STANFORD, Calif. – The No. 6 Stanford women’s volleyball team got back on track Friday with a 28-26, 25-19, 22-25, 25-11 win over UCLA at Maples Pavilion in Stanford, Calif. The Cardinal moves to 16-5 on the season and 9-3 in the Pac-12, while the Bruins fall to 12-9 overall and 3-8 in the conference.
Sophomore outside hitter Brittany Howard led the team with 12 kills and a career-high seven blocks. Sophomore middle blocker Inky Ajanaku registered 10 kills and five blocks on a .450 attack percentage, while senior Carly Wopat added 10 kills and six blocks. Sophomore Jordan Burgess also recorded 10 kills and added 15 digs for her fourth double-double of the season. Senior Rachel Williams finished with nine kills, 15 digs and tied her season-high two aces.
Sophomore setter Madi Bugg recorded her sixth double-double of the year with 46 assists and 11 digs, while also tallying a career-high six blocks. Junior libero Kyle Gilbert finished with 25 digs. As a team, Stanford finished with 14.0 blocks and a .309 hitting percentage. On the season, the Cardinal is hitting .317 and is the only team in the conference hitting above .300.
The Cardinal pulled off the comeback in the opening set, 28-26. Stanford outhit UCLA .283 to .204 as there were 15 tie scores and eight lead changes in the first. Ajanaku and Howard led the team offensively with four kills apiece. Defensively, Stanford tallied four blocks, including three by Ajanaku, while Gilbert collected eight digs. Karsta Lowe led the Bruins with seven kills and five digs.
Stanford took a 2-0 lead in the match with a 25-19 win in the second set. Stanford hit .256 in the set, while holding the Bruins to a .171 clip. The Cardinal also registered three blocks in the set. Ajanaku, Burgess, Howard and Wopat all put down three kills to lead the team offensively. Burgess, Gilbert and Williams posted five digs apiece on defense. Senior Kelly Reeves totaled five kills and three digs to pace the Bruins.
UCLA avoided the sweep with a 25-22 victory in the third set. Despite hitting .310 in the set, the Cardinal managed to record only 10 kills, while the Bruins totaled 20 kills and a .302 attack percentage. Howard led Stanford with four kills, while Williams and Wopat each had two. Williams led the defense with six digs. Lowe led UCLA with eight kills.
The Cardinal didn’t waste any time closing out the Bruins in the fourth, posting a 25-11 set win. Stanford hit .400 (15-1-35) while holding UCLA to a .023 clip (20-7-43). Burgess led the team with four kills, while Williams and Wopat registered three each. Gilbert added nine digs in the set, while Bugg tallied 12 assists and five digs. Lowe finished with a match-high 22 kills and 14 digs.
Up next, Stanford hits the road to take on Colorado and Utah. The Cardinal will square off with the Buffaloes in Boulder, Colo., on Friday, Nov. 8 at 6 p.m. PT and the Utes on Sunday, Nov. 10 at 11 a.m. PT in Salt Lake City. Sunday’s match will be televised on the Pac-12 Networks.