Sept. 2, 2011
STANFORD, Calif. - The Cardinal defense came up big Friday night as the sixth-ranked Stanford women's volleyball team defeated Notre Dame, 3-1, in the second match of the Stanford Invitational at Maples Pavilion. Set scores were 25-12, 25-13, 21-25, 25-23 as the Cardinal improved to 3-0, while the Fighting Irish, 3-1, suffered their first set-back of the season.
As a team, Stanford posted 21 blocks in the match to just five by Notre Dame. The Cardinal also held the advantage in the digs category, 77-54. Five different Stanford players registered five or more blocks on the night, while three tallied double-digit digs.
Juniors Karissa Cook and Hayley Spelman each set career highs with five blocks apiece, while sophomore Carly Wopat tied her career high with nine. Redshirt freshman Lydia Bai had a season-best six blocks. Cook also tied her career high with 20 digs, while totaling 47 assists for her second double-double of the season. Junior libero Hannah Benjamin finished with a career highs of 19 digs and seven assists.
Offensively, outside hitter Rachel Williams recorded a career high 22 kills on 39 attempts with five errors for a .436 attack percentage. It marked the third consecutive match that the sophomore surpassed her previous career-best in kills. Wopat went 13-1-20 for a .600 attack percentage to go with six digs and her nine blocks.
Stanford came out and dominated the first two sets, holding Notre Dame to just 12 and 13 points, respectively. Williams and Wopat each hit .714 through the first two sets, while Cook already had a double-double with 21 assists and 10 digs. As a team, Stanford hit .424, while holding Notre Dame to a .013 clip.
The Fighting Irish avoided the sweep by winning the third set, 25-21. Notre Dame took advantage of 10 Stanford errors and hit a match-best .237 in the set. Freshman Jeni Houser led the Irish with seven kills in the third.
Stanford used a 10-0 run in the fourth to come-from-behind to snag the 25-23 victory. With six tie scores and four lead changes in the set, the Cardinal rallied using great defense led by Cook and Benjamin. Additionally, sophomore Mary Ellen Luck and Bai combined for seven digs in the set.
Earlier in the evening, Saint Mary's upset No. 18 Duke in a five-set thriller. The Gaels will face the Fighting Irish Saturday at 7 p.m.
The Cardinal closes out the Stanford Invitational, Saturday, against the Blue Devils. First serve is slated for 5 p.m. from Maples Pavilion.