Sept. 15, 2006
Stanford, Calif. - No. 7 Stanford (7-1) downed Georgetown (5-6), 30-20, 30-23, 30-25, tonight in the Cardinal's seventh-straight sweep. Sophomore outside hitter Cynthia Barboza led the Cardinal with 18 kills for a .375 hitting percentage. Sophomore outside hitter Erin Waller collected 12 kills, while junior outside hitter Franci Girard hit an impressive .615 with nine kills against the Hoyas. Senior middle blocker Michelle Mellard also tied a career-high seven blocks.
The Hoyas kept up point-for-point in game one, moving ahead, 4-1, on kills by Jessica George and Jessica Hardy. Barboza's kill from the right side kicked off a 3-0 Cardinal run, helping Stanford tie the game at 4. Two kills from Waller and another from Barboza highlighted a 6-2 run that brought the score to 10-7. Waller pulled out two service aces as the Cardinal continued to gap the Hoyas, 14-8. Georgetown's Jessica Buffum registered a kill, but two more kills from Barboza and junior setter Bryn Kehoe kicked off four-straight points for the Cardinal. Another cross-court kill from Waller brought the score to 20-11. Freshman middle blocker Janet Okogbaa collected her first kill of the match as Stanford completed a 5-2 streak, then Mellard brought the game within a point with a tip. Barboza ended game one with a quick kill from the middle, 30-20.
Stanford opened game two with an ace by Waller, taking off on a 4-1 run. Mellard put the Cardinal up, 5-2, with a kill from the right side as Stanford continued to pull away with a 2-0 streak. Georgetown ended a long rally with a block from Kortney Robineson and Annie Connor, 8-4, and later came within three on a kill by Connor. The Hoyas continued to fight, but couldn't withstand the Cardinal attack as Mellard collected a kill on a slide, 14-9. Georgetown drew within two points on a ball handling error, 16-14, but Waller's kill sparked a 6-1 run that moved the Cardinal ahead, 22-15. The Hoyas' Katherine Niesen tallied a kill to bring the score to 22-17 as Georgetown pulled out their own 3-0 run. Barboza and Girard ended the streak with a block, then Kehoe brought the score to 25-19 with a tip. Two more blocks from Mellard and Okogbaa moved the Cardinal ahead, 28-22, then a mishandled ball ended the game, 30-23, in Stanford's favor.
Game three began with a 4-0 Cardinal run, including kills from Mellard and Barboza. Barboza and Okogbaa continued to pound the Hoyas with a kill each as Stanford moved ahead, 7-2, but Georgetown bounced back with kills by Hardy and Buffum at 8-5. Mellard's tip marked the start of a 3-2 Stanford streak, 11-7, including a kill and block solo by Girard. The Hoyas hung tight, 15-13 on a kill by Kiersten McKoy, but senior Nji Nnamani ended the run with a short kill from the right side. Georgetown later moved within a point on a kill by Connor, then tied the game at 20 on another kill from Buffum. The Hoyas took their first lead of the game on an attacking error, but Barboza tied the game at 21 with a kill. Georgetown regained the lead thanks to Buffum, 23-22, and took a two point lead on a Cardinal hitting error. Stanford then came out of a timeout on fire, as Barboza pounded the Hoyas with a kill to kick off a 5-0 run, 27-24. Waller and Nnamani continued the attack with a kill each to bring the score to 28-25. Stanford claimed the match victory on a kill by Girard in the middle, 30-25.
Kehoe tallied 31 assists in the win, with freshman setter Joanna Evans contributing an additional 10 assists. Kehoe also led the squad in digs with 13, followed by sophomore libero Jessica Fishburn with 11 digs. Waller also had two service aces for Stanford. Mellard led the team with seven blocks, and Okogbaa and Girard followed with four blocks each.
The third and final day of the Stanford Invitational will kick off tomorrow at Noon as UC Irvine matches up against No. 8 Santa Clara. Stanford is set to play Saint Mary's at 5:00 pm, then Santa Clara will play a second game of the day against Georgetown at 7:00 pm to conclude the tourney.