Stanford faced MPSF foe Long Beach State on Wednesday night. Maples was home to a sparse crowd that saw the 10th-ranked 49ers score a 3-1 victory over the 12th-ranked Cardinal. The loss dropped Stanford to 2-4 (1-2 MPSF), while propelling LBSU to 5-1 (2-1).

The Card got out to a fast start in set one. Setter James Shaw had a kill and two aces on consecutive points to give the Card an early 4-2 lead. The 49ers would respond quickly, keying on kills by middle Bryce Yould, outside Dan Glamack and opposite John La Rusch to even things at 7-7. But Shaw was up to the task. He had two of his signature second-ball kills and a monster block on the outside in a 5-point span to reestablish the lead at 11-8. The teams sparred back and forth for the next few points, until outside Daniel Tublin’s kill sparked a 5-point run to create separation at 18-12 in favor of Stanford. He then hammered a ball through a seam in the block at 23-16, and the set finished 25-18 in the Card’s favor. Stanford hit .407 for the set, led by an efficient 5-of-9 performance from middles Conrad Kaminski and Spencer Haly. Yould gathered 4 kills and hit .800 for the set, but it didn’t save the 49ers in that set.

Set two began evenly, with the teams evenly exchanging sideouts. At 9-9, opposite Gabo Vega had two straight kills and Tublin had a huge block on the outside to push the Cardinal lead to 11-9. But a fantastic kick save from libero Ryan Windisch keyed a 4-0 run for the 49ers. Stanford called timeout at 12-15, still in the set despite having hit just .250 to that point. The Card made their final push at 15-19, when Shaw had a kill and a block to sandwich two stellar digs by libero Kyle Dagostino. Stanford looked to have a shot at winning the set at 22-21, but three straight kills by the 49ers gave LBSU match point. The 49ers promptly converted on a Shaw serve into the net to win the set 25-23. Stanford hit .275 to LBSU’s .441, victimized by errors and strong showings from Yould and Windisch.

Now on level terms, both Stanford and Long Beach came out firing in set three. The 49ers opened with a 4-2 lead, but Stanford responded with four straight points. Opposite Alex Stephanus, introduced for this set, had a kill to key the run. But Long Beach scored four consecutive points of its own, facilitated by fantastic team defense. Sideouts were had until 15-15, but Stanford had no answer for the 7-1 49er run that came next. The Card never got closer than four the rest of the way, and Long Beach won the set 25-20. It was a game of runs, but the 49ers just had one more run in them than the Cardinal.

. @StanfordMVB’s Enriques is getting it done tonight, too. Fun to watch him work the blocks.

— Treevis Volleyball (@treevisVBall) January 22, 2015

The fourth set would prove to be the final one, but Stanford put up a valiant effort. Stephanus got a second set in the lineup. He paid dividends quickly, dropping the hammer on a 4-ball from Shaw at 4-6. Long Beach maintained its small advantage until midway through the set. After an Evan Enriques kill at 13-16, the 49ers reeled off three straight points (two on Stanford errors) to take control at 13-19. Enriques fought back with two kills to make it 15-19, and was unlucky not to dig Yould’s attack on the next point. Stanford had a few more 2-1 segments to narrow the margin, and a lengthy rally at 20-22 looked like a turning point in the set. Both teams had incredible digs on the point, but it was 49ers middle Taylor Gregory who put down a 1-ball from setter Curtis Stallings to ensure that the 49ers’ lead was three instead of one. That was the straw that broke the camel’s back, and Stanford lost the set 25-22. Late-set offense from Tublin and Enriques couldn’t quite save the Cardinal, which hit .159 in the set and .225 overall.

Stanford fought hard against a team of high caliber, and showed signs of improvement that may continue through the season. Tublin and Enriques had 16 and 12 kills, respectively, showing offensive prowess not previously seen from the pin attackers.

“Evan [Enriques] played well,” said head coach John Kosty. “He did a good job for a freshman in that situation.”

Kyle Dagostino made his libero debut, posting 14 digs and a perfect serve-receive percentage to lead a solid passing defense for the Cardinal.

Shaw’s set placement was markedly improved from the AVCA tournament just two weeks ago, showing his All-America form is well on its way to returning.

“James had a nice night,” Kosty said. “This is only his third week setting, and his location will continue to get better.

“We need to continue to get better,” Kosty continued. “We need to get a lot more practice, and to get into the next match against Northridge. Long Beach is a solid team. They extend rallies really well and make you win points.”

The Cardinal will look to get their stuttering season back on track tonight against CSU Northridge at Maples Pavilion.

Contact Kevin Bishop at kbishop ‘at’ stanford.edu.