Buffs Fall To No.18 Stanford

STANFORD – Colorado women's volleyball suffered a 3-0 sweep (25-19, 25-16, 25-17) here Sunday afternoon to No.18-ranked Stanford to close out a four-match road streak.
 
The Buffaloes (12-5, 3-5 Pac-12) couldn't stop the Cardinal (11-5, 6-2 Pac-12) who finished hitting .345 with nine service aces and all five of its hitters hitting greater than .333.
 
Jahara Campbell had a strong offensive performance for CU with eight errorless kills for a .381 hitting percentage. Jill Schneggenburger added six kills on a .294 hitting percentage while Maya Tabron hit five kills. Jenna Ewert finished with 20 assists, six digs and four blocks from the setter position.
 
The Buffs blocking was a high point with nine in the match as Meegan Hart led all players with five and was joined by Ewert and Alexia Kuehl with four each. Campbell, Schneggenburger and Tabron each added a pair. Brynna DeLuzio tied for the match-best in digs with 14 while Schneggenburger added seven.
 
The Cardinal were led by Caitie Baird with 14 kills while hitting .414. She was joined by Kendall Kipp with 13 hitting .346, Sami Francis with 12 hitting .333 and Holly Campbell with nine hitting .412.
 
Colorado hit .149 in the match compared to Stanford's .345, but it was service aces in the third that put the set out of reach. Stanford put down six aces in the third set alone while CU finished with two aces in the match.
 
The Buffaloes return home to close out the first half of Pac-12 play with matches against Arizona Friday at 6 p.m. and against Arizona State Sunday at noon.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
SET ONE: Stanford jumped out to a quick 6-2 lead. Colorado challenged a call at 8-3, which stayed Stanford's way. The Cardinal were hitting .583 at the 10-5 mark compared to CU's .222. The Buffs started to gather but found themselves trailing 15-10 at the media timeout. The lead stayed true as the Buffs trailed 22-17 lead in the first set. CU called its first timeout at 23-18 as Kipp, Francis and Baird all had five kills thus far. Set point came out of the break, then Stanford finished it two plays later hitting greater than .350 in the set.
 
SET TWO: Stanford started the set with five straight points before Schneggenburger was able to stop it with her third kill of the match. The Buffs put down consecutive blocks from Hart to pull within one at 8-7. CU tied it up at nine with a Savannah Perry ace before Stanford went on a run of three. The media timeout came at 15-11 as Kipp and Baird went to nine kills compared to Campbell and Schneggenburger with four each hitting .400 and .300, respectfully. Colorado called timeout down 18-12 hitting just .040 in the set and .102 in the match. The Cardinal hit the 20-point mark up by seven and rallied to set point at 24-15. Set ended two plays later with Colorado dropping to .090 hitting in the match. Campbell put down five kills hitting .385 through two sets to lead Colorado.
 
SET THREE: Colorado tied things up at three early before Stanford went on a three-point run. Stanford went on another run of five to 11-5 to force a CU timeout. The Cardinal had all of its hitters except the setter hitting greater than .300 with four at .370 or better. A pair of aces came from Alex Lougeay, Katie Lougeay's sister, to push the lead to 17-9. A play later the Buffs called timeout to halt a four-point run. The Buffs clawed back but Stanford led 22-14 despite Campbell with eight kills hitting .381. Match point came at 24-16, finishing it off two plays later on Kipp's 13th kill. Colorado hit better in the set at .296 but couldn't stop the Cardinal with six aces in the set.
 
QUOTES
Head Coach Jesse Mahoney
When playing a team as big and physical as Stanford we needed to serve well to get them out of system and pass well in serve receive so that we can be deceptive offensively. We served well at times but couldn't capitalize - we didn't defend well when they were in one-option. Unfortunately we didn't pass well enough to get our middles and Jill enough good looks to be effective. We did have some bright spots and I was happy with Maya and Jahara taking some big swings. Our upcoming matches against the Arizonas are really important as we finish out the first half of conference play.