Oct. 21, 2011
TUCSON, Ariz. - The No. 5 Stanford women's volleyball team topped Arizona, 25-23, 25-22, 22-25, 25-17, Friday, at the McKale Center in Tucson, Ariz. The Cardinal improves to 15-3 overall and 9-3 in the Pac-12, while the Wildcats fall to 13-7 on the season and 5-6 in the conference.
Sophomore outside hitter Rachel Williams led the team with 18 kills and 12 digs for her 11th double-double of the year. Sophomore middle blocker Carly Wopat tallied nine kills, six digs and two blocks, while redshirt freshman Lydia Bai and freshman Morgan Boukather each put down seven kills. Junior setter Karissa Cook totaled 39 assists, 17 digs, four kills and four blocks, while maintaining her conference lead with her 12th double-double of the year. Junior Hannah Benjamin, who took over at the libero spot in the third set, registered 12 digs and two aces.
As a team, Stanford hit .224, while holding Arizona to a .201 attack percentage. The Cardinal is now 8-0 on the season when winning the first two sets of the match.
Stanford jumped out to an early lead in the opening set. However, the Wildcats clawed their way back, taking a 16-15 advantage. The Cardinal regained the lead shortly, but Arizona was able to capitalize on Cardinal errors and go up 23-19. Stanford again fought back, tying the score at 23-23. A kill by senior Stephanie Browne and a solo block by Williams gave Stanford the 25-23 win in the first. Stanford held Arizona to a .064 hitting percentage in the set and out blocked the Wildcats, 5-2. Williams led the team with four kills, while Wopat tallied three. Cook finished with eight assists, eight digs and four blocks. Arizona's Courtney Karst led the Wildcats with four kills.
The Cardinal captured the second set, 25-22, to take a 2-0 lead in the match. The set remained close throughout as Stanford hit .167, while Arizona posted a .139 clip. Bai and Williams each put down four kills in the set to lead the Cardinal. Benjamin tallied six digs to lead the defense. Karst continued to lead the Wildcats with four kills and two blocks in the set.
Stanford trailed throughout most of the third set, falling 25-22. The Cardinal hit .293 in the set, but allowed the Wildcats to hit .400 in the set. Williams led the team with seven kills and three digs, while Boukather added three kills for the Cardinal. Cook racked up 16 assists and seven digs. Arizona middle blocker Cursty Jackson, who went down early in the set due to injury, came back to register five kills to lead the Wildcats.
Stanford avoided a fifth set with a 25-17 win in the fourth. Tied at 11-11, Stanford went on a 5-1 run to force Arizona head coach Dave Rubio to burn a timeout. The Cardinal outscored the Wildcats 9-5 down the stretch. Stanford hit a match high .364 in the set and held Arizona to a .231 clip. Boukather, Williams and Wopat each put down three kills in the set to lead the team. Karst finished with 14 kills, three digs and two blocks to lead the Wildcats.
The Cardinal wraps up the weekend on Saturday, Oct. 22 at Arizona State. Stanford will take on the Sun Devils at 7 p.m. at Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe.