LONG BEACH, Calif. – Without ever relinquishing a lead, No. 2 Stanford rolled past Iowa, Saturday, at Walter Pyramid.
The Hawkeyes hung with the Cardinal in the opening set, knotting up the score five times but were not able to break any of the ties. As a team, Stanford (2-0) hit .333 and recorded 9.0 blocks, while holding Iowa (1-1) to a .111 attack percentage for the match. The Cardinal also served tough with nine aces.
Sophomore Kathryn Plummer led all players with 16 kills on .542 hitting and matched her career-high with three aces. Freshman Meghan McClure was on fire early, recording all eight of her kills in the first two sets. The rookie also secured three digs, two blocks and an ace.
Stanford seemed to get stronger as the match went on. The Cardinal utilized a 14-3 run to take a commanding lead in the third set. Sophomore middle blocker Audriana Fitzmorris notched four of her match-beset five blocks in the final frame. The Overland Park, Kansas native was also productive on the offensive end with seven kills on .400 hitting.
Redshirt freshman Michaela Keefe came in to add seven kills on a .385 attack percentage, while junior middle blocker Tami Alade finished with three kills and four blocks.
Sophomore setter Jenna Gray controlled the offense with 33 assists, while also registering five digs, four blocks and tied her career-best with two aces. Sophomore libero Morgan Hentz finished with three aces and six digs. It was the first time in her career that she did not reach double-digit digs in a match.
Iowa relied on its block early in the match as Jess Janota led the team with four. Janota also turned in six kills on .357 hitting to lead the Hawkeyes.
Stanford will be back in action at 4 p.m. to close out the LBSU Invitational against Wright State.
