Aug. 26, 2006
Stanford, Calif. - No. 4 Stanford opened the 2006 season with a 3-0 victory over UC Santa Barbara tonight at Maples Pavilion, 30-20, 30-26, 30-25. Returning All-Americans Kristin Richards and Foluke Akinradewo combined for 27 kills, while sophomore outside hitter Cynthia Barboza collected another 10 kills.
UCSB took an early 4-0 lead in the first game thanks to kills by Rebecca Saraceno and Brett Quirarte, as well as a service ace by Jamie Garbisch. Stanford bounced back with a five-point run with two kills by sophomore Barboza Stanford recorded three kills to move ahead 9-5 and force the Gauchos into a timeout. After moving ahead 13-10, the Cardinal strung together a four-point run thanks to kills by Richards and Bryn Kehoe, as well as Kehoe's first service ace of the season. The Gauchos battled back, but the Cardinal made a series of three-point runs, finally claiming the game on a service error by UCSB, 30-20.
Stanford's blocking was very effective in the second game, with Akinradewo tallying five blocks in the second game alone. UCSB jumped ahead, 11-7, after stringing together a five-point run, including three kills by Garbisch. Following a Stanford time out, Stanford rallied back to a 14-12 lead with a kill by Akinradewo. The Gauchos tied the game at 14 with a service ace, but a UCSB attack error put the Cardinal back in the lead. The Gauchos tied it up again at 18 off of a Cardinal hitting error, but Richards regained the lead with a kill from the left side, followed by another kill from the back row. Richards recorded her first service ace of the season to put the Cardinal ahead 22-18, forcing UCSB into another timeout. The Gauchos tied the game at 22 with a kill from Quirarte. Erin Waller then entered the game and answered with a block to put the Cardinal back in the lead. From there, the Cardinal compounded its lead off of kills by Richards and Barboza to move ahead, 29-24. Akinradewo handed the Gauchos a kill off an overpass to secure the win and move into game three.
After securing games one and two, the Cardinal jumped ahead 4-1 in the third frame with kills from Richards and Franci Girard. The Gauchos' scrappy floor defense continued to give the Cardinal trouble as they pulled within one point, 7-6. Barboza later tallied a service ace to move ahead, 9-8. UCSB put together a five-point run, including two kills, to move ahead, 14-10. Akinradewo spurred a comeback with a kill to bring the score to 19-16. UCSB called for a timeout, but Barboza continued to bring the heat with a kill down the middle to bring the Cardinal within two points. Barboza collected a kill down the right line and Nnamani grabbed her first ace of the season to tie the game at 21. Barboza later ended another long rally with a kill down the right line to put Stanford ahead, 23-22. With the score tied at 22, the Cardinal went on a 8-3 run, highlighted by Kristin Richards' tip over the net to end the match, 3-0.
Three players tallied double digit kills, including Richards (14), Akinradewo (13) and Barboza (10). Sophomore Jessica Fishburn led the squad with 14 digs, while Richards added 11 digs. Kehoe ended the night with 30 assists, including 11 in the final game. Akinradewo led the squad with six blocks, followed by Kehoe with four.
The Cardinal will hit the road next week for the BYU Tournament on September 1-2. Stanford will first face BYU Friday, September 1 at 7:00 pm.