LINCOLN, Neb. – Senior Elia Rubin turned in a double-double to lead No. 6 Stanford in a 22-25, 25-19, 25-22. 25-22 season-opening win over No. 16 Florida, Friday, in the AVCA First Serve Showcase at Pinnacle Bank Arena.
Stanford (1-0) out hit Florida (0-1) .260 to .203. The Cardinal locked in defensively, racking up 57 digs to go with 13.0 blocks.
Stanford’s lone returning All-American, Rubin registered 14 kills on .343 hitting and a match-high 17 digs to lead the Cardinal. The outside hitter also tallied two blocks and two assists. Opposite Jordyn Harvey added 11 kills and four blocks, including two solo.
Utilizing a 6-2 system for the first time since 2016, Stanford sophomore Taylor Yu dished out 28 assists and had six digs and an ace. Freshman Logan Parks, who split time a setter and opposite, recorded 23 assists, nine kills, seven digs and four blocks in her collegiate debut.
Also making their Cardinal debuts were freshman libero Spencer Etzler and middle blocker Erika Sayer. Etzler collected 15 digs, two aces and three assists, while Sayer had seven kills and five blocks, including two solo.
Sophomore Lizzy Andrew hit .375 and registered nine kills and a team-high six blocks. Redshirt sophomore Julia Blyashov started the match at outside hitter, totaling five kills, four digs and an ace. Redshirt sophomore Ipar Kurt replaced Blyashov in the third set, chipping in with three kills on a .429 attack percentage.
Florida was led by Jordyn Byrd, who had a match-high 17 kills on .368 hitting, and two blocks. Jaela Auguste and Milica Vidacic each pitched in with 10 kills. Stanford improved to 11-6 all-time against Florida.
The Cardinal is back in action on Sunday taking on No. 1 Nebraska at 12:30 p.m. PT on ESPN.