SAN DIEGO – The No. 1 Stanford women’s volleyball team defeated No. 19 San Diego, 25-13, 23-25, 25-14, 25-21, Thursday, at the Jenny Craig Pavilion in San Diego, Calif. The Cardinal moves to 8-0 on the year, while the Toreros drop to 6-4.
Stanford hit .333 as a team and posted 12.5 blocks, forcing San Diego into 33 attack errors and a .114 hitting percentage. Both teams finished with five aces.
Redshirt freshman middle blocker Merete Lutz led the Cardinal with a career high 15 kills and tied her career best with six blocks. Junior middle blocker Inky Ajanaku added 14 kills and six blocks. Both Lutz and Ajanaku hit .500 for Stanford.
Junior setter Madi Bugg finished with 50 assists and seven digs to go with three kills. Junior outside hitter Jordan Burgess registered her sixth double-double of the season with 11 kills and 15 digs, while senior opposite Morgan Boukather notched nine kills and four blocks.
Senior libero Kyle Gilbert and junior outside hitter Brittany Howard played solid defense, racking up 15 digs apiece. Freshman Sarah Benjamin, a San Diego native, recorded a career high nine digs.
San Diego senior Alaysia Brown led the Toreros with 14 kills, while senior Sandra Lozic totaled 11 kills and seven digs. Sophomore libero Hunter Jennings finished with a match-high 20 digs for USD.
Up next, Stanford faces Eastern Washington in the USD Invitational on Friday, Sept. 19. First serve between the Cardinal and Eagles is set for 5 p.m. PT in the Jenny Craig Pavilion.