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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
