BATON ROUGE, La. – No. 3 Stanford recorded two gritty wins early Saturday morning to close out its time at the Death Volley Invitational, topping No. 4 TCU 3-2 and No. 5 Florida State by the same score on the campus of Louisiana State University.
Stanford now sits at 18-2 and has won 10 straight. The Cardinal earned four top-20 victories in Louisiana in the two-day tournament, upping its total to 11 top-20 wins in the 2024 season.
The Cardinal opened its morning with its battle against the Horned Frogs, the second meeting between the two programs this season. Junior Taylor Wilson and Ruby Sorra earned the first point of the match on court two, followed by a decisive victory on court five from freshman Clara Stowell and senior Kate Reilly. Freshman Chloe Hoffman and Kelly Belardi secured the top-five win for the Cardinal with a 21-14, 21-15 decision on court three.
Stanford's second match of the day, although won by the same score, proved to have a trickier path to victory. Florida State snagged the first point of the day with a win on court two, but the Cardinal fought back with a 21-18, 21-19 win on court one from senior Xolani Hodel and freshman Brooke Rockwell. The match was knotted again at two points apiece almost simultaneously as FSU took the match on court four while the Cardinal's Belardi and Hoffman earned the point on court three. It would all come down to results on court five.
Florida State took the first set on court five in extra points, 23-21, but Reilly and Stowell stormed back with a 21-15 decision in set two to push the match to three sets. In the match's deciding set, Reilly and Stowell held on to top the Seminoles, 16-14, to secure the Cardinal's second top-five victory of the day.
The Cardinal heads back to the West Coast for its next bit of action, taking on No. 1 USC, No. 13 Washington, Utah, and No. 19 Arizona at the Pac-12 North Invitational in Seattle, Wash. April 5-6. All matches are scheduled to be broadcast on Pac-12 Networks.
#3 Stanford 3, #4 TCU 2
1. Sutton MacTavish/Hailey Hamlett (TCU) def. Xolani Hodel/Brooke Rockwell (STAN) 14-21, 21-18, 16-14
2. Ruby Sorra/Taylor Wilson (STAN) def. Anhelina Khmil/Ana Vergara (TCU) 21-18, 21-17
3. Chloe Hoffman/Kelly Belardi (STAN) def. Anete Namike/Hallie Corinne Frist (TCU) 21-14, 21-15
4. Tara Patton/Morgan Williams (TCU) def. Ashley Vincent/Maya Harvey (STAN) 18-21, 21-19, 21-19
5. Clara Stowell/Kate Reilly (STAN) def. Olivia Clines/Keagan Polk (TCU) 21-11, 21-19
Order of Finish: 2, 5, 3*, 1, 4
#3 Stanford 3, #5 Florida State 2
1. Xolani Hodel/Brooke Rockwell (STAN) def. Anna Long/Alexis Durish (FSU) 21-18, 21-19
2. Maddie Anderson/Alli Hansen (FSU) def. Ruby Sorra/Taylor Wilson (STAN) 21-16, 21-19
3. Chloe Hoffman/Kelly Belardi (STAN) def. Audrey Koenig/Raelyn White (FSU) 21-15, 21-18
4. Caitlin Moon/Kaileigh Trruslow (FSU) def. Ashley Vincent/Maya Harvey (STAN) 21-17, 21-16
5. Clara Stowell/Kate Reilly (STAN) def. Kaeli Crews/Carra Sassack (FSU) 21-23, 21-15, 16-14
Order of Finish: 2, 1, 3, 4, 5*
