Down But Not Out
PULLMAN, Wash. – Four Cardinal registered double-digit kills as No. 15 Stanford defeated No. 22 Washington State, 26-28, 25-15, 23-25, 28-26, 15-8, Friday, in Bohler Gym.
Stanford (12-5, 7-2 Pac-12) earned its first road win over a ranked opponent this season and is now 2-3 in five set matches. Washington State dropped to 12-7 overall and 6-3 in the Pac-12.
As a team, Stanford hit .313 while holding Washington State to a .191 clip. The Cardinal out blocked the Cougars, 16.0 to 11.0 and held a 68-56 advantage in digs.
Freshman setter Kami Miner turned in her fifth double-double of the season with 55 assists and 12 digs. She also had a career-high six kills, hitting 1.000 and a pair of aces.
Stanford fell behind in the first, 10-4, but managed to come back to tie it at 17-17. A kill by Kipp gave the Cardinal set point at 26-25, but the Cougars reeled off three straight points to win the first.
Redshirt sophomore Caitie Baird led all players with 21 kills – her sixth 20-plus kill performance of the season. Junior opposite Kendall Kipp registered 16 kills, seven digs and five blocks, while freshman outside hitter Sami Francis also had 16 kills, a career-best six digs and matched her career-high with five blocks.
The Cardinal answered in the second, jumping out to a 16-6 lead and did not look back. Stanford hit .607 in the second set with 19 kills on 28 swings with just two hitting errors.
Senior middle Holly Campbell hit .588 with 10 kills on 17 errorless swings. The middle blocker also matched her career-high with four digs, had three blocks and tallied her first ace of the season. Redshirt sophomore McKenna Vicini added five kills on .385 hitting and a team-best nine blocks.
Stanford led 21-16 in the third, but gave up five straight points as Washington State went on to win the set and take a 2-1 lead in the match.
Sophomore libero Elena Oglivie collected a match-high 20 digs, four assists and an ace. Sophomore defensive specialist Alex Lougeay chipped in with seven digs, while freshman Taylor Beaven had four. Junior Selina Xu came off the bench to serve and had two digs, an assist and an ace.
A kill by Vicini gave Stanford set point in the fourth. Washington State answered with three straight kills to tie it at 24-24. Kills by Campbell and Miner eventually closed it out for the Cardinal, forcing a fifth set.
It was all Stanford in the final frame, jumping out to a 7-2 lead. The Cardinal registered four blocks in the fifth and held the Cougars to -.087 hitting.
Pia Timmer led Washington State with 17 kills and seven digs. Magda Jehlarova added 12 kills and nine digs, while Kalyah Williams had 10 kills for the Cougars.
Stanford closes out the weekend on Sunday at No. 10 Washington. First serve is scheduled for Noon on Pac-12 Network.