Nov. 7, 2008
Tempe, Ariz. - The second-ranked Stanford women's volleyball team picked up its 20th win tonight, sweeping Arizona State at Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe, Ariz. Despite an impressive performance by Sun Devil sophomore Sarah Reaves, the Cardinal claimed a 25-23, 26-24, 25-20 victory, its 16th sweep of the year.
Stanford is now 20-3 on the season, with a league-leading 11-1 mark in Pac-10 play. Arizona State falls to 12-12 with a 3-8 mark in the conference.
Senior outside hitter Cynthia Barboza paced the Cardinal with 14 kills and 12 digs, picking up her 10th double-double of the year and fourth in the last five matches. Fellow senior Foluke Akinradewo also had a solid night, turning in 12 kills on 18 swings (.611) to go along with four blocks. Junior Janet Okogbaa added six kills and matched a career high with six blocks, while sophomore libero Gabi Ailes chipped in 15 digs.
Reaves single-handedly kept Arizona State in the match, pounding 25 of her team's 44 kills and hitting .558.
Stanford outhit Arizona State, .303 to .225. Stanford has now hit over .300 16 times this year, including in three of its last four matches.
With her 12 digs, Barboza passed Courtney Schultz '06 for ninth place on the Stanford career dig chart. The senior outside hitter now has 1,106 digs for her career.
Stanford was on the board first in set one, and Okogbaa popped her first kill off the Sun Devil block to give Stanford an early 8-4 lead. Consecutive service aces by ASU libero Sarah Johnson helped the home team come back and tie at 10, but Akinradewo fired off a pair of kills to quickly push the momentum back in Stanford's favor. The Cardinal built back another small lead, but the Sun Devils were able to rattle off three points in a row to tie again at 18. After another lock at 19, Akinradewo had two dominant plays at the net, a decisive kill and a solo block, spurring a three-point Stanford run to 22-19. The teams traded points to the finish, with the Cardinal taking set point on Akinradewo's sixth kill of the set at 24-21 and winning on Alix Klineman's first, 25-23. Stanford outhit Arizona State .385 to .297 in the first set.
After a 5-5 tie in the second set, Stanford put together a 5-0 run and took a 10-5 lead on a Barboza kill. The Sun Devils made steady headway, and finally came within one when Reaves tipped down an overpass at 13-12. The Cardinal stretched its lead back to three on a Barboza kill at 16-13, by the pesky Sun Devils battled back. Reaves ripped a kill to kick off a 6-1 run, and a Stanford hitting error finally put ASU in front, 19-18. Down 20-18, Okogbaa put up two critical blocks in a three-point stretch that gave Stanford the lead back, 21-20. Akinradewo reached the front row and blitzed ASU with two kills, nabbing set point for the team at 24-22. The Sun Devils fought off two Cardinal chances, tying things at 24. Stanford collected itself with a timeout, however, and Klineman picked up a kill to give Stanford another set point try. This time, a Sun Devil swing sailed wide and the Cardinal claimed a 26-24 victory. Stanford led a poor hitting effort on both sides, .178 to .171.
Reaves had three quick kills and Johnson served two more aces, putting Stanford in a 7-0 hole to start the third set. Akinradewo blasted a kill to stop the run, and Stanford began the long road back with 3-0 spurt fueled by a kill and an ace by Klineman. A point later, Stanford again strung together three points in a row, coming within two on an Okogbaa solo block at 9-7. An ace by Cassidy Lichtman moved Stanford within one at 10-9, but the team lost ground when ASU took three points and went up 13-9. Klineman ripped two kills to lead Stanford on a 6-1 run from that point, putting the Cardinal in front for the first time, 15-14, and pushing its lead to two, 16-14. Reaves heated back up and helped pull the set into three more ties, finally giving her team the lead at 19-18. Stanford took seven of the final eight points, however, finishing off an noteworthy comeback with its most decisive win of the night, 25-20. Stanford won a .371 to .214 hitting battle in the third set.
The Cardinal heads to Tucson to complete its desert swing against the Arizona Wildcats tomorrow night. The match is slated for a 7 p.m. (MT) opening serve at the McKale Center.