Oct. 2, 2004
Stanford, Calif. - Cardinal head coach John Dunning won his 100th match on The Farm as the 11th-ranked Stanford women's volleyball team defeated 12th-ranked California, 3-2 tonight in Burnham Pavilion. Game scores were 30-28, 28-30, 30-27, 28-30, 15-13. Stanford improves to 10-3 on the year, 3-0 in Pac-10 play while the Golden Bears fall to 7-5, 2-1 in league action.
The two teams remained close early in game one with Stanford holding a slim 15-12 advantage at the media timeout. The Cardinal built a 24-18 lead on a kill by Lizzie Suiter, capping a three-point run. Cal cut the lead to 23-26 after a hitting error by Stanford and trailed by only two at 26-28 as the Cardinal called a timeout after another hitting error. The Golden Bears tied the game at 28-all after two service aces but an Ogonna Nnamani kill gave Stanford game point at 29-28. Franci Girard connected on a quick set from Bryn Kehoe to put the game away, 30-28.
Once again the game remained close early in game two, until the Golden Bears staked a 15-11 lead heading into the media timeout. Cal called their first timeout as Stanford closed the gap to 17-18 on a block assist by Girard and Kehoe. The Cardinal tied up the game at 20-all as Kehoe took care of an overpass. The two teams tied again at 24-all. Stanford took the lead at 25-24 to force a Golden Bear timeout. The two teams tied again at 26-all as Cal put down an overpass and again at 28-all. California reached game point on a Stanford hitting error at 29-28 and won 30-28 on a Cardinal miscue.
Stanford took the early 6-3 lead to open game three but Cal quickly closed the gap to 5-6. With the Golden Bears trailing 9-10, the Cardinal went on a five-point run to open a 15-9 lead heading into the media timeout. Stanford went up 19-10 as the Golden Bears took their first timeout. Cal scored the next four points to close the gap to 14-19 as the Cardinal took a timeout. Stanford led 25-19 after a kill by Franci Girard but California closed the gap to 22-25 on three consecutive points. A service ace by Kehoe gave the Cardinal a 27-22 lead as Cal took their final timeout. The Golden Bears clawed back to within two at 25-27 but Stanford would reach game point leading 29-26 after a Cal attack went into the net. Jennifer Hucke closed out the game with a kill at 30-27 to give Stanford the 2-1 lead heading into game four.
The Golden Bears led early in game four, taking a slim 7-5 advantage on a Cardinal service error. They extended the lead to 12-7 after a Stanford ball-handling error. The Cardinal would fight back to close the gap on five consecutive points and tie the game at 12-all. The two squads remained close, trading points back and forth until Stanford took a slim 17-15 lead to cause a Cal timeout. The two teams tied at 20-all after a back row kill by Gabrielle Abernathy and again at 23-all. The Cardinal would score three quick points on a kill and two straight blocks to take a 26-23 advantage. But Cal would rally to tie the game again at 26-all. The Golden Bears reached game point at 29-27 and won game four 30-28 to force a game five.
Cal went up 5-2 early in game five causing the Cardinal to take a quick timeout. Stanford rallied to tie up the game at 7-all after three straight Golden Bear hitting errors. The two teams traded points back and forth. With Cal leading 12-11, the Cardinal took their final timeout of the game. Stanford took the 13-12 advantage after a Golden Bear attack went wide and Cal took a timeout. The Cardinal reached match point at 14-13 and won 15-13 on a block solo by Lizzie Suiter.
Ogonna Nnamani led the match with 28 kills while Jennifer Hucke and Kristin Richards added 15 kills each. Franci Girard notched a career-high 13 kills while adding six blocks. Bryn Kehoe had 60 assists and seven block to go along with 15 digs. Lizzie Suiter added seven blocks and five kills on the night.
California was led by Angie Pressey's 18 kills and Jillian Davis' school record 33 digs.