Sept. 19, 2003
Eugene, Ore. - Junior outside hitter Ogonna Nnamani posted a match-high 19 kills and 12 digs as the fourth-ranked Stanford women's volleyball team swept the Oregon Ducks, 3-0 tonight in Eugene, Oregon. Game scores were 30-24, 33-31, 30-19.
The Cardinal improve to 8-2 overall, 2-0 in the Pac-10 while the Ducks fall to 3-7, 0-2 in league play.
The Ducks jumped out to a 4-0 lead to open game one and led 5-3 before the Cardinal rattled off four consecutive points to take the 7-5 advantage on a Kristin Richards kill. With the game tied at eight-all, the two squads traded points until back-to-back kills by Sara Dukes and Richards put Stanford up 15-13 heading into the media timeout. The Cardinal went up 17-14 to force the first Oregon timeout after a kill by Ogonna Nnamani. But the Ducks fought back to tie the game at 21-all and took the lead at 22-21 before a Nnamani kill evened up the game once again. With Stanford holding a 26-24 edge, the Cardinal rallied off four straight points to close out the game at 30-24 on a block solo by Sara McGee.
The Cardinal posted an early 6-3 lead in game two but Oregon came back to score four consecutive points, taking the 7-6 advantage. With the Ducks leading 9-7, Stanford went on a five-point run to go up 12-9 on an Oregon hitting error. The Cardinal would take a 15-12 lead into the media timeout after a Duck blocking error. Oregon called their first timeout after an Ogonna Nnamani kill put Stanford up 18-14. But the Ducks fought back to close the gap to 17-18 and took the lead at 21-20 on a kill by Sarah Mason. The Cardinal would tie up the game at 24-all on an Oregon hitting error and again at 25-all after a Sara Dukes kill. But two quick Duck points would force a Stanford timeout, trailing 25-27. Oregon would reach game point at 29-27 but the Cardinal would hold off two game points to tie the match up at 29-all on a Duck hitting error. The two teams traded points until back-to-back Nnamani kills gave Stanford the 33-31 victory.
The Cardinal came out firing in game three, staking a 5-0 lead on an Ogonna Nnamani kill and the tough serving of middle blocker Sara McGee. Oregon rallied to pull within one at 11-12 but Stanford pressed on regaining a 20-13 lead after another Nnamani kill. The Cardinal continued to roll building a 27-15 lead on a Duck hitting error. Stanford reached game and match point on an Oregon setting error leading 29-18 and closed out the game on a kill by Sara Dukes at 30-19.
Freshman Kristin Richards added 14 kills and 10 digs to the Cardinal effort while Jennifer Harvey notched 11 kills with no errors (11-0-15) to hit .733 on the night. Libero Leahi Hall had 11 digs for Stanford while setter Katie Goldhahn led the match with 49 assists.