STANFORD, Calif. – No. 14 Stanford improved to 5-0 on Friday afternoon with a 4-1 win against Utah at the Stanford Sand Volleyball Stadium.
"In the big picture, it was fun to be part of a historical day for Utah's program in their first-ever beach match," said first-year head coach Andrew Fuller. "They have a roster full of phenomenal athletes and it was a fun test in which we got to implement some new pieces in both the offensive and defensive phases of the game."
The Cardinal (5-0, 1-0 Pac-12) started with a 2-0 advantage over the Utes (0-1, 0-1) courtesy of the No. 5 and No. 4 pairs. The No. 4 pair of Morgan Hentz and Caitlin Keefe continued their perfect 5-0 start to the season with a dominant 21-10, 21-12 win over Torre Glasker and Tawnee Luafalemana, scoring the first point of the dual.
No. 5 Kat Anderson and Courtney Bowen fell behind after the first set, but rallied to defeat Berkeley Oblad and Emily Twohig, 21-23, 21-17, 15-8.
Stanford clinched the match at 3-0 with a win at the No. 1 position. Top pair Kathryn Plummer and Jenna Gray won in straight sets, 21-11, 21-16, over the Utes' top pair of Adora Anae and Eliza Katoa to seal the win for the Cardinal.
No. 3 pair Catherine Raquel and Shannon Richardson defeated Carly Trueman and Bri Doehrmann in straight sets, 21-18, 21-19, to make it 4-0. No. 2 duo Ivana Vanjak and Payton Chang dropped their first match of the season, 21-19, 21-16, to Bailey Choy and Dani Barton to make the final score 4-1.
Stanford's exhibition pair of Chelsea Red-Horse Mohl and Jennifer DiSanto sweetened the win for the Cardinal with a 21-10, 21-17 win over Megan Boudreaux and Lauren Sproule – the duo improved to 4-1 on the season.
"The team really appreciated the strong showing from not only the students, but also all of the families who bring their children out," added Fuller. "We have a really great family-friendly environment here, so it's great to see kids running around and getting exposure to high-level beach volleyball."
The Cardinal returns to the Stanford Sand Volleyball Stadium tomorrow to face Saint Mary's at 11 a.m. PT and Cal at 3 p.m. Utah and Cal will face off at 9 a.m. with the Utes returning to face Saint Mary's at 1 p.m. Live results for both of Stanford's duals will be available at GoStanford.com.
Full Results
1. Plummer/Gray (Stan) def. Anae/Katoa (Utah) 21-11, 21-16
2. Choi/Barton (Utah) def. Vanjak/Chang (Stan) 21-19, 21-16
3. Raquel/Richardson (Stan) def. Trueman/Doehrmann (Utah) 21-18, 21-19
4. Hentz/Keefe (Stan) def. Glasker/Luafalemana (Utah) 21-10, 21-12
5. Anderson/Bowen (Stan) def. Oblad/Twohig (Utah) 21-23, 21-17, 15-8
Exh. Red-Horse Mohl/DiSanto (Stan) def. Boudreaux/Sproule (Utah) 21-10, 21-17
