EUGENE, Ore. – Trailing 2-1, No. 14 Stanford dug deep to defeat No. 18 Penn State, 21-25, 25-23, 22-25, 26-24, 15-7, Saturday, in the Big Ten/Pac-12 Challenge at Matthew Knight Arena.
Stanford (4-2) hit .263 in the match and overcame 15.0 blocks by Penn State (5-3). The Cardinal put pressure on the Nittany Lions from the service line, registering eight aces. Stanford is now 14-12 all-time against Penn State and has won five in a row dating back to 2018. Saturday's win marked the 100th at Stanford for head coach Kevin Hambly.
Redshirt sophomore Caitie Baird recorded her first double-double of the year with 24 kills, one shy of her career-high, to go with 10 digs, three blocks and an ace. Junior opposite Kendall Kipp added a season-high 21 kills on .326 hitting and four blocks.
With the match on the line in the fourth set, Kipp recorded a kill and then teamed up with McKenna Vicini for a block to tie it at 24-24. Vicini and Baird then posted a block to give the Cardinal the lead and Baird registered her 20th kill of the match to force a fifth set.
Let's play FIVE!@caitiebaird_ finishes off the 4th with her 20th kill tonight.
— Stanford Women's Volleyball (@StanfordWVB) September 12, 2021
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Setter Kami Miner controlled the offense with a career high 56 assists and had a career-best 15 digs. The freshman helped the Cardinal hit .455 in the fifth set going 11-1-22 and post a sideout rate of 85 percent.
Stanford's middles produced all night long. Senior Holly Campbell hit .500 with a season-high 13 kills on 24 swings with just one error and had three blocks. Vicini had a career-high 10 kills on .429 hitting and a season-best five blocks.
Sophomore libero Elena Oglivie anchored the defense with a career-high 27 digs. Sophomore defensive specialist Alex Lougeay finished with career-highs in digs (8) and aces (3), while freshman defensive specialist Taylor Beaven had a career-high seven digs and her first collegiate ace.
Make your strength coach proud, Elena Oglivie ????
— Stanford Women's Volleyball (@StanfordWVB) September 11, 2021
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Penn State was led by Jonni Parker's 21 kills, 13 digs and five blocks. Middle Kaitlyn Hord added 11 kills and a match-high seven blocks.
Stanford returns to Maples Pavilion on Tuesday to play host to No. 3 Nebraska. The match is scheduled for 5 p.m. on Pac-12 Networks.