Coming off a big victory over No. 1 BYU last Saturday, the No. 9 Stanford men’s volleyball team faced off against Hawaii yesterday. The Cardinal outlasted the Warriors, pulling out a win in five games (26-30, 30-26, 30-25, 28-30, 16-14).

The Cardinal was led by sophomore Evan Romero, who posted an impressive 29 kills on the night. Senior Matt Ceran and freshman Spencer McLachlin were not far behind, with 21 and 19 kills, respectively. Ceran had 21 kills on 38 attempts with only 3 errors, a remarkable .474 attack percentage. Overall the team held a .333 attack percentage, one of its highest of the season.

Sophomore Kawika Shoji recorded a team-high 70 assists. On defense, three players posted double-digit digs: freshman Jordan Inafuku led the team with 18, Shoji came in second with 15, and Ceran had 13. The team recorded a total of 67 digs and 7 team blocks.

The Warriors were led by junior James Clar, who had a career-high 29 kills and a .430 attack percentage. Freshman Joshua Walker seconded Clar with 15 kills, and sophomore Steven Grgas chipped in 9. Junior Sean Carney had 52 assists. Sophomore Ric Cervantes had a team and career-high 23 digs on the match.

In game one, the Warriors took a slight lead early on, and were able to hold on. The Warriors took a 2-point lead at 8-6 on a kill by Clar, then extended that lead at 10-7 on a service ace by Frank Keali’i. The Cardinal caught up at 12 apiece on a kill by Romero and a Warriors attack error, and the two teams traded off leads for the next 8 points. At 16-16, kills from Grgas and Clar and another service ace gave the Warriors a 2-point lead and forced a Cardinal timeout. The Warriors maintained their lead for the remaining of the game, and won it 30-26.

Game two saw the Warriors take the lead again. A kill by Clar, a Cardinal attack error and a service ace brought the score to 17-13, with the Warriors ahead by 4. The Cardinal started to turn around, however, and after a number of fierce rallies tied the game up at 20-20. A pair of kills by McLachlin brought the score to 21-20, giving the Cardinal its first lead of the game. The Warriors stayed close until the end, when a pair of kills by Romero and one by Shoji capped off the game at 30-26.

The Cardinal started out ahead in game three, as a kill from Romero gave the team a 10-6 lead. A trio of kills by junior Brandon Williams, Ceran and sophomore Garrett Werner brought the score to 19-14, extending the lead to 5. Despite a timeout, Hawaii was never able to rebound, as the Cardinal maintained the lead for the rest of the game. Stanford secured its 30-25 victory, bringing the match score to 2-1.

Stanford took a quick lead in the fourth game, as a pair of kills by Ceran and Werner brought the score to 8-5. However, the Warriors rallied back to tie up the score at 8-all. The two traded leads until 13-13, when the Cardinal took charge. Kills by Ceran, Shoji and Romero brought the score to 18-15.

Later in the game, the Warriors stormed back to tie the score at 28 apiece after kills by Clar and Joshua Walker. A service ace from Matt Rawson and a Cardinal attack error ended the game at 30-28, leaving the teams tied at 2-2.

Game five did not start out well for the Cardinal, as it fell behind 6-3. A trio of kills, however, from Romero, Ceran, and McLachlin tied up the game at 8-8. Another pair of kills from McLachlin and Romero gave the Cardinal the lead at 13-10, forcing a Hawaii timeout. Despite the timeout, the Warriors were unable to regroup and eventually fell 16-14.

Hawaii will undoubtedly be looking to come back against Stanford tonight, when the two teams meet again. The game will take place at 7 p.m. at Burnham Pavilion.