SEATTLE – In its first five-set match of the season, the No. 7 Stanford women’s volleyball team fell at No. 6 Washington, 25-14, 21-25, 11-25, 25-22, 12-15, Sunday, at Alaska Airlines Arena in Seattle, Wash. The Cardinal moves to 13-4 on the season and 6-2 in the Pac-12, while the Huskies improve to15-1 overall and 7-1 in the conference.
Sophomore outside hitter Brittany Howard led the Cardinal with 14 kills and 11 digs for her fourth double-double of the season. Senior Rachel Williams tallied her team-best seventh double-double of the year with 13 kills and 12 digs. Sophomore outside hitter Jordan Burgess finished with 13 kills and 10 digs for her second double-double of the year. As a team, Stanford outhit Washington .287 to .210.
Sophomore middle blocker Inky Ajanaku posted 11 kills and five blocks in the match, while senior middle blocker Carly Wopat finished with 5 kills and six blocks, including the 1,000th kill of her career. She becomes the 14th Stanford player since 1986, joining Williams, to reach that plateau.
Sophomore setter Madi Bugg notched her fourth double-double of the season with 49 assists and 14 digs. She also tied her career high with five kills. Junior libero Kyle Gilbert recorded a match-high 25 digs and a season-high seven assists.
Stanford came out fired up and snagged the opening set 25-14. The Cardinal was firing on all cylinders, posting a .351 team attack percentage, while holding the Huskies to a -.026 clip. Stanford was also stingy on defense, racking up 23 digs in the set. Offensively, Burgess led the team with five kills, while Ajanaku totaled four. Washington was limited to just seven kills in the set.
Washington evened the match with a 25-21 win in the second set. After hitting negative in the first set, the Huskies posted a .310 attack percentage in the second. Stanford continued to hit well, recording 13 kills on 35 swings with two errors (.314). Ajanaku, Burgess and Williams each registered three kills to lead the Stanford offense. Gilbert collected six digs to lead the defense, followed by five from Williams. Washington outside hitter Krista Vansant led the Huskies with six kills and six digs.
The Huskies captured the third set, 25-11, outhitting the Cardinal .400 to .174. Stanford registered just seven kills in the set. Ajanaku and Burgess had two apiece to lead the team. Gilbert led the defense with six digs, while the team added three more blocks to bring its match total to six. Vansant continued to pace Washington with four kills and four digs.
Stanford rallied back to win the fourth set, 25-22. Stanford hit .368 in the set, while holding the Huskies to a .136 clip. The Cardinal registered five blocks in the set and recorded 18 digs. Howard came alive in the set, tallying eight kills and two blocks. Williams added four kills and a block. Vansant had seven of the Huskies’ 12 kills in the set.
Stanford fell behind early in the fifth set and was unable to fully recover, falling 15-12. Down 8-2, Stanford rallied back, but was unable to tie it up.The Cardinal hit just .125 in the final set, while the Huskies posted a .308 attack percentage. Williams led the team with four kills. Vansant finished with a match-high 23 kills and tallied 20 digs.
Stanford returns to The Farm next week for a four-match home stand, beginning Wednesday, Oct. 23 against No. 21 Oregon. First serve between the Cardinal and Ducks is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on the Pac-12 Networks.