LOS ANGELES – Merete Lutz tallied a match-high 15 kills as No. 3 Stanford defeated No. 19 USC, Sunday, at the Galen Center.
Stanford (15-2) won its 10th straight match and remains in first place in the Pac-12 Conference at 8-0. USC (14-5) fell to 6-2 in the conference. The Cardinal is now 62-24 against the Trojans.
Lutz hit .609 with just one error on the day and registered five blocks. Sophomore Kathryn Plummer added 13 kills, while sophomore Audriana Fitzmorris had 11 kills and tied her season-high with eight blocks.
The Cardinal hit .318 as a team, totaled 11.5 blocks and eight service aces. The Trojans posted a .234 attack percentage and had eight blocks and three aces.
Sophomore setter Jenna Gray recorded 45 assists and was 5-0-8 (.625) offensively. Sophomore libero Morgan Hentz collected 14 digs and put down two aces, while freshman defensive specialist Kate Formico finished with six digs and two aces.
Stanford was cruising in the fourth, up 18-13, before USC ripped off eight straight points to take the lead. The Cardinal fought from behind and tied it 24-24 on Plummer's 13th kill. After a Trojan error gave the Cardinal match-point, freshman Meghan McClure served an ace of the match to clinch the win.
Junior Tami Alade had nine kills on .538 hitting and two blocks, while McClure added seven kills, 11 digs and matched her career-high with three aces.
Great to play in front of a legend @kobebryant #GoStanford #MambaMentality pic.twitter.com/K30YUfAzDB
— Stanford Volleyball (@StanfordWVB) October 16, 2017
USC was led by sophomore Khalia Lanier who had 14 kills and five digs, while opposite Brittany Abercrombie chipped in with 12 kills on .370 hitting.
Stanford returns to The Farm next week to play host to No. 14 Washington on Thursday and Washington State on Saturday. Thursday's match will be televised on ESPNU at 8 p.m.