Nov. 18, 2005
Stanford, Ca - Junior outside hitter Kristin Richards collected a match-high 22 kills along with 19 digs to lead the fifth-ranked Stanford women's volleyball team to a 24-30, 30-26, 27-30, 30-24, 15-10 victory over 13th-ranked California in a Pacific-10 match Friday night before a crowd of 3,786 fans at Maples Pavilion.
Richards had a career-high 71 attempts, easily beating her previous best of 62 against Penn State last year.
Freshman middle blocker Foluke Akinradewo added 14 kills in 30 attempts (.367) along with five digs and three blocks.
In game one, Stanford led from start to finish. Stanford jumped to a 9-4 lead, and gradually expanded the margin to eleven points at 23-12. The Golden Bears got as close as three points at 26-23, but the Cardinal ended game one (30-24) on a kill by Nji Nnamani.
A 9-2 Stanford start did not deter the Golden Bears in game two. California gradually mounted a comeback and eventually tied the game at 11-11. Two attack errors by Stanford gave Cal a 13-11 lead and Stanford could never recover. The Golden Bears eventually increased its lead to as many as eight points at 26-18. Morgan Beck's kill gave California the 30-26 decision.
Stanford leaped to a 6-2 lead in game three, but the Golden Bears fought back to take the lead at 14-11. Stanford tied the match at 15-15, and went ahead for good with a 4-0 run to make it 19-15. The Cardinal extended the lead to 21-16, but the Golden Bears fought back to tie the game at 25-25. Kills by Kristin Richards and Lizzie Suiter and an attack error by Cal gave Stanford to a 28-25 lead. Cal pulled to within one point, 28-27, but a kill by Richards and a service ace by Courtney Schultz game Stanford the game (30-27).
California tied the match at 2-2 with a game four victory (30-24). The Golden Bears jumped to a 10-1 lead, and the Cardinal could get no closer than two points at 25-23. At 26-24, California scored the game's final four points including a kill by Beck to send the match into game five.
Game five was all Stanford. The Cardinal jumped to a 5-0 lead, and extended the margin to seven points at 12-5. A 5-0 run by the Golden Bears cut Stanford's lead to 12-10, but that is where the Cal streak ended. A service error by Cal, and two attack errors by the Golden Bears gave Stanford the 15-10 game victory and the match.
Cardinal Catalogue
Stanford honored two graduating seniors, Katie Goldhahn and Courtney Schultz, before the match ... With 14 digs on Friday night against the Golden Bears, Schultz now has 1,052 career digs to move into tenth place in the Stanford record book.
Stanford (23-5 overall, 12-4 Pac-10) 30 26 30 24 15
California (18-8 overall, 10-6 Pac-10) 24 30 27 30 10