Sept. 21, 2006
Pullman, Wash. - No. 6 Stanford (10-1) opened Pac-10 Conference play with a 3-0 sweep of Washington State (12-3) tonight, 30-17, 30-16, 30-23. Senior outside hitter Kristin Richards led the team with 15 kills, hitting .400. Sophomore outside hitter Cynthia Barboza also contributed 12 of the Cardinal's 52 kills against the Cougars.
Game one opened in a tight contest as the Cougars' Kelly Rosin and Stanford's Barboza collected two kills apiece, 3-3. Senior Nji Nnamani's block then gave Stanford its first lead, 4-3. Another block by Nnamani and Richards kicked off a 4-1 run for the Cardinal, 8-5, including a kill by Richards. Washington State held close with kills by Tara West and Corina Beyer to pull within a point, 9-8. Akinradewo collected a kill from the right side, but the Cougars' Brittany Johnson and Rosin also registered kills to spark a 2-0 WSU run to tie the game at 10. Barboza turned the momentum around with three kills in a row as Stanford pulled into a 15-11 lead. Stanford then took it away on a 9-0 streak, with kills by junior setter Bryn Kehoe and Richards, and two blocks from Nnamani and Akinradewo to extend the Cardinal lead to 24-12. The Cougars fought back with a 3-0 run off of Cardinal errors, but Kehoe's tip put Stanford near the win, 27-17. A block from Barboza and Akinradewo sealed game one for the Stanford, 30-17. Stanford hit .375 as a team in game one with six blocks.
Nnamani started game two with a cross-court kill as the Cardinal took off to a 2-0 lead. A service ace and kill by Barboza highlighted a 4-1 streak that put Stanford up, 7-3. Johnson tallied a kill from the left side as Washington State rallied within three points, but kills from Richards and sophomore libero Jessica Fishburn pushed Stanford ahead, 12-6. Two more kills from Kehoe and a laser from Barboza sparked a 4-1 streak, 16-9. Rosin pounded a kill down the middle for the Cougars, but it didn't stop Stanford from increasing its lead to 22-12 off of kills by Nnamani and Richards. Following a timeout, senior middle blocker Michelle Mellard collected two service aces as the Cardinal racked up five points in a row, 27-12. Kills from freshman Janet Okogbaa and Richards brought the game within a point, 29-14, then Stanford claimed game two on another kill by Kehoe, 30-16. The Cardinal improved its hitting to .483 through two games, holding the Cougars to just .050 as a team.
The Cardinal pulled ahead to a 4-2 lead in game three, including kills by Fishburn, Barboza and junior Franci Girard. Washington State tied the game at 4 thanks to a service ace by Johnson and continued to hang until Akinradewo pounded a kill down the middle to kick off a 4-1 streak, 10-6. Jackie Albright registered a kill on the left side for the Cougars, but Girard's kill and Kehoe's ace increased Stanford's lead to 12-7. A service ace by Barboza put Stanford up, 16-10, then another block by Nnamani and Akinradewo, as well as a kill from Nnamani on the right side, highlighted a 4-1 Cardinal run, 20-11. The Cougars rallied back within five points, 23-18, on kills by Johnson and Albright. Mellard answered with a kill on the slide as Stanford inched away on a 4-1 streak, 27-20. Two kills by Richards closed out the game and completed a ninth-straight sweep for the Cardinal, 30-23.
Kehoe tallied 38 assists as the Cardinal went on to hit .400 as a team through three games. Barboza and Fishburn each collected eight digs, while Akinradewo led the squad with eight blocks, including two block solos. Nnamani also contributed five blocks.
Stanford now travels to Seattle to take on defending national champion Washington (11-1) tomorrow at 7:00 pm.
GAME SCORES123TEAM RECORDS Stanford(3)30303010-1, 1-0 Washington State(0)17162312-3, 0-1Stanford Volleyball Announces Pac-10 Plan
Stanford Women's Volleyball would like to announce the all-new Pac-10 Plan. For only $75, you can catch all the Cardinal home matches against the nation's top conference in Maples Pavilion. The plan includes nine matches for $75 in reserved seating or $50 in general admission seating. Get your Pac-10 Plan today by clicking here.