Nov. 22, 2008
Stanford, Calif. - The second-ranked Stanford women's volleyball team outlasted No. 9 UCLA in a five-set thriller tonight at Maples Pavilion, guaranteeing itself at least a share of a third consecutive Pac-10 title. On the shoulders of a trio of sophomores, Stanford eked out a 25-15, 20-25, 25-15, 24-26, 15-11 victory in front of more than 3,600 fans, coming from behind in the final set to secure the critical win.
The Cardinal's three sophomores each recorded one of the best nights of her career. Sophomore Alix Klineman led the offensive charge, pummeling the Bruins with a career-high 28 kills. The All-American outside hitter provided five critical slams in Stanford's fifth-set comeback, hit .393 on the night and registered a season-high five blocks.
Sophomore setter Cassidy Lichtman was phenomenal as well, dishing out a career-high 67 assists. With 11 digs, she earned her eighth career double-double.
Sophomore libero Gabi Ailes had a spectacular night on defense, anchoring the Cardinal back row with a season-high 28 digs. The tally tied for the eighth highest single-match total in school history, and marked Ailes' second consecutive night with 20 or more digs.
Ailes led Stanford to its highest team dig total of the season (105) and was one of five Cardinal players to post double figures. Senior Cynthia Barboza, who also turned in 14 kills, had a career-high 22 digs, while Klineman added a season-best 18. The double-doubles were the 13th and seventh of the year for Barboza and Klineman, respectively.
Senior Jessica Fishburn stepped up with a solid performance in her last regular-season match in Maples, racking up 12 digs for her best tally of the year. Fellow senior Erin Waller led the Cardinal with a .421 hitting percentage, turning in nine kills on 19 swings.
Senior middle blocker Foluke Akinradewo led the Cardinal with nine blocks, including five solos. She also registered 14 kills on the night.
Stanford improves to 24-3 overall and 15-1 in conference play with the win and clinches an unprecedented 12th Pac-10 title. The team wraps up the regular season in Oregon next week, needing just one more win to seal the conference title outright.
UCLA, which drops to 18-10 overall and 8-9 in the Pac-10, was led by Ali Daley's double-double (13 kills, 18 digs). Freshman Amanda Gil (11 kills) and sophomore Dicey McGraw (12 kills) were also in double figures for the Bruins. Senior libero Jessica Fine tallied 25 digs.
The Cardinal outhit the Bruins .251 to .159.
Waller picked up a kill on the opening point, then stepped back and served her 11th ace of the year to help Stanford take a quick 3-0 lead. The Bruins eventually made their way back and finally tied at eight on a kill by Katie Camp. Akinradewo slammed her second kill of the night to put Stanford back in front at 9-8, however, and the team never looked back. UCLA hitting woes allowed the Cardinal a 4-1 run to 12-9, and Lichtman served her team-leading 22nd ace of the year to cap another 4-1 Cardinal run at 16-12. After McGraw narrowed the gap with a kill at 17-14, Stanford buried the Bruins with seven straight points, taking set point when Klineman pounded an overpass at 24-14. After a Cardinal service error, Klineman was back to finish the job, unloading on her fifth kill of the first set. Stanford outhit UCLA .364 to .139 in the 25-15 opening rout.
After falling into a 0-3 hole to start the second set, Waller served five points in a row to put the Cardinal up 5-3. UCLA wrenched the lead back at 9-8 on their fourth block, but Stanford took it back at 12-11 on a McGraw misfire. After three more lead changes, Klineman pounded four kills in a 5-1 run that gave Stanford a 19-16 lead. Stanford struggled to score again, however, as four consecutive attacking errors gave UCLA the lead back at 20-19. Daley stepped up to continue what proved to be a 9-1 UCLA run to the finish. McGraw had the clinching kill, 25-20. Stanford hit a match-low .017 and made 12 of its 24 hitting errors in the second set. UCLA hit .143 and got four kills from Daley.
In the third set, Lichtman and Klineman each had two early kills in a 6-2 opening run. UCLA whittled the lead to two at 11-9, but Stanford responded with its first of two powerful runs. Three more Klineman kills fueled an 8-1 run that put Stanford well in front, 19-10. The Bruins managed three points in a row before Stanford came through with the finishing blow. At 21-14, Waller pounded down a kill and, soon after, the senior added another one to string up a 5-1 run. Akinradewo stuffed Sara Sage for set point at 24-15 and a McGraw hitting error sealed another decisive Stanford win, 25-15. The Cardinal hit a much-improved .457 in the third set to UCLA's .088. Klineman had eight kills in the third set alone.
The fourth set saw its 10th tie at 12-12, with neither team able to pull out more than a two-point lead in the early parts of the set. Akinradewo and Barboza put down consecutive kills, however, and a Bruin error helped the Cardinal begin to pull away at the media timeout, 15-12. Janet Okogbaa has two of her five kills in a 5-1 Stanford run out of the break, and the Cardinal seemed in firm control when Barboza ripped a kill at 20-13. UCLA began a fierce comeback, however, taking five points in a row to close to gap to two at 20-18. Stanford seemed to squelch the threat, but at 23-19, UCLA called a timeout and came back ready to resume its charge. Led by Emily Clements, the Bruins went on a 7-1 run to overtake the Cardinal and win, 26-24. Stanford took set point at 24-22, but squandered two winning chances. Daley had back-to-back kills to seal the Bruin win. Stanford had the edge in the hitting column, .222 to .220.
In the fifth set, the Bruins were back with the same momentum that they finished the fourth set with. After an early exchange, UCLA took three points in a row and nabbed a 9-5 lead on a McGraw kill. Stanford had a powerful comeback in store, however, rattling off a 10-2 run to win. With Ailes serving, two Bruin errors brought Stanford within one, 9-8, but McGraw added another kill to give UCLA a late two-point cushion, 10-8. Akinradewo blasted a ball to get Stanford the serve back and Waller calmly stepped back to serve six in a row. Klineman had four kills in the critical 6-0 stretch, including a slam for set point at 14-10. After a Daley kill, Akinradewo drilled home the winner, 15-11. Stanford hit .417 to UCLA's .192 in set five and was led by five Klineman kills.
Stanford returns to the court in a rare Wednesday matchup this week, taking on No.8 Oregon in Eugene. The Cardinal wraps up the regular season at Oregon State on Friday, then awaits its seeding for the 2008 NCAA Women's Volleyball Championship. The 64-team field will be announced next Sunday at 7 p.m. (PT) on ESPNU.