Oct. 15, 2011
STANFORD, Calif. - The seventh-ranked Stanford women's volleyball team swept No. 2 Washington, 25-19, 25-16, 25-23, Saturday night in front of more than 4,200 fans at Maples Pavilion. The Cardinal now stands at 14-3 overall and 8-3 in the Pac-12 at the half-way mark, while the Huskies fall to 15-3 on the season and 7-3 in the conference.
Sophomore outside hitter Rachel Williams led the team with 15 kills and five digs. Sophomore middle blocker Carly Wopat chipped in with 10 kills on 18 swings with just one error for a .500 hitting percentage. Freshman Morgan Boukather added seven kills and three blocks, while redshirt freshman Lydia Bai finished with eiht kills and five digs. Junior setter Karissa Cook now leads the team with 11 double-doubles after recording 30 assists and 13 digs.
Freshman libero Kyle Gilbert finished with 12 digs and three assists, while junior defensive specialist Hannah Benjamin finished with 10 digs and three assists as well. As a team, Stanford held Washington to a .108 hitting percentage in the match.
The Cardinal secured a 1-0 lead in the match with a 25-19 win in the opening set. There were six tie scores and three lead changes before Stanford pulled ahead for good with the score 17-10. The Huskies would make a push, cutting the lead to four, but Stanford held on for the win. The Cardinal outhit the Huskies .297 to .200 in the first. Williams led the team with a .417 hitting percentage, registering six kills. Bai added four kills and Cook collected 10 assists and five digs. Washington's Gabbi Parker, Krista Vansant and Kylin Munoz each tallied three kills for the Huskies.
Stanford turned up its defensive intensity in the second, holding Washington to a .051 hitting percentage. The Cardinal won the set 25-15, leading the entire way. Williams paced the team with five kills, two digs and a solo block. Wopat added four kills, while Boukather added three kills. Gilbert collected five digs in the set to lead the defense, while middle blocker Stephanie Browne entered the match in the second and picked up three digs and two blocks. Vansant registered three kills to lead the Huskies.
The teams grinded it out in the third set, with Stanford coming out on top, 25-23. Despite hitting a match-low .171, the Cardinal held the Huskies to a .081 clip. The set, which had seven tie scores and one lead change, was close throughout. Stanford had four players register at least three kills, led by Williams' four. Cook, Benjamin and Mary Ellen Luck each tallied four digs in the set to lead the defense. Vansant finished with nine kills and 11 digs to lead the Huskies.
Stanford will be on the road next week to start the second half of Pac-12 play at Arizona and Arizona State. The Cardinal will face the Wildcats in Tucson, Ariz., on Friday, Oct. 21 and the Sun Devils on Saturday, Oct. 22 in Tempe, Ariz. Both matches are scheduled for 7 p.m.