No. 4 Stanford men’s volleyball (18-3, 16-3 MPSF) will play one of its hardest and most defining matches of the season this Saturday against No. 5 Long Beach State at Maples Pavilion in the Cardinal’s last game of the regular season.
The Cardinal and the 49ers met earlier in the season in a 3-1 decision in favor of the latter; the game was the first loss for Stanford after a four-game win streak.
Despite the outcome, it was hard fought, and a Cardinal win is definitely in reach this weekend.
“Long Beach State is a really crisp team,” said sophomore libero Evan Enriques. “They run a really smooth offense, they’re a good ball-control team. They just did a lot of the little things that we have improved on since then.”
The Cardinal should be looking to play a precise offense, impeding the 49ers from utilizing their blocking skills, one of the team’s strongest assets.
The Cardinal will also look to keep up their blocking rate, which has put them in fourth in the NCAA, with 2.79 blocks per set.
The Stanford versus Long Beach State match will begin at 7 p.m. on April 2 in Stanford’s Maples Pavilion.
Contact Laura Sussman at laura111 ‘at’ stanford.edu.