Dec. 2, 1999
STANFORD, Calif. - No. 2 Stanford (27-2) and Santa Clara (21-10) won first round NCAA Tournament matches on Thursday at Maples Pavilion to set up a second-round meeting between the two Bay Area schools Friday (7:00 p.m.). Stanford picks up its 19th straight NCAA Tournament first round victory, while Santa Clara wins a NCAA match for the first time in school history. The two teams played nine days ago at Santa Clara in the regular season finale for both teams with Stanford winning in straight games (15-7, 15-12, 15-5).Following are stories on each of tonight's two matches.
MATCH 1 - SANTA CLARA 3, CINCINNATI 1 (15-13, 15-12, 9-15, 15-5)
Santa Clara picked up its first ever victory in the NCAA Women's Volleyball Tournament with a 15-13, 15-12, 9-15, 15-5 victory over Cincinnati (28-7). The Broncos received game-highs of 25 kills and 26 digs from junior outside hitter Ynez Carrasco, marking the second time in her career she has had totals of at least 20 kills and 20 digs in the same match. With the win, Santa Clara improves to 21-10, the most wins for the Broncos since the 1993 season when they tallied 24 victories.
Junior setter Roz Pelayo, who is second in the nation in assists per game, compiled a match-high 71 assists to help Carrasco extend her streak to 26 matches with 10 or more kills. The Bearcats were led by junior middle blocker Stephanie Meinig with 22 kills. Meinig added nine blocks in the match. Cincinnati concludes its season with a 28-7 record. Senior setter Annie Gant had a team-high 62 assists, while sophomore outside hitter Rachel Beran led the club in digs with 20.
MATCH 2 - STANFORD 3, FLORIDA ATLANTIC 0 (15-3, 15-1, 15-5)
Stanford dominated its first round match with a 15-3, 15-1, 15-5 win over Florida Atlantic (17-13) as the Cardinal won its 16th straight match overall and its 19th consecutive first round NCAA Tournament contest. Freshman outside hitter Lindsey Yamasaki paced the club with 11 kills and added a .389 attack percentage. National Freshman of the Year candidate Logan Tom had a productive evening with nine kills and a .533 attack percentage, while sophomore middle blocker Sara Sandrik posted a perfect attack percentage (1.000) on six attempts. The Cardinal hit .415 as a team, compared to an .000 attack percentage for the Lady Owls. Stanford had a huge second game with an .846 attack percentage (11K, 0E, 13E).
The Cardinal improved its all-time mark in the NCAA Tournament to 52-15 (.776), the top winning percentage of any team in the country.