Aug. 31, 2001
Charlottesville, VA - The No. 10 Stanford women's volleyball team opened the 2001 season with a 3-0 win over No. 15 Minnesota. Game scores were 30-27, 30-27, 30-17.
Stanford jumped out to an 8-5 lead on a kill by junior Ashley Ivy. The Golden Gophers closed the gap to 11-12 on a kills by freshman Erin Martin. The Cardinal then rolled off four consecutive points to go up 16-11. After, Stanford took a commanding 25-19 lead, Minnesota got five straight points to get within two at 24-26. But the Cardinal would reach game point on a service ace by Ivy at 29-26. A kill by freshman Ogonna Nnamani sealed the win for Stanford at 30-27. Stanford hit .320 for the game with four blocks.
Game two was a back and forth battle between the two teams. Neither team could gain more that a three point lead the entire match. With the Golden Gophers leading 24-23, consecutive kills by sophomore Jennifer Harvey and junior Logan Tom put Stanford up 25-24. A Minnesota error gave the Cardinal the 26-24 edge. Stanford reached game point on a kill by Tom at 29-26. Once again Nnamani drove home a kill for the 30-27 win.
In game three, Stanford opened up an early 12-5 lead and never looked back. The biggest Cardinal lead ws at 25-14. A Logan Tom kill would give Stanford match point at 29-17. A block by Robyn Lewis and Tara Conrad gave the Cardinal the 30-17 victory.
Stanford was led by Logan Tom with 16 kills followed by Ashley Ivy's 13 kills. Ogonna Nnamani had 12 kills (.550 hitting percentage) in her first collegiate match. Ivy and Tara Conrad had five blocks each to lead the team. Ivy set a new career high with three service aces.
For the Golden Gophers, Erin Martin had a team-leading 11 kills. Setter Lindsay Berg led the team with six digs.
Stanford (1-0) takes on Virginia tonight in continued action at the Jefferson Cup Tournament.