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Karen Ambrose Hickey/isiphotos
Women's Volleyball

Kipp Leads Card Past Utah

STANFORD, Calif. – Led by opposite Kendall Kipp, No. 8 Stanford defeated Utah, 25-22, 25-15, 22-25, 25-11, Friday, at Maples Pavilion.

Kipp racked up 21 kills on .378 hitting, seven digs, three blocks and an ace as the Cardinal (17-4, 12-1 Pac-12) won its 11th consecutive match.

The Cardinal hit .289 as a team, totaling 52 kills, seven aces, 49 digs and 10.0 blocks. Utah (13-11, 6-7 Pac-12) was held to a .094 attack percentage and finished with 40 kills, four aces, 48 digs and 11.0 blocks.
 


Setter Kami Miner dished out 39 assists and tallied a season-high five blocks to go with four kills, eight digs and two aces. Libero Elena Oglivie was locked in on defense, collecting a match-best 18 digs, including nine in the first set.
 


Middle blocker McKenna Vicini hit .800 with eight kills on 10 errorless swings, and had three blocks. Outside hitters Elia Rubin and Caitie Baird combined for 16 kills and 15 digs.

Junior middle blocker Annabelle Smith matched her season-high with seven blocks and had three kills and a dig. Freshman defensive specialist Kelly Belardi registered two aces and an assist.
 


Leading wire-to-wire in the fourth, Stanford hit a match-best .522 in the frame, siding out at a rate of 90 percent. Stanford is now 23-4 all-time against Utah.

The Utes were led by middle blockers KJ Burgess and Allie Olsen. Burgess hit .583 with eight kills and seven blocks, while Olsen added eight kills on .533 hitting and four blocks.

In celebration of the 50th anniversary of Title IX, Stanford welcomed back members of its first national semifinal (1982) and national championships (1992) teams with an on-court recognition between the second and third sets.

Stanford closes out the weekend on Sunday, playing host to Colorado. First serve is scheduled for Noon on Pac-12 Mountain.