Card Falls in Four to No. 1 Hawaii

AUSTIN, Texas – No. 14 Stanford won the opening set against No. 1 Hawaii, but fell 19-25, 25-13, 25-19, 25-20, Saturday, in the First Point Collegiate Challenge in front of 1,875 fans at the Austin Convention Center.

The Cardinal (6-3) hit .258 in the opening set, while holding the Rainbow Warriors (7-2) to a .083 clip. Stanford recorded five blocks in the first frame, including a pair of solo blocks by redshirt sophomore Ethan Hill. Hill also hit .833 in the first with five kills on six errorless swings.

For the match, Hawaii hit .283 and out blocked Stanford 13.5 to 8.0. The Rainbow Warriors also held a 6-3 edge in aces, while the Cardinal had a 44-40 advantage in digs.

Hill finished with a career-high 13 kills on .632 hitting to go with five blocks and three digs. Junior Will Rottman finished one dig shy of a double-double with 15 kills and nine digs. The outside hitter also registered two blocks, an ace and an assist.

Setter Nathan Lietzke, an Austin native, tallied 34 assists, five digs, two blocks and an ace. The junior also registered three kills on five swings with no errors.

Redshirt junior Justin Lui had a match-high 13 digs and added three assists. The libero also recorded his first kill of the season after a ball he dug landed on Hawaii's side of the net. It was the second kill of his career, but the first while playing libero.

Junior outside hitter Kevin Lamp posted seven kills, four digs and a block, while opposite Luke Turner added five kills, eight digs and a season-high three assists. Junior middle blocker Nathaniel Gates chipped in with three kills, three blocks and an ace.

Hawaii was led by sophomore opposite Dimitrios Mouchlias, who had a match-best 18 kills on .289 hitting to go with five blocks. Sophomore outside hitter Spyros Chakas added 13 kills and six digs. Junior setter Jakob Thelle had 38 assists, six digs, four kills and four blocks for the Rainbow Warriors.

Stanford returns to The Farm next week, hosting Menlo College on Friday at 7 p.m. The Cardinal will play in front of a home crowd for the first time in 706 days. Admission is free.