LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Led by AVCA Pacific Region Player of the Year Kami Miner, No. 5 Stanford defeated No. 22 Florida, 24-26, 25-17, 26-24, 29-27, Thursday, in the NCAA regional semifinal at Freedom Hall.
Stanford (28-4), the No. 2 seed in the Louisville Region, had five players register double-digit kills as it hit .288 for the match. The Cardinal advances its 18th NCAA regional final since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1998.
Miner controlled the offense with 56 assists and had nine digs, two kills, an ace and a team-high five blocks. Libero Elena Oglivie notched her third double-double of the year with a match-best 16 digs and 10 assists.
Middle blocker Sami Francis and outside hitter Ipar Kurt each recorded a team-best 17 kills. Francis, who set a season-high in kills, hit .417 and tallied four blocks, while Kurt posted a .353 attack percentage and had four digs and an ace.
Outside hitter Elia Rubin totaled 16 kills and 13 digs for her 10th double-double of the season, while opposite Jordyn Harvey registered her second double-double of the year with 10 kills, 10 digs and three aces.
Freshman middle blocker Lizzy Andrew turned in a career-high 10 kills on .600 hitting and two blocks. Defensive specialist Anna Pringle finished with six digs.
The Cardinal improved to 26-4 in the NCAA Tournament under Kevin Hambly, the Montag Family Director of Women’s Volleyball.
The Gators were led by opposite Kennedy Martin, who had a match-high 21 kills on .320 hitting, six digs and five blocks. The Cardinal is now 4-1 against Florida in the NCAA Tournament, and 10-6 against the Gators overall.
Stanford will face either (1) Louisville or (4) Purdue in the regional final on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. PT on ESPN2.