Aug. 12, 2011

2011 World University Games Official Page

SHENZHEN, China - The second day of competition, officially called "Day 0," is in the books at the 2011 World University Games in Shenzhen, China. Stanford alumni helped lead U.S. men's volleyball and U.S. women's water polo to group play victories Friday.

Men's Volleyball
The U.S. men's volleyball team, featuring current and former Stanford standouts Erik Shoji '10, Kawika Shoji '12 and Brad Lawson '12, captured its Group D opener with a 3-0 (25-17, 25-23, 25-15) sweep of Mexico.

Lawson recorded four kills, two blocks and an ace in the match. Kawika Shoji recorded 26 assists while also scoring a kill and an ace, and Erik Shoji, playing libero, made 30 digs.

Women's Water Polo
The U.S. women, featuring Stanford stars Amber Oland '11, Alyssa Lo '12 and Pallavi Menon '12, with Stanford associate head coach Susan Ortwein on the American coaching staff, opened their competition with a victory, downing Australia 8-6 in Group B play.

Oland got the starting call in the cage for the U.S. and made 11 saves, with four of those stops coming on Australian power plays. She held the Australians to just three goals in the first half as the Americans offense built a 6-3 advantage over the first 16 minutes.

Lo recorded a hat trick, converting three of her four shots to pace the U.S. offense. Menon, meanwhile, took four shots. While none of the shots found the back of the cage, Menon assisted on one U.S. goals and recorded a field block and a steal on defense.

The U.S. will return to action Saturday in China. It's Group B game against France is set for a 6:30 p.m. start in China (2:30 a.m. PT Saturday).