STANFORD, Calif. - The No. 6 Stanford women's volleyball team (21-6, 15-4 Pac-12) defeated California 25-22, 18-25, 25-13, 25-23, Wednesday at Maples Pavilion, sweeping the Big Spike series for the fourth consecutive season. With the win, Madi Bugg, Jordan Burgess, Brittany Howard and Inky Ajanaku become just the second group of seniors in the last 15 years to go undefeated against the Golden Bears in conference play, joining the cohort who played from 1999-2002.
The momentum in the first set swung back-and-forth several times, with Stanford ultimately prevailing 25-22. Down 9-8, Cal (9-21, 3-16 Pac-12) went on a 4-0 run, keyed by two of Christine Alftin's five first-set kills, to force Stanford into a timeout. Out of the break, the Cardinal went on a 3-0 spurt of its own, but Cal answered back with a three-point run to push its advantage to 15-12. A kill and two straight aces from Howard tied the game at 16. With the set knotted at 18, the Cardinal embarked on a 4-1 run to lead 22-19. The Bears pulled to within one at 23-22 on Lillian Schoenwise's ninth kill of the set, but consecutive kills from Hayley Hodson gave Stanford a three-point victory. Hodson and Lutz tallied five kills each, while Alftin and Schoenwise combined for 14 of Cal's 18 kills. The Cardinal had a decided advantage in blocks (4-0) and out hit Cal .469 to .424.
Happy senior night to our vball fam!!!!!???? #NerdNation #GoStanford
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Alftin, who prepped at nearby Woodside High School, took control in the second set, recording six kills to spur Cal to a 25-18 win. Down 11-7 after four early smashes from Lutz, the Bears tied the set at 11-11 off back-to-back Alftin kills. Head coach John Dunning called for time, but California kept rolling, outscoring Stanford 14-7 the rest of the way. The Cardinal suffered from an inefficient attack in the second, tallying seven errors (after only one in the previous set) and a .132 hitting percentage.
Stanford had a 6-0 spurt and two 4-0 runs in the third set en route a quick 25-13 victory. Despite Hodson's second of her three set-opening kills, the Cardinal went down early. But Bugg was in top-form, recording two straight kills with the set tied at four, one a well-timed sneak attack, to give Stanford a lead it would not relinquish. Howard topped all players will five kills in the frame, and Hodson was not far behind with four. Like the first set, the team hit over .400, totaling 18 kills to just three errors. The Cardinal's front line held the Bears to a paltry .097 hitting percentage, limiting its cross-Bay rivals to just eight kills, well under its season average of 13.1 per set.
Thanks to another early strike from Hodson, Stanford did not trail in the fourth as it closed out the match 25-23. Two kills apiece from the freshman phenom and Ivana Vanjak keyed a 7-2 Cardinal streak with the score tied at 4-4. The Bears brought it back to 16-all and stayed close until the end, but the Cardinal was simply too much on its home floor. Hodson equaled her first Big Spike performance, pouring in 18 kills, including seven in the fourth set, six digs and five blocks.
Howard finished with a double-double (12 kills and 13 digs), and Lutz also had double-digit kills (13). In their final home conference tilt, Burgess and Bugg combined for 13 kills and 14 digs. Stanford hit .333 for the match and dominated the front line, posting 14 blocks to Cal's six. Schoenwise led all players with 20 kills, Alftin had 16 and Antzela Dempi chipped in 11 for the Bears.
The Cardinal improves to 69-11 all-time against its Bay Area rivals, having only dropped four sets against Cal dating back to the 2012 campaign. Seniors Bugg, Burgess and Howard are now 111-18 in their collegiate careers, including a 60-2 mark at Maples Pavilion. The three have combined for seven All-America honors and eight Pac-12 All-Conference selections.
Stanford concludes Pac-12 play against No. 13 UCLA on Friday, Nov. 27 at Pauley Pavilion, its only matchup against the Bruins this year. Friday's match will air on Pac-12 Network, Pac-12 Bay Area and Pac-12 Los Angeles.