April 16, 2013
STANFORD, Calif. - The Stanford women's sand volleyball team went down to the wire to pick up a 3-2 win over Pacific, Tuesday, at the ACSR Sand Volleyball Courts in Stanford, Calif. The Cardinal improves to 4-1 on the season with just three matches left.
With the match scored at 2-2, the outcome came down to each teams' top pairs. Stanford's Brittany Howard and Carly Wopat dropped their first set to Hannah Clancy and Kat Schultz, 16-21. The Cardinal pair regrouped and came back to take the second set 21-18 and force a deciding third set.
In the third, with the set tied 13-13, the Tigers committed a service error and then Howard put down the final kill to seal the match for the Cardinal. The rookie finished with 20 kills and 11 digs, while Wopat tallied 14 kills, 12 digs and three aces.
Stanford fell behind 0-1 as UOP's Megan Birch and Katy Tagart topped the Cardinal's No. 5 pair of Morgan Boukather and Megan McGehee, 21-13, 21-10. McGehee finished with eight kills and seven digs, while Boukather added two kills, two digs and two aces.
The Cardinal's No. 4 pair, Inky Ajanaku and Mary Ellen Luck, remained undefeated on the season (5-0) with a 21-12, 10-21, 15-12 win over Gillian Howard and Mia Feiner. Ajanaku totaled 13 kills, 14 digs, two blocks and two aces. Luck played solid defense, tallying 22 digs to go with 12 kills and an ace.
The Tigers regained the lead as the No. 3 pair of Kimmy Whitson and Ali Wilk defeated Stanford's Kyle Gilbert in three sets (21-19, 17-21, 15-12). Gilbert notched 16 kills, 14 digs and three aces, while Bugg recorded eight kills, 17 digs and three aces.
Stanford's No. 2 pair of Rachel Williams and Jordan Burgess knotted the match score at 2-2 with a 21-15, 21-13 win over Anne-Sophia Bauer and Jen Sanders. Burgess finished with 13 kills, 30 digs and five aces, while Williams added 11 kills, 21 digs and an ace.
The Cardinal's Lydia Bai and McGehee played in an exhibition match against Tagart and Emily Reber. The Stanford pair won 21-18, 21-19. Bai finished with 16 kills and 22 digs, while McGehee registered eight kills, five digs and four aces.
The Cardinal will host USF and Sacramento State on Sunday, April 21 for the Stanford tournament. The Cardinal will take on the Dons at 9 a.m. and the Hornets at 3 p.m. USF and Sacramento State will square off at Noon.
Stanford 3, Pacific 2 (In order of finish)
5) Megan Birch/Katy Tagart (UOP) def. Morgan Boukather/Megan McGehee (Stan), 21-13, 21-10
4) Inky Ajanaku/Mary Ellen Luck (Stan) def. Gillian Howard/Mia Feiner (UOP), 21-12, 10-21, 15-12
3) Kimmy Whitson/Ali Wilk (UOP) def. Madi Bugg/Kyle Gilbert (Stan), 21-19, 17-21, 15-12
2) Jordan Burgess/Rachel Williams (Stan) def. Anne-Sophia Bauer/Jen Sanders (UOP), 21-15, 21-13
1) Brittany Howard/Carly Wopat (Stan) def. Hannah Clancy/Kat Schultz (UOP), 16-21, 21-18, 15-13
Exhibition
Lydia Bai/Megan McGehee (Stan) def. Emily Reber/Katy Tagart (UOP), 21-18, 21-19