Sept. 29, 2006
Stanford, Calif. - Sixth-ranked Stanford (11-2, 2-1) downed Arizona (9-5, 0-2) tonight in three games, 35-33, 30-20, 30-15. The Cardinal tallied an impressive .429 hitting percentage with 58 kills as sophomore outside hitter Cynthia Barboza led the squad with 19 kills, followed by Kristin Richards and Foluke Akinradewo with 10 kills apiece. Junior setter Bryn Kehoe just missed a season high with 50 assists, while Akinradewo collected a career-high four of Stanford's 12 service aces.
Akinradewo opened game one with a kill, but it was a close contest from start to finish. Akinradewo collected two more kills, and Barboza registered two kills and an ace to help Stanford pull into a 9-5 lead. Following an Arizona timeout, Barboza added two more kills to help the Cardinal gap the Wildcats, 12-8. Arizona bounced back within two points on a kill from Whitney Dosty, 12-10, but then Stanford pulled out a 5-1 run off of kills by Akinradewo, junior Franci Girard and sophomore Erin Waller, 17-11. Arizona didn't back down, answering with their own 6-1 streak off of kills by Brooke Buringrud and Dominique Lamb, as well as two aces by Randy Goodenough, 18-17. An ace by Akinradewo at 20-17 kicked off another 5-2 Cardinal run, including another ace by Kehoe, 24-19. Following a timeout, a kill by Richards put Stanford within a point of the win, 29-27, but the Wildcats continued to fight as Buringrud tied the game at 30 with two kills. Barboza, Girard and Richards each registered kills as the game went back and forth for seven more points, but Stanford claimed game one on an Arizona attacking error, 35-33.
The Wildcats opened game two on a two-point run, but Stanford answered with kills by Girard and Barboza to keep it close, 3-4. Buringrud opened game two with four kills as Arizona maintained a shaky lead. Stanford finally overtook the Wildcats on a 5-0 run, 16-12, thanks to kills by Richards and two aces and a kill from Barboza. Stephanie Butkus ended the run with a block solo for Arizona, but the Cardinal continued on another 6-1 run off of kills by Waller and Richards, 22-14. Barboza registered a powerful cross-court kill at 27-17 as Stanford gradually increased its lead. Senior Nji Nnamani wrapped up game two with a kill from the right side, 30-20. Stanford tallied 21 kills in game two, including eight from Barboza.
The Cardinal jumped into a 4-0 lead in game three, including ace by Akinradewo and a kill by Barboza. Following an Arizona timeout, Akinradewo collected another ace and Barboza and Girard combined for a block as Stanford continued on a 9-1 run. The Wildcats temporarily gained momentum with a kill by Lamb to pull out a 4-1 run, 13-7, The Cardinal continued to pound Arizona, though, with two kills from Barboza and two aces and a kill by Richards to form a 6-0 streak, 19-7. Senior Michelle Mellard registered a kill to put Stanford up, 24-12, then freshman Janet Okogbaa notched her first kill of the match at 25-13. Okogbaa followed with another kill, 29-15, then Barboza pounded a kill cross-court to end the match, 30-15. Stanford hit .615 as a team in game three with 17 blocks.
Sophomore libero Jessica Fishburn led the squad with nine digs, while Akinradewo paced the team with four blocks.
Stanford wraps up the weekend tomorrow against Arizona State at 7:00 pm in Maples Pavilion.
GAME SCORES123TEAM RECORDS Arizona(0)3320159-5, 0-2 Stanford(3)35303011-2, 2-1