Cougs drop road test at ninth-ranked Stanford in four
STANFORD, Calif. - Magda Jehlarova finished with 12 kills to go along with another eight blocks and Laura Jansen finished with a team-high 15 kills (15-3-40, .300) as Washington State volleyball (10-5, 2-2 Pac-12) saw a late fourth-set lead slip in a 3-1 (25-19, 16-25, 25-15, 25-23) loss at ninth-ranked Stanford (8-4, 3-1, Pac-12) on Sunday at the Maples Pavilion.
Setter Argentina Ung contributed all over the court yet again with three kills and 31 assists on offense to go along with 18 digs and five block assists on the opposite end. Pia Timmer fell just two kills shy of a double double with eight to go along with 13 digs and Karly Basham finished with seven assists and nine digs in the match.
Washington State was deadlocked at 19-19 in set one at Stanford before the Cardinal reeled off seven straight to win the opening set, 25-19. After setting a single-match record for total blocks (11) in Friday's win at Cal, Magda Jehlarova continued her good run of form with another eight blocks to go along with a dozen kills on Sunday (12-4-27, .296).
Jehlarova helped spark the Cougs offense in the second set as Washington State jumped out to an 8-1 lead. WSU tallied five blocks and 17 digs as a team in the second set, limiting the Cardinal to just six kills on 31 swings (6-6-31, .000). Ung had nine digs in the second set while libero Karly Basham traded roles to add four assists as WSU evened the match with a 25-16 second-set win.
After WSU won the opening point, Stanford jumped back in front early to start the third and never looked back. The Cardinal tallied 17 digs and 16 kills as a team on 31 attacks (16-3-31, .419) while Washington State managed only eight kills as Stanford closed the third on a 4-1 to run and edged back in front with the 25-15 third set win.
With the help of a pair of Stanford errors and back-to-back aces from Pia Timmer, Washington State created a cushion with a 6-0 run midway through the fourth. Washington State added to its lead and had eyes on a fifth set with a 22-19 lead late, but the Cardinal closed out the match with a 6-1 run to win 25-23.
Washington State will return from its extended road stretch to host a pair of Pac-12 matches next weekend starting with Oregon on Friday night at 7 p.m., followed by Oregon State next Sunday at 12 p.m. Both matches will be broadcast live on Pac-12 Network Oregon and Pac-12 Network Washington, respectively.
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