May 2, 2014 2 min read

CHICAGO – Stanford fought off two match points in the fourth set and beat second-seeded BYU 3-2 on Thursday night in the NCAA volleyball semifinals.

Stanford senior outside hitter Brian Cook said he wasn’t thinking that his college career could end at that moment. He just thought about how his team could score the next point.

“Whatever we can do to score,” said Cook, who led third-seeded Stanford with 19 kills.

Top-seeded Loyola of Chicago faced No. 5 Penn State in the second semifinal. The championship is Saturday.

Stanford (24-8) won the final set 15-12 after rallying to win the fourth 29-27. BYU led 24-23 and 25-24 in the fourth set. Conrad Kaminski’s ace sealed the fourth-set win for Stanford. Kaminski had four service aces and six kills.

“Conrad stepped up,” Cook said. “He was hitting and serving well all night.”

BYU (21-9) was left thinking about its squandered opportunities. There were 19 ties and eight lead changes in the fourth set. The Cougars were the NCAA runner-up last season.

“We had all the chances in the world to finish the set,” said BYU outside hitter Taylor Sander, the American Volleyball Coaches Association player of the year. “They made plays and were able to capitalize. That was the match right there.”

Sander had 28 kills, and Josue Rivera added 10 for the Cougars.

Stanford won the first set 25-18 behind .679 hitting. BYU (21-9) came back to win the next two, 25-21 and 25-22, with 15 kills from Sander.

The Cardinal hit .083 in the second set and .206 in the third.

Stanford came back to hit .257 in the fourth set and .500 in the final set.

“Our serving and passing took over in a tight ballgame,” Stanford coach John Kosty said.

It was BYU’s first loss in four matches against Stanford this season. The Cougars swept the Cardinal 3-0 on Saturday for the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation championship.

BYU coach Chris McGown said Stanford changed its offense from previous matches.

“This had to be one of the best semis played in the tournament in a long, long time,” McGown said. “They came in with a good offensive game plan and executed it.”

Stanford hit .333, while BYU hit .275. The Cardinal also had seven service aces to BYU’s five.

Eric Mochalski had 18 kills for Stanford. Steven Irvin added 17. The Cardinal are a two-time NCAA champion.