BOULDER, Colo. – Freshman outside hitter Kathryn Plummer posted a career-high 20 kills as No. 13 Stanford defeated Colorado, 25-19, 25-16, 14-25, 25-20, Friday, at the Coors Events Center.
The win moved the Cardinal (15-6, 9-4 Pac-12) into a four-way tie atop the Pac-12 Conference standings with Oregon, UCLA and Washington with seven matches left on the slate.
Stanford hit .203 in the match while holding Colorado (12-11, 4-9 Pac-12) to a .150 clip. Stanford held a 13.0 to 12.0 advantage in blocks as both teams tallied 57 digs.
Plummer's 20 kills led all players as it marked just the second time this season a Cardinal player reached the 20-kill plateau. She also collected eight digs, five blocks and an ace in the win. Freshman middle blocker Audriana Fitzmorris hit .450 with 10 kills on 20 swings with just one error. She also recorded a match-high eight blocks and a career-best six digs.
Freshman setter Jenna Gray controlled the offense with a career-high 44 assists to go with three kills and four digs. Freshman libero Morgan Hentz racked-up 23 digs, while sophomore defensive specialist Halland McKenna finished with seven digs and two service aces.
Redshirt junior Merete Lutz and redshirt senior Inky Ajanaku each registered eight kills, while Lutz had four blocks and Ajanaku totaled three. Redshirt junior outside hitter Ivana Vanjak added six kills and three blocks.
Colorado was led by Gabby Simpson's triple-double of 10 kills, 15 assists and 11 digs. Alexa Smith finished one digs shy of a double-double with 10 kills, nine digs and three blocks for the Buffaloes.
Stanford will have a quick turnaround, facing No. 19 Utah on Saturday, Nov. 5. First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m. PT from the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.