Oct. 26, 2008
Los Angeles, Calif. - Stanford senior Cynthia Barboza matched a season high with 20 kills and registered the best defensive performance of her career with 22 digs, leading the Cardinal women's volleyball team to a 22-25, 25-14, 25-22, 25-23 victory over No. 10 UCLA today at Pauley Pavilion.
Stanford improves to 17-3 overall with the win, its 16th straight over powerhouse UCLA. The win also secured the team a share of the Pac-10 lead with an 8-1 mark at the conference turn. UCLA drops to 14-6 and stands tied for fifth place at 4-5 in the Pac-10.
Barboza's 20 kills and 22 digs marked her eighth double-double of the year and second of the weekend. She hit .405, coming in over .400 for the fourth time this year. The senior's 22 digs were the most since registering 20 against Missouri in the 2006 NCAA Second Round.
Sophomore Alix Klineman registered a double-double for the third match in a row, picking up 17 kills and a season-high 14 digs. Erin Waller also stepped up big, notching 11 kills on 18 swings (.556).
Senior middle blocker Foluke Akinradewo picked up 11 kills for her fourth consecutive match in double figures. She also tallied six blocks, enough to pass Kerri Walsh '00 for fourth place on the school's career block chart.
Cassidy Lichtman nabbed a career-high 53 assists and libero Gabi Ailes registered her second straight 17-dig performance.
UCLA was led by senior outside hitter Ali Daley's 16 kills. Freshman Amanda Gil (12 kills) and sophomore Dicey McGraw (10 kills) were also in double figures for the Bruins.
Stanford hit.321 to UCLA's .258, returning to a .300 or better clip for the first time in three matches. The Cardinal has now hit over .300 in 14 matches, including 11 of its last 13.
Stanford won the first two points of the opening set, but UCLA quickly battled back and initiated a series of three early lead changes. Down 9-7, the Bruins began a critical 5-1 run that gave them a lead they would never relinquish. From 12-10, the teams matched each other nearly point for point, with UCLA pushing its lead to three on a Stanford hitting error at 16-13. The margin held until Klineman and Barboza put consecutive balls away to bring Stanford within one, 22-21, but the Bruins won a tough rally at 23-21 to squelch the Cardinal momentum. McGraw pounded a kill for set point at 24-21, and sealed the win with another kill a point later, 25-22. Despite hitting an impressive .424, Stanford was outdone by UCLA's .438 clip. Klineman led Stanford with five kills in the first set.
Waller served five consecutive points to help Stanford race out to a 6-1 lead in the second set. Barboza then nailed three kills in a 4-1 Cardinal run that pushed the lead to 12-5, and shortly after, Waller pounded her third kill to open up a three-point Stanford stretch and make it 15-7. Stanford held onto the eight-point lead for the better part of the set, then put together one final surge to finish the Bruins off. The Cardinal took four consecutive points to nab set point at 24-13, and Waller sent a ball to the floor for the clincher, 25-14. Stanford hit a staggering .515 in the second set, and this time held the Bruins to a more manageable .125 clip. Barboza and Klineman each had five kills in the second set.
Barboza, who had eight of her 20 kills in the third set alone, downed balls on back-to-back swings to establish a two-point Cardinal lead at 5-3. After a brief exchange, Stanford strung together four points in a row to take a comfortable 11-6 lead. UCLA wouldn't let Stanford run away this time, answering with a 5-1 run to pull back in the game at 12-11. Barboza ripped two more kills to give Stanford a 15-12 advantage at the media break, and Janet Okogbaa tipped a ball into the middle on the next point for 16-12. Stanford saw its lead slip to one on a McGraw kill at 18-17, however, and Daley later picked up consecutive kills to tie things at 20. Klineman and Akinradewo drilled a pair of kills to give Stanford its necessary two-point cushion back at 22-20, and after a short exchange, Barboza crushed consecutive kills for the win, 25-22. UCLA had a slight edge in the hitting column in the third set, .302 to .298.
Stanford took two points for every one for UCLA to start the fourth set, establishing a quick 6-2 lead. The Bruins slowly but surely climbed back, and had trimmed the lead to one by 9-8. Barboza and Klineman rattled off kills in succession, however, to give the Cardinal a 15-12 lead at the media timeout. Akinradewo dropped in an ace for the first point out of the break, and Klineman pounded a kill on the next play to make it 17-12. Waller pushed Stanford another point ahead with a kill at 21-16, but at 22-17, UCLA rallied with seven straight points to reverse the advantage, 23-22. After a Cardinal timeout, Akinradewo picked up a kill to tie at 23 and Klineman served a crucial ace to give Stanford a set point opportunity at 24-23. Barboza didn't waste it, finishing a long rally by pounding her 20th kill off the UCLA block. In the 25-23 win, Stanford was outhit .205 to .130.
Stanford returns to The Farm to begin the second half of Pac-10 play against the Washington schools next week. The Cardinal meets No. 6 Washington in Maples on Friday at 7 p.m. and Washington State on Sunday at 1 p.m.