Sept. 14, 2000
The 11th-ranked Stanford Cardinal women's volleyball team defeated Oregon 3-2 tonight in Eugene, Oregon. Game scores were 15-6, 11-15, 8-15, 15-12, 15-5.
Although the Cardinal came away with the victory, poor passing plagued Stanford throughout the match as Oregon notched 15 service aces on the night.
The Ducks jumped out to an early 5-2 lead in game one, but could not sustain it. Stanford scored seven straight points to take back the lead. Oregon would notch one more point on a kill by Amy Banducci before the Cardinal rattled off six points to close out the game, 15-6, on a Duck hitting error.
Game two started the same as game one with Oregon taking a commanding 8-3 lead before Stanford cut it to 5-8. The Ducks would go on a run to open up the game to 13-6 but Stanford stormed back to close the gap to 11-13. Oregon would win the game on a service ace by setter Sydney Chute.
Service aces and unforced Stanford errors helped the Dukes jump out to a 12-5 lead in game three. The Cardinal closed the gap to 7-12 but could not come any closer. Oregon would win the game on a service ace by Lindsay Murphy to go up two games to one.
Game four see-sawed back and forth between the two teams. Oregon went up 9-7 when Stanford called a time out. The Cardinal came back to take the lead 11-10 before the Ducks called a time out of their own. They would tie the game at 11-all, marking the third tie in the game. The Cardinal answered the challenge and pulled away for the 15-12 win. Junior Sara Sandrik ended the game for Stanford with an authoritative kill.
Game five was all Stanford. After Oregon jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead, the Cardinal would score 11 straight points to go up 12-2. The Ducks would hold off two match points before Stanford outside hitter Sara Sandrik gave Stanford the win with a match-winning kill.
For the Cardinal, middle blocker Tara Conrad led the team with 15 kills, followed by Sara Sandrik's 14 kills. Middle blocker Jennifer Detmer would add 10 kills a six blocks on the night. Lindsay Kagawa and Ashley Ivy led the squad with 14 digs a piece.
The last time Oregon pushed the Cardinal to five games was in 1989, when the Ducks defeated Stanford, 3-2, in Palo Alto.
Up next for the Cardinal are the Oregon State Beavers. Stanford will travel to Corvallis, Oregon for the Friday, September 15th match. Game time is set for 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast on a tape-delayed basis on Sunday, September 17 at 12:30 p.m.