STANFORD, Calif. – Stanford head women’s volleyball coach John Dunning secured his 800th career win as the fifth-ranked Cardinal swept Washington State (25-14, 25-15, 26-24), Friday, at Maples Pavilion in Stanford, Calif. The Cardinal improves to 22-5 overall and 15-3 in the Pac-12, while the drop to 17-13 overall and 4-13 in the conference.
Dunning is now 800-168 overall (.826) and 363-66 during his time at Stanford. The AVCA Hall of Fame member becomes just the fourth active Division I head coach in the NCAA to reach the 800 win plateau.
“I must be a lucky person. I never planned on being a coach,” Dunning said following the match. “Somehow I ended up coaching in college and somehow I ended up here [Stanford]. I’ve gotten to work with amazing people and coach so many amazing athletes, some Olympians and some of the most dedicated people that you could ever find. More days now than ever before I just smile and think how lucky am I? I love doing it [coaching].”
Stanford is now 18-1 on the season in three-set matches and 27-1 at Maples Pavilion since the start of the 2012 campaign. The Cardinal posted a .373 team hitting percentage, while holding the Cougars to a .198 clip on Friday. Sophomore outside hitter Jordan Burgess led the team with 13 kills on a .414 attack percentage to go with eight digs and two blocks.
Senior Rachel Williams registered her ninth double-double of the year with 11 kills on 23 swings with just one error (.435) and 11 digs. Sophomore middle blocker Inky Ajanaku added nine kills on a .500 hitting percentage, while senior Carly Wopat finished with eight kills and four blocks. Sophomore Brittany Howard racked up 12 digs to go with five kills and two blocks.
Sophomore setter Madi Bugg notched her seventh double-double of the year with 43 assists and 11 digs, surpassing the 2,000 career assist mark in the process. Junior libero Kyle Gilbert finished with 14 digs and registered her fourth kill of the season.
Thirteen of Stanford’s 15 players on the roster saw playing time against the Cougars. Redshirt junior Lydia Bai totaled five kills on season-high tying seven attempts to hit .571. Freshman outside hitter Kyra Holt led the Cougars with 13 kills and six digs.
Stanford closes out the regular season next week with a trip to Tucson, Ariz., for a date with the Arizona Wildcats on Wednesday, Nov. 27 before returning to The Farm to take on rival California on Friday, Nov. 29. Friday’s match is Senior Night and will be televised on the Pac-12 Networks at 6 p.m. PT.