STANFORD, Calif. – Behind redshirt junior Merete Lutz's season-high 17 kills, the ninth-ranked Stanford women's volleyball team came from behind to defeat Cal Poly, 25-14, 23-25, 27-25, 25-13, 15-10, Sunday at Maples Pavilion.
Stanford (4-2) trailed Cal Poly 2-1 in the match before dominating the fourth set and overpowering the Mustangs (4-4) in the fifth. For the first time this season, Stanford hit over .300 in the match (.310) and tallied 18.0 team blocks and seven aces.
Redshirt senior middle blocker Inky Ajanaku hit a match-best .500 and turned in her first career double-double with 14 kills and 10 blocks. The 10 blocks matched her career-high, set during her freshman season in 2012, and moved her into seventh-place past Jenn Harvey (2000-03) on the school's all-time blocks list.
Lutz hit .429 (17-2-35) and registered five blocks at opposite. Freshman middle blocker Audriana Fitzmorris notched 14 kills on .458 hitting and seven blocks, while freshman opposite Kathryn Plummer finished with a career-high 10 blocks to go with six kills.
Stanford's setters, senior Kelsey Humphreys and freshman Jenna Gray, each had 25 assists in the match. Humphreys also posted a career-high 12 digs for her first double-double of the season. Sophomore outside hitter Hayley Hodson was a kill shy of a double-double (9 kills, 10 digs), while freshman Michaela Keefe provided a spark off the bench in the third set and started the fourth.
Freshman libero Morgan Hentz racked up a match-high 21 digs, including a pancake in the fifth set that sailed over the net for a kill. She also served well, matching her career-high with two aces.
All out, all the time! @HentzMorgan with the dig and kill #GoStanford https://t.co/gLfP1Ewr47
— Stanford Volleyball (@StanfordWVB) September 11, 2016
Cal Poly, which hit .156 for the match, was led by sophomores Alexis Clewis and Adlee Van Winden. Clewis had a team-high 17 kills on .270 hitting, while Van Winden recorded a double-double with 12 kills and 14 digs. Junior setter Taylor Nelson also had a double-double with 49 assists and 12 digs.
Stanford will play its next six matches on the road, starting with Saint Mary's (Sept. 16) and Pacific (Sept. 17). Next week's matches will conclude nonconference play for the Cardinal.