Oct. 20, 2006
Stanford, Calif. - Third-ranked Stanford (17-2, 8-1) captured a seventh-straight Pac-10 victory tonight with a three-game sweep of Oregon (30-20, 30-18, 30-18). Sophomore middle blocker Foluke Akinradewo led the Cardinal with 10 kills, along with nine blocks as Stanford tallied a season-high 15 team blocks. Sophomore outside hitter Cynthia Barboza also added nine kills for the Cardinal, followed by senior Kristin Richards with six kills.
Stanford jumped to a 4-1 lead in game one with a kill by Akinradewo on the slide. Barboza pounded another kill from the left side as the Cardinal put together a 4-1 streak, 6-2. Oregon's Erin Little collected a kill, but a laser from Barboza in the middle and a block by sophomore Erin Waller helped Stanford continue to pull away, 11-4. Senior Nji Nnamani's kill down the right line spurred another 7-1 run for the Cardinal, 18-6, including a block and kill by Waller. Oregon pulled together a 4-0 streak on a serving error and a block to pull back within eight points, 18-10, but Akinradewo and Waller ended the streak with back-to-back blocks. Serving and attacking errors later forced Oregon into a timeout, 23-13. The Cardinal continued to pound the Ducks with a tip by junior Franci Girard and a kill by Richards, bringing the score to 26-15. Oregon logged back-to-back points on a serving error and a block by Karin Waddington and Sonja Newcombe, but a net violation on the Ducks put Stanford near the win, 28-17. Akinradewo collected a quick kill in the middle, then Waller ended game one with a kill, 30-20.
A block by Waller and Akinradewo put Stanford on the board first in game two. Oregon hung tight with a kill by Newcombe and Mira Djuric, 3-3. A powerful kill by Akinradewo on the right side kicked off a 5-1 run to gap the Ducks, including a kill by Nnamani and block solo by Barboza. Another block by Waller and Akinradewo brought the score to 12-7, then Oregon errors produced a 3-0 run for the Cardinal. Following an Duck timeout, Nnamani returned a scrappy dig for a kill as Stanford rallied to another 5-1 series, 20-9. Barboza snuck a kill inside the block as the Cardinal continued to distance the Ducks. Oregon's Little collected a kill to end a long rally, sparking a 2-1 streak for the Ducks. Akinradewo ended the run with a quick kill in the middle, following up with a block to put Stanford up, 27-15. Barboza ended another long rally with a kill on the left side, then junior setter Bryn Kehoe's tip ended game two, 30-18.
Game three opened in a tight contest, with Oregon taking its first lead of the match on an attacking error and an ace by Nevena Djordjevic, 5-3. Stanford tied the game at 6 on a block by Akinradewo and Richards, but a net violation and attacking error kept the Ducks in the lead, 9-6. The Cardinal bounced back with a block by Kehoe and Akinradewo, overtaking the lead on an Oregon attacking error, 10-9. Stanford continued on a 7-0 run on a kill by Akinradewo down the middle and an ace by Richards, 16-9. After using a timeout to regroup, the Ducks collected back-to-back points including a kill by Little. Stanford answered with a 4-2 run on a block by Barboza and senior Michelle Mellard and two kills from Barboza, 20-13. Waller later pounded a kill down the middle to spark another 5-0 run as the Cardinal continued to gap Oregon, 25-15. Newcombe ended the run with a kill for the Ducks in the middle to lead off a 2-0 streak, but Richards answered with back-to-back kills, 28-17. Waller pounded another kill on the right side, and then Nnamani wrapped up the match with an ace, 30-18.
Kehoe collected 30 assists against the Ducks, while sophomore libero Jessica Fishburn recorded 12 digs. Nnamani also had two of Stanford's three service aces.
Stanford hits the road next weekend to kick off the second half of conference play at Arizona State and Arizona. The Cardinal will play the Sun Devils on Friday, October 27, followed by the Wildcats on Saturday with both matches beginning at 7:00 pm.
GAME SCORES123TEAM RECORDS Oregon(0)20181815-4, 5-4 Stanford (3)30303017-2, 8-1