Oct. 8, 2011
EUGENE, Ore. - In a complete team effort, the seventh-ranked Stanford women's volleyball team topped No. 15 Oregon, 22-25, 25-20, 25-21 25-23, Saturday at the new Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene, Ore. The Cardinal moves to 12-3 overall and 6-3 in the Pac-12, while the Ducks fall to 12-4 overall and 5-3 in the conference.
Sophomores Rachel Williams and Carly Wopat each tallied 15 kills to lead the Cardinal. Redshirt freshman Lydia Bai added 10 kills and three blocks. Freshman Morgan Boukather chipped in with eight kills and three blocks. Junior setter Karissa Cook posted her ninth double-double of the year with 45 assists and 15 digs. Freshman libero Kyle Gilbert led the defense with 17 digs. As a team, Stanford out hit Oregon .260 to .189.
Oregon took a 1-0 lead in the match with a 25-22 win in the opening set. Stanford trailed Oregon 13-9 early, but errors by the Ducks pulled the Cardinal within one. A blocking error by Oregon setter Lauren Plum and a kill by Bai gave Stanford the 15-14 advantage. However, a 6-1 run by Oregon put the Ducks on top for good. The Cardinal committed six attack errors and five service errors in the set. Additionally, Stanford was held to a .170 hitting percentage in the first. Williams led the team with six kills and three digs, while Cook tallied seven digs and two blocks. Oregon's Alaina Bergsma totaled seven kills and four digs for the Ducks.
Stanford evened the match with a 25-20 win in second set. The teams traded points for much of the set, but the Cardinal capitalized on a 4-1 run to give itself a 21-16 cushion. The Cardinal offense came alive as Stanford out hit Oregon .375 to .200 in the second. Wopat led the team with five kills, while Gilbert registered four digs to pace the defense. Bergsma continued to lead the Ducks with seven kills.
Stanford trailed by as many as four early on, but rallied to come-from-behind and win the pivotal third set, 25-21. The Cardinal again posted a better hitting percentage than the Ducks (.278 to .194). Cook spread the offense around for Stanford as five different players recorded at least two kills. The Cardinal also posted four blocks in the set. Bergsma put down five kills for Oregon, while outside hitter Katherine Fischer added four kills for the Ducks.
The fourth set remained close throughout, but Stanford prevailed with a 25-23 victory. Bai finished off the Ducks with a huge swing, tying her season high with 10 kills. There were 14 tie scores and seven lead changes in the set as Stanford held Oregon to a .182 hitting percentage. Bergsma finished with 26 kills and eight digs to lead Oregon.
Up next, Stanford returns to The Farm to play host to Washington State and No. 3 Washington. The Cardinal will take on the Cougars on Friday, Oct. 14 and the Huskies on Saturday, Oct. 15. Both matches are slated for 7 p.m. from Maples Pavilion.