STANFORD, Calif. – After a strong start in the opening set, No. 2 Stanford dropped a 25-18, 22-25, 23-25, 29-31 decision to No. 12 BYU, Saturday, at Maples Pavilion.
It was the first loss at home for third-year head coach Kevin Hambly as Stanford (6-2) had not dropped a match in Maples Pavilion since November 12, 2016. The Cardinal's nation-best home winning streak was snapped at 37.
Stanford out hit BYU (9-2) .238 - .231, marking the first time this season it lost while outhitting its opponent. The Cardinal tallied a season-high 16.0 blocks, but was aced four times by the Cougars. BYU edged Stanford in kill 61-60, while both teams finished with 62 digs.
Senior Kathryn Plummer totaled a match-high 21 kills to go with five digs and three assists. She now has 1,692 career kills, passing Foluke Akinradewo (2005-08) for ninth most in school history. Akinradewo, a two-time Olympian, was in attendance as she was inducted into the Stanford Athletics Hall of Fame on Friday night.
Senior setter Jenna Gray guided the offense with 52 assists and had five blocks and four digs. Senior libero Morgan Hentz racked up a season-high 27 digs – notching 20+ digs for the fourth straight match.
Sophomore Holly Campbell sparked the Cardinal defense with a career-high 10 blocks to go with seven kills, while senior Madeleine Gates chipped in with nine kills and six blocks. Senior opposite Audriana Fitzmorris added 10 kills and seven blocks, while freshman Kendall Kipp had 10 kills and four blocks.
Junior Meghan McClure had Stanford's only ace of the match and totaled 13 digs and a kill. Junior defensive specialist Kate Formico finished with 10 digs.
BYU was led by senior outside hitter McKenna Miller's 18 kills, while sophomore middle blocker Heather Gneiting recorded 10 kills on .333 hitting and six blocks. Senior libero Mary Lake had 15 digs for the Cougars.
Stanford opens Pac-12 Conference play Thursday at No. 24 California. First serve is slated for 7:30 p.m. on Pac-12 Networks.
