Feb. 13, 1998

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - The sixth-ranked and defending national champion Stanford men's volleyball team defeated Mountain Pacific Sports Federation rival UC Santa Barbara 3-0 (15-6, 15-6, 15-11) to extend its win streak to 23 matches.

Stanford has not lost since March 7, 1997 when it fell 3-1 to UCLA. The Cardinal avenged that loss with a 3-2 victory over the Bruins in the 1997 NCAA Championships match.

The win over UCSB also kept the Cardinal undefeated on the season, improving to 7-0 overall and 6-0 in the MPSF. With the loss, the Gauchos fell to 2-4 (1-4 MPSF).

Sophomore outside hitter Andy Witt (Santa Ynez, CA/Santa Ynez HS) paced the Stanford attack with 16 kills while senior middle blocker Keenan Whitehurst (Fresno, CA/San Joaquin Memorial HS), who entered the match ranked third in the nation in hitting percentage, posted a match-high .562 (11-2-16).

Whitehurst also recorded a match-high eight blocks. The Cardinal outblocked the Gauchos 14-7 on the night.

Result:
                       1    2    3
#6 Stanford           15   15   15
#10 UC Santa Barbara   6    6   11