SALT LAKE CITY – It was a different combination of players, but the same final outcome as Stanford dropped a 25-16, 17-25, 20-25, 19-25 contest at No. 9 Utah, Sunday, at the Huntsman Center.
Still playing with a limited roster, redshirt freshman Caitie Baird returned to the lineup and led Stanford (1-5) with 13 kills and 10 digs for her second double-double of the season against the Utes (10-2).
Utah hit .153 as a team, while Stanford was at a .132 clip. The Cardinal got its block going early and often, totaling 11.0 for the match. The Utes held the advantage in digs (64-55) and aces (5-3).
The Cardinal was without freshman Annabelle Smith, resulting in sophomore Kendall Kipp being moved to the middle. It's a position Kipp has played in high school, but was her first action there at the collegiate level. The Newport Beach native finished with eight kills and three blocks.
"@KippKendall can play middle" ??
— Stanford Women's Volleyball (@StanfordWVB) March 7, 2021
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Redshirt freshman McKenna Vicini, Stanford's other starting middle, hit .316 with seven kills and just one error on 19 attempts. She also registered a career-high and match-best seven blocks. Senior outside hitter Meghan McClure added eight kills, 11 digs and was one block shy of her career-high with five.
Welcome to the Cardinal BLOCK party! ??@StanfordWVB takes the first set.
— Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) March 7, 2021
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Sophomore setter Selina Xu tallied 31 assists, eight digs and an ace. Junior Mackenzie Fidelak, who started the match at opposite, shared setting duties with Xu down the stretch, finishing with three kills and career-highs in assists (4), blocks (3) and digs (12).
Freshman libero Elena Oglivie collected a team-high 13 digs, marking her fifth straight match in double-digits.
Utah was led by senior Dani Drews' 19 kills, while redshirt junior Phoebe Grace added 10 kills. The Utes earned consecutive wins over the Cardinal for the first time in program history.
Stanford returns to The Farm next week to play host to No. 20 Oregon on Friday and Sunday.