Oct. 2, 2011
STANFORD, Calif. - Sophomore Rachel Williams posted her eighth double-double of the season to lead the sixth-ranked Stanford women's volleyball team to a 25-21, 23-25, 25-15, 25-18, win over Arizona, Sunday afternoon, at Maples Pavilion. The Cardinal moves to 10-3 overall and 4-3 in the Pac-12, while the Wildcats fall to 10-5 and 2-4 in the conference.
Williams registered 19 kills, 12 digs and career highs of six blocks, including three solo, and three assists. Sophomore middle blocker Carly Wopat hit .480 in the match, tying her career bests with 14 kills and nine blocks. Junior setter Karissa Cook turned in a double-double with 48 assists and 11 digs. The Santa Cruz, Calif., native also hit a career high .545 (7-1-11). Senior middle blocker Stephanie Browne finished with seven kills on eight errorless attemps (.875) and tied her career high with seven blocks.
As a team, Stanford hit a season best .392, while holding Arizona to a .186 percentage. The Wildcats committed 30 attack errors to just eight by the Cardinal.
Stanford captured the first set with a 25-21 victory. There were 13 tie scores and seven lead changes in the opening set in which the Cardinal hit .293 while holding the Wildcats to a .170 clip. Stanford collected six blocks in the set, led by Wopat's three. Offensively, Williams and Wopat each put down four kills to lead the team. Arizona's Cursty Jackson paced the Wildcats with six kills and three digs.
Stanford trailed Arizona throughout most of the second set. Pulling within 24-23, the Cardinal's comeback fell short as the Wildcats evened the match with a 25-23 second set win. Both teams hit .250 in the set. Stanford was led by Williams and Wopat's four kills. Arizona's Courtney Karst had six kills for the Wildcats in the set.
Stanford came out of the break on fire, hitting .583 in the third. The Cardinal easily secured the 25-15 win in the set. As a team, Stanford tallied seven blocks and held Arizona to a .056 hitting percentage. Williams registered six kills and three digs to lead, while Wopat chipped in with four kills and three blocks. Freshman outside hitter Morgan Boukather added two kills and three blocks for the Cardinal. Karst recorded seven kills to lead the Wildcats.
The Cardinal offense kept rolling in the fourth set as the team finished off the Wildcats 25-18. Stanford hit .552 in the set and limited its errors to five. Williams and Browne each put down five kills in the set, while Cook added three. The team recorded five more blocks to bring its match total to 21. Karst finished with 21 kills and four digs to lead Arizona.
Stanford hits the road next week, traveling to Oregon State and Oregon. The Cardinal will face the Beavers in Corvallis, Ore., on Friday, Oct. 7 and the Ducks in Eugene, Ore., on Saturday, Oct. 8. Both matches are scheduled for 7 p.m.