Nov. 9, 2007
Pullman, Wash. - Coming off of one of its biggest wins of 2007, the Cardinal women's volleyball team came out firing again tonight, completing a sweep of the Washington schools with a 30-22, 30-21, 30-22 rout of the Washington State Cougars at Bohler Gym in Pullman. The win marked the 200th at Stanford for Head Coach John Dunning, and improves the team to 24-2 overall and 13-2 in conference play. Washington State drops to 9-19, 0-14 Pac-10.
Junior middle blocker Foluke Akinradewo was unstoppable at the net, peppering the Cougars with 12 kills in 15 attempts with just one error (.733) as the Cardinal earned its 17th sweep of the year. Akinradewo's hitting percentage was a season-high and her 12 kills led the team. Freshman Alix Klineman registered her second double-double of the weekend, adding 10 kills and 10 digs to the Stanford effort. Erin Waller and Franci Girard tallied eight kills apiece and Bryn Kehoe turned in 38 assists. Adetokunbo Faleti led the Cougars with 13 kills on the night.
The Cougars held on early in game one, but Akinradewo's first kill and a pair of Cougar errors established a three-point Stanford lead by 6-3. Girard served an ace to push the lead to four at 11-7, and Akinradewo pounded back-to-back kills to give Stanford a 15-10 advantage at the media break. WSU sliced the lead to three on two occasions, but Stanford never faltered. At 18-15, the Cardinal finally opened the floodgates, charging out to an eight-point lead with an 8-2 rally. Akinradewo continued her domination, and gave Stanford game point with her eighth kill at 29-19. A series of Cardinal miscues allowed the Cougars to reach the 20-point plateau, but Girard finally ended things with her third kill of the game, 30-22. Akinradewo was perfect in the opening game, notching eight kills on eight tries. Stanford out-hit WSU, .364 to .250, in game one.
Game two had barely begun before Stanford had a commanding lead, as the Cardinal took the first five points, and quickly was in front, 11-2. The Cougars fought back, answering the Stanford surge with a 6-1 run, but Akinradewo put down two kills to squelch the Washington State momentum. The Cardinal allowed the Cougars no closer than four points at 13-9, and Stanford had recovered most of its early lead by 19-11. Stanford maintained a lead that wavered between seven and eight for the remainder of the game, capitalizing on a steady stream of Washington State service errors to cruise forward. A Cougar hitting error allowed Stanford game point at 29-21, and a tip by Kehoe sent Stanford to the locker room eyeing its 17th sweep of the year, 30-21. Akinradewo added four more kills in the game to lead the Cardinal, and Stanford out-hit WSU, .297 to .114.
Another fast start by the Cardinal and a series of kills by Waller put Stanford at an 8-1 advantage out of the game three gates. The Cougars managed to stop the bleeding, but a few kills by Klineman helped Stanford press forward and keep a 15-8 lead at the media break. WSU trimmed the lead to five at 16-11, and again at 20-15, but Stanford was able to find another comfortable lead before the finish. Consecutive Girard kills gave Stanford its largest lead of the game at 25-16, and Alex Fisher pounded a kill for game point at 29-21. The game ended on Janet Okogbaa's fourth kill of the match, 30-22. Stanford out-hit WSU, .471 to .146, in the final game.
Washington State never led in the match and Stanford dominated in the overall hitting column, .374 to .162.
The Northwest swing wraps up the road schedule for the Cardinal, as the team returns to Maples for what could be a seven-match home stand leading up to the Final Four in Sacramento. Stanford meets Arizona State next Friday night and Arizona next Saturday night, both at 7 p.m. in Maples Pavilion.