Sept. 14, 2007
New Haven, Conn. - The Stanford women's volleyball team added one more win to its tally tonight in the first match of the Yale Classic in New Haven, Conn., blasting Delaware State in the first-ever meeting between the two teams, 30-9, 30-12, 30-12. The Cardinal, which has now swept seven opponents and won 27 of its 29 games, improves to 9-0 on the year. The loss drops Delaware State to 0-12.
Stanford was led by the 10 kills and five aces of Cynthia Barboza, marking the junior's fifth double-digit kill performance of the season. Senior middle blocker Franci Girard recorded seven kills, while redshirt sophomore Alex Fisher set a career high with the same. Sophomore Janet Okogbaa produced another notable blocking performance with five on the night, while sophomore setter Joanna Evans notched a career high with 33 assists. Freshman Gabi Ailes tallied 16 digs, her eighth double-figure dig outing in a row. Delaware State was led by the six kills of freshman Sarah Wheatcroft. Stanford out-hit the Hornets .411 to -.127.
It took Stanford a minute to get its bearings in the first game, but from there game one turned into a rout. Delaware State took the first four points of the game on Cardinal receiving and hitting errors, but Stanford quickly turned things around for good. The squad responded to the early trouble with a 15-0 run, that included three aces by Barboza and three kills by Girard. Stanford continued to roll, answering one Hornet point with a 13-2 run. Barboza gave Stanford its first 20-point lead of the season at 27-7, and Foluke Akinradewo reached the front row and finished things off with three late kills to end the game, 30-9. Fisher and Akinradewo led the team with four kills and two blocks apiece in the game. Stanford hit a season-high .538 to Delaware State's -.172.
Stanford continued to roll in game two, taking the first five points and 12 of the first 15 to go up 12-3. The lead was double-digits by 14-4, thanks to two more kills by Girard. Freshman Cassidy Lichtman then served six straight points to make it 19-4. The Hornets managed two points in a row, at 19-6, but Barboza chipped in a pair of kills and her fourth ace of the match to help Stanford continue its attack and eventually take a 27-8 lead. The Cardinal earned game point on a Hornet hitting error at 29-11, and Lichtman ripped a cross-court kill from the right side to give Stanford the game, 30-12. Barboza led the team with four kills in the game, and Stanford hit .300 while once again holding the Hornets to a negative hitting percentage.
By the time Barboza served her career-high fifth ace of the match, Stanford was up 3-0 in game three and when Girard served her first ace of the season, Stanford's lead was 7-1. Fisher set a career-high with seven kills at 11-6 and Erin Waller delivered back-to-back kills to make it 15-8. The Cardinal had its first double-digit lead on a block by Evans and Okogbaa at 21-11, and a point later, the duo teamed up for another block. From there, Okogbaa helped Stanford surge to the finish. The sophomore middle blocker added two more kills and two more blocks to her night's tally and the Cardinal took the final nine points of the game to win, 30-12.
Stanford returns to the court tomorrow for two more matches at the Courtyard by Marriott Yale Classic. The Cardinal will face Yale at 10 am (ET) before squaring off with the No. 3 Penn State Nittany Lions at 7 pm (ET).