STANFORD, Calif. - The third-ranked UC Irvine men's volleyball team earned its second sweep in three days as it took down Stanford, 25-20, 26-24, 25-21, Saturday evening at Burnham Pavilion.

The Anteaters improved to 13-5 overall, while the Cardinal dropped to 4-16.

Junior Karl Apfelbach led another solid team effort with a match-high tying 10 kills. Sophomore Scott Stadick also had nine kills on .538 hitting, while senior Aaron Koubi chipped in eight kills and a team-best eight digs.

Freshmen Austin Wilmot and Joel Schneidmiller each had seven kills and registered a plus-.700 clip. Schneidmiller did not commit an error on nine attempts (.778), and added three aces. Wilmot had one miscue on eight swings (.750).

Junior Dante Chakravorti directed the 'Eater offense to an overall attack percentage of .531 with 37 assists. 

A Cardinal service error was followed by a kill and block assist by Schneidmiller to open a 13-9 lead in the first set. Back-to-back kills by Wilmot and Apfelbach extended the margin to 18-13. Three straight points by Stanford narrowed the lead to 21-18, but UCI would score the next two and go on to win the set 25-20 on a Stanford service error.
 
The Anteaters used an 8-4 run, capped by a Wilmot/Chakravorti block, to pull ahead, 13-9, in set two. UC Irvine stayed out front until the home team knotted the score at 23-all. The 'Eaters answered with a Wilmot kill for set point. The Cardinal were able to stay alive, but a kill from Stadick and a Stanford hitting error ended it in favor of UCI, 26-24.

UC Irvine raced out to an 11-6 advantage following kills from Apfelbach and Stadick in the third frame. The Anteaters pushed their lead to 19-12 on a Schneidmiller ace and cruised the rest of the way to the 25-21 victory.

Stanford hit .384 as a team and was led by Matt Klassen, who finished with 10 kills (.500). 

UC Irvine returns to action on Tuesday, March 13, when it hosts George Mason in a 7 p.m. non-conference match at the Bren Events Center.