Nov. 18, 2011
STANFORD, Calif. - The No. 5 Stanford women's volleyball team dropped a five-set heartbreaker to No. 15 Oregon, Friday, in front of more than 2,300 fans at Maples Pavilion. Set scores were 25-23, 20-25, 14-25, 25-22, 9-15. The Cardinal drops to 20-6 overall and 14-6 in the Pac-12, while the Ducks improve to 19-8 overall and 12-7 in the conference.
Sophomore outside hitter Rachel Williams posted her 17th double-double of the year with 21 kills and 18 digs. It marked her seventh match of the year with 20-plus kills. Sophomore middle blocker Carly Wopat tied her career high with 18 kills on 26 attempts with no errors for a season-best .692 hitting percentage. She also tallied eight blocks and four digs. Senior middle blocker Stephanie Browne tied her season-best with 10 kills, while redshirt freshman Lydia Bai added seven kills and four blocks.
Junior setter Karissa Cook set a new career best with 55 assists, while junior libero Hannah Benjamin registered a career high 27 digs. As a team, Stanford hit .234, while Oregon posted a .292 clip. The Cardinal is just 1-4 on the year when it is outhit by its opponents.
Stanford edged Oregon, 25-23, in the opening set. Both teams hit well offensively with the Cardinal posting a .412 attack percentage, while the Ducks hit .395. Williams led the Cardinal with seven kills on 11 swings with just one error for a .545 attack percentage. Wopat added four kills and two blocks, while Cook racked up 16 assists. Benjamin led the defense with eight digs. Oregon freshman Liz Brenner led the Ducks with six kills and a .625 attack percentage.
The Ducks tied it up, winning the second set 25-20. Oregon held Stanford to a .154 hitting percentage in the set, while hitting .300. The Ducks also registered four blocks in the second. Wopat tallied four kills and two blocks to lead the team. Williams and Browne each added three kills for the Cardinal. Brenner continued to lead the Ducks, recording nine kills in the second, while sophomore Ariana Williams chipped in with five kills and a block.
Oregon's momentum carried over to third set as it downed Stanford 25-14. The Cardinal hit just .033 in the set and committed 15 errors, including seven attack errors. Oregon picked up four blocks in the set and hit .259. Wopat paced the team with four kills, while Williams and Browne each tallied two. Brenner put down five kills and two blocks to lead the Ducks.
Stanford tied the match with a 25-22 win in the fourth. The Cardinal led 20-12 before Oregon went on an 8-0 run to tie the set. However, Stanford would out score the Ducks 5-3 down the stretch to force a fifth set. The posted a .349 attack percentage and held the Ducks to a .156 clip. Williams led the way with seven kills and seven digs in the set. Benjamin anchored the defense with 11 digs in the fourth. Brenner paced Oregon with five kills.
The Cardinal fell 15-9 in the final set and is now 1-3 on the season when playing a fifth set. Oregon jumped out to an 8-3 lead in the fifth and never gave Stanford a chance. The Ducks hit .429 in the set, while the Cardinal managed just a .160 attack percentage. Williams and Wopat were held to just two kills apiece. Brenner finished with 31 kills to lead the Duck offense, while Oregon libero Haley Jacob racked up 35 digs to lead its defense.
The Cardinal wraps up the weekend on Sunday, Nov. 20 against the Oregon State Beavers. First serve is scheduled for 1 p.m. from Maples Pavilion. The Beavers knocked off No. 3 California earlier in the evening in five sets.