Warriors (9-4, 4-4) in a home doubleheader.

Stanford swept the Warriors 25-18, 25-19, 25-16 Friday night. The defense reigned supreme, as the Cardinal notched 10.0 team blocks and held Hawaii to a .064 hitting percentage in the match. Senior middle blocker Conrad Kaminski led the squad with 11 kills.

The Cardinal took a 7-4 lead in the first set and maintained at least a three-point cushion for the remainder of the set. The Warriors surged in the second, claiming a 19-16 lead before Stanford subbed in junior outside hitter Clay Jones, whose strong service led the Cardinal on a 9-0 run for the win. Jones capped off the set with an ace, one of two on the night. With the score tied at 7 in the third set, the Cardinal took an 18-9 tear for a set victory and completed the sweep.

On Saturday, Stanford defeated Hawaii in four sets, 25-17, 18-25, 28-26, 25-15. After struggling on Friday night, senior outside hitter Gabriel Vega led the Cardinal and tied his season-high with 17 kills.

Although Stanford never surrendered the lead in the first set, it floundered in the second, and Hawaii claimed a commanding 17-9 advantage before taking the set 25-18. In the third, the Cardinal fought off a furious Hawaii rally to take the set in extra points. The fourth set belonged to Stanford, which held Hawaii to a .029 hitting percentage to win the set and the match 25-15.

Contact Olivia Hummer at ohummer ‘at’ stanford.edu.