STANFORD, Calif. – No. 12 Stanford made quick work of 19th-ranked Oregon in women's volleyball action at Maples Pavilion on Wednesday, sweeping the visitors 3-0 (25-22, 25-11, 25-22) for its ninth straight over the Ducks. It secured a 20-win season for the 16th time in as many seasons with head coach John Dunning at the helm.
Stanford (20-7 overall, 14-5 Pac-12 Conference) again proved why it's one of the Pac-12's most efficient squads, hitting .356 while stuffing nine shots. The last win for Oregon (19-9, 13-6) over the Cardinal came in 2011, a five-setter on Stanford's home court.
The Cardinal continued the Ducks' sliding trend, as the visitors fell to 0-9 when trailing in attack percentage and 0-6 when hitting under .200. They finished hitting .196 compared to Stanford's .356, only the second time this season the Ducks' surrendered a percentage greater than .300 in 28 matches.
In the first set, the Cardinal turned a four-point deficit (11-7) into a three-point lead (20-17) behind Jenna Gray's steady distribution. She assisted on 10 of Stanford's 14 first-set kills.
The penultimate frame featured a pair of blocks by Inky Ajanaku and Merete Lutz which helped the Cardinal double-up Oregon, 20-10, while boat racing the visitors to take a 2-0 cushion. Ajanaku had a hand in four blocks in the set.
Stanford held Oregon to its lowest hitting clip on the evening in the second set, a .033 mark for a team that entered the match as the Pac-12 leader in hitting percentage (.275) and kills (14.32).
Kathryn Plummer, the reigning Pac-12 Freshman of the Week and Offensive Player of the Week, held serve midway through the final stanza to flip a 12-11 hole into a 17-12 advantage. Stanford trailed by as many as three (7-4) before mounting the comeback.
However, the Ducks orchestrated a 5-0 run and the teams traded points until Stanford pulled away by winning six of the final eight rallies.
Plummer was one of two Cardinal with double-figure kills, totaling 10 along with Ajanaku.
Ajanaku needed just two blocks to pass Foluke Akinradewo for fourth place on Stanford's career chart. She got five before the end of the second set and ended with five on the night. Akinradewo totaled 579 during her time on The Farm from 2005-08.
Morgan Hentz notched a match-high 12 digs, a few shades under her 4.65 season average, the fourth-best single-season mark in program history.
Oregon's Ronika Stone had a match-high 14 kills on 21 swings.
Stanford will put the finishing touches on its regular season Friday when it plays host to Bay Area rival Cal. That match will be televised on the Pac-12 Networks beginning at 5 p.m. PT. Ajanaku and Kelsey Humphreys will be honored prior to the match, their final on The Farm.
Oregon, four years removed from the program's most successful season when it fell in the national championship game against Texas, entered 2016 with its sights set on returning to the NCAA Tournament for the sixth straight season. The Ducks have another chance to boost their resume when they travel to Oregon State on Friday.
The NCAA Tournament field will be announced on Sunday at 6 p.m. PT on ESPNU. Stanford looks to extend its postseason streak to 36 consecutive seasons, as the Cardinal is one of only two programs in the nation to appear in every NCAA Tournament since the current format began in 1981.