PHOENIX, Ariz. – The No. 18 Stanford beach volleyball team swept a Thursday doubleheader at Grand Canyon, defeating Arizona State (4-1) and the No. 8 Lopes (3-2). Stanford has now won six straight matches and defeated two Top-10 opponents this week.
The six-match win streak is Stanford's second longest in the history of the program, only behind 11 straight in 2018. The two victories over Top-10 opponents also marks the first time in program history the Cardinal have defeated two such opponents in a season.
Stanford's No. 1 pair of Charlie Ekstrom and Sunny Villapando continue to roll, improving their record to 8-1 this season. They clinched the first match over ASU and gave the Cardinal a leg up in the win over Grand Canyon.
The No. 2 pairing of Xolani Hodel and Kate Reilly, both freshmen, improved to 7-2 on the season with two, two-set wins on Thursday. Maddi Kriz and Maya Harvey picked up two, straight-set wins as well, improving to 8-2 at the No. 3 pairing this season. Their 21-18, 21-18 victory proved to be the clincher in the day's second match.
Stanford now stays in Arizona for four matches this weekend in Tucson at the Pac-12 South Invitational, hosted by the University of Arizona. The Cardinal will play No. 14 Arizona on Saturday morning at 10:15 a.m. before a showdown with Utah at 2 p.m. Stanford will then wrap up it's eight-match, road trip with matches on Sunday against Arizona State (12:45 p.m.) and Washington (3:15 p.m.). All matches this weekend will air on Pac-12 Network Bay Area.
No. 18 Stanford 4, Arizona State 1
Flight #1: Charlie Ekstrom/Sunny Villapando (STAN) def. Katelyn Carballo/Lexi Sweeney (Arizona State) 17-21, 21-17, 15-6
Flight #2: Xolani Hodel/Kate Reilly (STAN) def. Emily Anderson/Aleksandra Sochacka (Arizona State) 21-13, 21-12
Flight #3: Maddi Kriz/Maya Harvey (STAN) def. Cierra Flood/Sarah Waters (Arizona State) 21-13, 16-21, 15-11
Flight #4: Maddie Dailey/Jordan McKinney (STAN) def. Taryn Ames/Kate Fitzgerald (Arizona State) 21-19, 21-9
Flight #5: Lila Bordis/Samantha Plaster (Arizona State) def. Emmy Sharp/Abby Converse (STAN) 23-25, 23-21, 15-12
Order of finish: 2, 4, 1, 3, 5
No. 18 Stanford 3, No. 8 Grand Canyon 2
Flight #1: Charlie Ekstrom/Sunny Villapando (STAN) def. Alli Hansen/Teagan DeFalco (Grand Canyon) 25-23, 21-13
Flight #2: Xolani Hodel/Kate Reilly (STAN) def. Bella Bauman/Allanis Navas (Grand Canyon) 21-17, 23-21
Flight #3: Maddi Kriz/Maya Harvey (STAN) def. Paula Hoffman, Madi Relaz (Grand Canyon) 21-18, 21-18
Flight #4: Anaya Evans/Katie Sarber (Grand Canyon) def. Maddie Dailey/Jordan McKinney (STAN) 21-14, 17-21, 15-9
Flight #5: Alyssa Garber/Taylor Jarzombek (Grand Canyon) def. Emmy Sharp/Abby Converse (STAN) 21-18, 22-20
Order of finish: 2, 4, 1, 5, 3