Oct. 12, 2007
Stanford, Calif. - Senior setter Bryn Kehoe recorded one of the most memorable nights of her career. Cynthia Barboza notched her 1,000th career kill. Three Stanford players were in double-figures, and two had double-doubles. Gabi Ailes recorded a career-high in digs, and both Kehoe and Franci Girard blocked more balls than they have all season. As a team, Stanford held its 13th opponent to a hitting percentage below .200. Yet, despite its successes, the Cardinal (17-1, 6-1 Pac-10) lost for the first time in 2007, dropping a five-game battle with the No. 8 Washington Huskies (17-1, 6-1 Pac-10), 30-24, 21-30, 24-30, 30-27, 15-10 in front of more than 3,000 fans at Maples Pavilion.
Kehoe, who entered the match needing 43 assists to break the all-time record, out-did herself with a season-high 62 and tacked on a season-high six blocks. The senior setter also recorded her tenth double-double of the year with 11 digs. With 5,023 assists for her career, Kehoe tops the former program record (5,003) set by Wendy Rush in 1987.
The night was also a milestone for Barboza, who pounded her 1,000th career kill in the fourth game, and finished with her 11th double-double of the season (20 kills, 17 digs). Junior middle blocker Foluke Akinradewo notched 18 kills and hit .417, while freshman Alix Klineman added 16 kills to the Stanford effort. Ailes' 24 digs were a career-high, and Girard's seven blocks were a season-best. Stanford missed a season-high 14 serves, however, and hit a season-low .216. Senior outside hitter Stevie Mussie led Washington with 20 kills, and fellow outside hitter Christal Morrison chipped in 19.
Barboza drilled a kill back at the Huskies the first time she touched the ball, and Stanford rolled out to a 5-0 lead before Washington could get control. A Husky timeout helped them get their first point, but Stanford continued to roll, and quickly pushed the lead out to 9-2. Mussie, the only Husky to record a kill until 18 points into the game, kept Washington within striking distance, and eventually helped the team trim the lead to two at 11-9. After Stanford pushed the lead back out to six at 15-9, Washington began its comeback. A 9-2 Husky run put the match into two ties, and finally allowed the squad its first lead at 18-17. Stanford turned it around at 19-18 on a block by Kehoe and Girard, but Washington took five of the next seven points to move back in front, 23-21. The Huskies pushed forward, taking seven of the final nine points to win, 30-24. Stanford hit just .163 in the game to Washington's .234.
Stanford started fast again in game two, using two kills by Klineman to take a 4-1 lead and force another early Washington timeout. Akinradewo kept serving and Stanford pushed out to 7-1 on a pair of Husky errors, then 12-4 on another Washington miscue. At 15-5 Stanford took the first double-digit lead of the match on a Klineman kill from the back row, and, with Erin Waller still serving, the lead quickly became a dozen, 17-5. Washington again mounted a comeback, however, answering with an 11-3 run to pull within four, 20-16. The lead was trimmed to three at 23-20, but this time Stanford fought back. Barboza pounded a kill to start a 7-1 Stanford run that included two kills and a block by Klineman. Girard ripped a kill to give Stanford game point at 29-21, and Klineman finished things off, 30-21. Stanford out-hit Washington .268 to .023, thanks to five kills apiece by Klineman and Akinradewo.
Washington took the first point of game three, but by 3-2, the Cardinal had the lead. Stanford put together an 8-2 run, and charged out to an 11-5 lead. Once again, no lead was safe with the feisty Huskies, however, and by 15-14 Washington was within a single point. An Akinradewo block pushed it back out to three at 17-14. The teams traded points, but an ace by freshman Cassidy Lichtman finally gave Stanford two in a row to go up 23-19. A block by Girard and Waller made it 24-19 and, by 27-21, the Stanford lead was six. After back-to-back Washington points, Kehoe lofted a ball to Barboza for her 5,004th career assist, breaking the all-time record and giving the Cardinal some momentum. The senior put up a block on the next point to give Stanford game point, and soon after, Akinradewo pounded a kill to give Stanford the win, 30-24.
Ailes served an ace and Barboza and Waller followed with kills to give Stanford a 3-0 head start in game four. The Cardinal held on and extended the lead to four when Kehoe pounded a ball across the net at 8-4. Washington was able to slice the lead to two at 13-11, but Barboza ripped her 1,000th career kill from the back row to turn the momentum back to the Cardinal. An Akinradewo ace and a Klineman kill extended the margin to five at 16-11, but Washington wouldn't let Stanford pull away. A Husky block trimmed the lead to two at 16-14, the visitors fought back to tie at 18-18, and by 20-18 they were ahead by two. Washington kept the lead, going ahead by as much as three, at 27-24. Lichtman served another ace to cut the lead to one at 27-26, but Washington battled from there. The Huskies took game point at 29-26, and, after an Erin Waller kill, a Stanford service error ended the game, 30-27.
Stanford took its first game five lead at 3-2, and, from there, neither team could manage consecutive points until the Huskies put two together to take the lead at 8-7. A point later, Washington strung together two more and opened up the first two point lead of the game. After one more Barboza kill, Washington added two more consecutive points to take a 12-9 lead. Akinradewo drilled a kill to trim the lead to two again, but Washington rattled off the final three points to get the win. Morrison pounded a kill at 13-10, and the ensuing Washington served clipped the net for an ace. Morrison pounded down her 19th kill of the night to finish the game, 15-10.
Stanford ends its longest winning streak since 2001 at 17 matches.
The Cardinal heads to Arizona to finish the first half of Pac-10 play next week. Stanford will meet the Arizona Wildcats in Tucson on Thursday, and take on the Arizona State Sun Devils in Tempe Friday. Both matches are set for 7 p.m. starts.