STANFORD, Calif. – Led by
Audriana Fitzmorris, the No. 3 seed Stanford women's volleyball team opened the NCAA Tournament with a sweep over CSU Bakersfield, Friday, at Maples Pavilion.
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Stanford (27-3) remains undefeated in NCAA first round matches and is unbeaten at home this season (12-0). The Cardinal hit .417 as a team and posted 15.5 blocks, its most in a three-set match in 2017.
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CSU Bakersfield (19-14), which won the WAC Tournament to earn an automatic berth into the postseason, hit just .011 – the seventh time the Cardinal held its opponent under .100 this year.
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Fitzmorris hit a career-high .833 (10-0-12) and racked up eight blocks for Stanford. Sophomore
Kathryn Plummer chipped in with nine kills on .421 hitting, seven digs, three blocks and two aces.
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Sophomore setter
Jenna Gray posted 33 assists and had four digs, three blocks and two aces. Sophomore libero
Morgan Hentz collected a match-best 10 digs to go with three assists.
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Freshman
Meghan McClure finished with five kills, five digs and a career-high five blocks in her NCAA Tournament debut. Redshirt senior
Merete Lutz added six kills and six blocks, while junior
Tami Alade hit .800 with four kills and four blocks.
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All 15 Stanford players took the court on Friday, including redshirt sophomore
Courtney Bowen who had two kills and a block. Junior
Alexis Froistad had the match-winning kill for the Cardinal.
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Stanford will take on No. 23 Colorado State on Saturday in the NCAA second round. The Cardinal and Rams will face off at 6 p.m. on Pac-12 Bay Area.
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