EUGENE, Ore. – No. 14 Stanford hit a season-low in a four-set loss to No. 13 Minnesota, Friday, in the Big Ten/Pac-12 Challenge at Matthew Knight Arena.
Minnesota (2-3) hit .329 as a team, while holding the Cardinal (3-2) to a .199 clip. The Golden Gophers, which defeated Stanford for just the second time, held a 14.0 to 9.0 advantage in blocks and a 59-51 edge in digs.
Redshirt sophomore Caitie Baird registered a team-high 17 kills to go with nine digs and three blocks. The outside hitter also matched her career-high with three aces – all three coming in succession in the second set.
The Cardinal hit .346 in the second – the only set it won on Friday. Stanford struggled to sideout consistently, posting a match-high of 60 percent in the fourth.
Freshman setter Kami Miner turned in her second double-double of the season with 38 assists and 11 digs to go with three kills. Sophomore libero Elena Oglivie collected a team-high 17 digs, three assists and an ace.
Junior outside hitter Natalie Berty totaled 11 kills and three digs for the Cardinal, while junior opposite Kendall Kipp had eight kills and a career-best six blocks. Defensive specialists Alex Lougeay and Taylor Beaven finished with five and three digs, respectively.
Stanford struggled to get its middles going on Friday. Redshirt sophomore McKenna Vicini tallied five kills on 13 swings and had a season-high four blocks. Senior Holly Campbell added four kills on 12 swings and four blocks.
Minnesota was led by Stephanie Samedy's 20 kills on .455 hitting and 14 digs. Jenna Wenaas chipped in with 17 kills, while libero CC McGraw had a match-high 19 digs.
Stanford closes out the weekend on Saturday against No. 18 Penn State. First serve is scheduled for 4 p.m. on Pac-12 Bay Area.