STANFORD, Calif. – After needing all five sets to defeat No. 4 Washington, the No. 11 Stanford women's volleyball team quickly took care of business against Washington State on Friday, defeating the Cougars 25-20, 25-20, 25-19 at Maples Pavilion.
The Cardinal (13-5, 7-3 Pac-12), which got significant contributions from several players, has now won 15 consecutive sets against WSU (14-7, 3-6 Pac-12) dating back to 2012. The last time WSU, which was without the services of junior outside hitter Kyra Holt, beat Stanford was November 16, 2002 in Pullman--25 meetings ago.
"Washington State's a pretty big, physical team, and they have a big block, and I think we dealt with that really well," Stanford head coach John Dunning said. "We had some people come into the game--Tami [Alade] came in, (her) first role that big for a while, Sidney [Brown] came in, and I think they both did a really good job."
Stanford trailed only twice in the first set, using an 8-1 spurt to pull away after the Cougars led 13-12. The run began with two kills from redshirt sophomore Merete Lutz. Senior Brittany Howard added a pair of kills as well, and redshirt sophomore Ivana Vanjak was active at the net, recording three blocks as Stanford pushed its advantage to 20-14. A service ace from senior Madi Bugg gave the Cardinal a 22-15 lead, but the Cougars went on a 4-1 run of their own to come within four points at 23-19. WSU trimmed the lead to three out of Stanford timeout, but the Cardinal finished the set off with consecutive kills from senior Jordan Burgess and Lutz. Freshman Hayley Hodson and Lutz keyed the Cardinal with four kills apiece, with the team hitting .312 to the Cougars' .154. Washington State, usually a strong serving team, recorded five service errors, including four in the early stages.
The second set belonged to Burgess, who notched six kills to spur Stanford to another 25-20 victory. Burgess, after being held to just a single kill in set one, had already poured in four midway through the second with the Cardinal leading 13-10. Hailey Bethune's kill trimmed the advantage to 15-14, but Stanford responded with a 3-0 run to force WSU into timeout. Burgess didn't allow Washington State to get any closer out the break. The Fort Meyers, Florida native smashed consecutive kills to give her team its largest advantage of the set at 22-17. A sneak attack from Bugg closed the set out, and the Cardinal took what proved to be an insurmountable 2-0 lead. Stanford was very efficient in the second, recording 18 kills, including four each from Lutz and Howard, on just 31 total attempts and four errors for a hitting percentage of .452. McKenna Wooford tallied eight kills for Washington State, but it wasn't enough to even the match.
The Cougars refused to go down quietly in the third set, taking their first lead since the opener at 4-3, and remained close until Howard heated up. With the score tied at 11, the Los Altos, California product unleashed a withering attack, recording four kills in a stretch that saw Stanford go up 16-13. And though Washington State hung around, the Cardinal was simply too much on its home floor, where the team is now 204-19 under Dunning. Reserve opposite Sidney Brown also got in on the action, firing two kills down the stretch as the Cardinal completed the sweep with a 25-19 set win. Howard closed out the match with five kills in the final set to give her a team-leading 12. Stanford also dominated play at the net, benefitting from two blocks each from freshman Tami Alade and Bugg, and three courtesy of Lutz.
"Our left sides--both Brittany and Jordan--I thought tonight took some really good approaches," Dunning said. "The last two days we really worked on Madi setting the set they hit the most. I thought Madi set it really well, and [Howard and Burgess] did a really good job of being aggressive and attacking."
The Cardinal spread its 100 total attacks fairly evenly. Four players had at least 19 attempts, keeping the Cougars' defense guessing. Lutz and Burgess finished with 10 and nine kills, respectively. Bugg tallied 36 assists and freshman libero Halland McKenna led the way with 12 of the team's 42 digs. WSU's Wooford paced all players with 18 kills, but hit just .229 as her team fell for the sixth time in its last nine games.
Stanford will enjoy a weekend off before returning to Maples on Wednesday to play Arizona State and closing out its homestand against Arizona next Friday. Both games will be broadcast live on the Pac-12 Networks.
