Sept. 30, 2012
TEMPE, Ariz. - The No. 7 Stanford women's volleyball team improved to 4-0 in the Pac-12 with a 29-27, 25-17, 26-28, 25-23 win, Sunday, over Arizona State in Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe, Ariz. The Cardinal improves to 12-2 overall, while the Sun Devils fall to 13-4 overall and 2-2 in the Pac-12.
The Cardinal was led by freshman Brittany Howard's 13 kills, while rookies Inky Ajanaku and Jordan Burgess added 11 and 10 kills, respectively. Burgess also racked up a team-high 15 digs for her seventh double-double of the year. Junior middle blocker Carly Wopat added eight kills and a season high 12 blocks (one off her career high). Sophomore Morgan Boukather finished with eight kills and four blocks.
Freshman setter Madi Bugg totaled 26 assists and two digs, while senior setter Karissa Cook posted 23 assists and 14 digs for a double-double. Sophomore libero Kyle Gilbert registered 14 digs and three assists. Stanford hit .262 in the match, while ASU hit .132.
Trailing most of the first set, Stanford came from behind to edge ASU, 29-27, in the opening set. After 12 tie scores and three lead changes down the stretch, the Sun Devils committed a service error and an attack error to give the Cardinal the victory. Stanford outhit ASU .310 to .167, while the Cardinal also tallied 4.5 blocks. Burgess and Boukather led Stanford with four kills apiece. Wopat recorded four blocks, while Boukather and Rachel Williams each tallied two. Freshman Macey Gardner led ASU with eight kills and six digs.
Stanford fell behind early in the second, but managed to find its offense and cruised to a 25-17 win. The Cardinal hit .375 in the set, while holding ASU to a .093 clip. Ajanaku and Howard both put down for kills to lead Stanford, while Boukather added three kills. Defensively, Burgess and Gilbert each collected four digs, while Wopat tallied three blocks. Whitney Follette paced the Devils with four kills, while Nora Tuioti-Mariner and Gardner each recorded three kills.
ASU avoided the sweep with a 28-26 win in the third set. The Cardinal managed just 12 kills on 42 attempts with five errors for a .167 attack percentage. There were 11 tie scores and four lead changes as the teams battled it out. Ajanaku and Burgess combined for eight of Stanford's kills. Wopat again led the defense with four blocks. Gardner led ASU with eight kills, while Erica Wilson added five kills for the Sun Devils.
Stanford captured the win with another close set, 25-23. There were 10 tied scores and one lead change in the set in which Stanford hit .212. Howard and Wopat tallied three kills each to lead Stanford. The Cardinal trailed for most of the set, but finally took the lead for good at 21-20. Gardner again tallied eight kills for ASU and finished with a match-high 27.
The Cardinal returns to The Farm four a four-match home stand, starting with second-ranked Oregon on Friday, Oct. 5 at 5:30 p.m. Stanford will also take on the Oregon State Beavers on Sunday, Oct. 7 at 2 p.m. at Maples Pavilion.