Sept. 1, 2000
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - The third-ranked Stanford University women's volleyball team picked up where it left off on Friday afternoon by posting a 15-4, 15-5, 15-8 win over Portland State University (0-2) in the second round of the University of New Mexico's Comcast Lobo Invitational. Earlier in the day, Stanford opened the 2000 season by knocking off Drake University 15-5, 15-3, 15-8.
The Cardinal plays its third and final match of the tournament on Sunday at 2:00 p.m. (Pacific Time) against host New Mexico. Stanford is playing every school in the five-team field except Pac-10 rival Washington.
Junior Sara Sandrik (Pelham, AL/Pelham HS), who is making the switch to outside hitter this season, completed an outstanding day by hitting .636 with a match-high 17 kills in the convincing victory. Sandrik's performance helped Stanford hit .384 as a team, compared to the Vikings' .018. In the day's first match, Sandrik had a match-high 10 digs and seven kills.
"I just want to continue trying to be aggressive and smart out there," Sandrik said. "We all want to be smart, and also not be afraid to take the big swings when we get the chance."
Stanford set the tone early by scoring the first seven points of the match en route to the 15-4 win in game one. The Cardinal, which also received nine kills from junior Tara Conrad (Torrance, CA/West HS) and seven from sophomore Michelle Chambers (San Juan Capistrano, CA/Santa Margarita HS), finished the match by scoring 10 of the final 11 points in game three to rebound from a 7-5 deficit.