Sept. 12, 2008
Stanford, Calif. - On the shoulders of sophomore Alix Klineman, the No. 7 Stanford women's volleyball team (6-2) cruised to another decisive win at the Stanford Invitational tonight, sweeping UC Santa Barbara (3-4), 25-13, 25-17, 25-21. The Cardinal will play its final match of the tournament tomorrow, squaring off with Bay Area rival Santa Clara for the tournament title.
For the second straight night, Klineman led the team offensively, hitting .444 with 13 kills and a season-high four blocks. Senior outside hitter Cynthia Barboza also reached double figures with 10 kills, and matched her season best with 14 digs to seize her third double-double. Fellow senior Foluke Akinradewo hit .421 with nine kills, and also matched a season best with six blocks.
Junior outside hitter Rebecca Saraceno was the only Gaucho in double figures with 10 kills. Stanford outhit its sixth opponent of the year, .344 to .097.
Stanford was quick to jump in front in set one, using a hard-driven Akinradewo kill to start a 5-1 opening rally. Behind outside hitter Charlene DeHoog, however, UCSB recovered and the sophomore gave her team a lead at 8-7 with her third kill of the set. The Gaucho momentum was short-lived though, as Klineman sliced consecutive kills to start a fierce 9-0 Cardinal rally. Barboza was credited with two service aces in the surge, and a UCSB hitting error capped the Stanford run at 19-11. The Cardinal continued to cruise, finishing the set by taking six of the next eight points. The Cardinal took its first double-digit lead on a ball-handling error at 22-12, then clinched the set when Akinradewo and Klineman teamed up for back-to-back blocks. Led by Klineman's four kills, Stanford won the hitting column, .240 to -.029.
Gaucho hitting woes led to an early Stanford advantage in the next set, and Klineman's first ace of the year resulted in a 7-2 Stanford lead. The Cardinal held the margin until the media break, then began to push forward again. Janet Okogbaa and Cassidy Lichtman started the push with a block, and the team took a 17-10 lead on a Barboza kill soon after. UC Santa Barbara trimmed the lead to four at 19-15, but could come no closer. Stanford took set point at 24-17 when the Gauchos were in the net on a Barboza swing, and Klineman finished things at the next opportunity, sending her eighth kill to the floor for the 25-17 win. Behind four kills each by Klineman, Barboza and Akinradewo, Stanford hit a steady .538, while UCSB turned in only a .160 clip.
For the second match in a row, Stanford struggled to pull away in the third set after dominating the first two. The Cardinal took an 8-5 lead on Lichtman's second ace of the match, but a four-point UCSB run gave the Gauchos the lead at 12-11. The visitors built the lead to two at 14-12 on a kill by Kasey Kipp, and it wasn't until Akinradewo pounded back-to-back kills to tie the set at 18 that the Cardinal broke the Gauchos' rhythm. A UCSB hitting error gave Stanford the lead back at 19-18, and another one a few points later built the Stanford lead to two, 22-20. The Cardinal took set point on Klineman's 13th kill at 24-21, and Barboza secured her double-double with the winning kill, 25-21. Stanford outhit UCSB .282 to .159 in the final set.
The Stanford Invitational concludes tomorrow, with UC Santa Barbara and New Mexico State squaring off at 4:30 p.m. and the Cardinal meeting local rival Santa Clara at 7 p.m.