LONG BEACH, Calif. – After dropping the opening set, No. 6 Stanford rallied back to defeat Long Beach State, 18-25, 25-19, 25-16, 25-20, Friday, at Walter Pyramid.
Stanford (2-1) turned in a .244 attack percentage for the match, hitting .400 in the second and .343 in the fourth. In its season opener, Long Beach State (0-1) hit .218 and collected 51 digs, 7.0 blocks and three aces.
Freshman Erika Sayer led Stanford with a career-high 10 kills on a career-best .529 attack percentage. The middle blocker also registered a career and match-high five blocks. Outside hitter Ipar Kurt added nine kills, two blocks and an ace.
The Cardinal tallied a season-best eight aces, including a career-high six from Elia Rubin. Entering the match in the second, the senior finished with six kills, four digs, two blocks and two assists. Middle blocker Lizzy Andrew hit .368 with eight kills on 19 swings with just one miscue. The sophomore also had two digs and two blocks.
Stanford started the match in a 6-2 offense but switched to a 5-1 with sophomore Taylor Yu at setter in the second. Yu registered her first collegiate double-double with a season-high 33 assists and a career-best 13 digs. The sophomore also notched four kills, an ace and a block.
Libero Spencer Etzler, the reigning ACC Defensive Player and Freshman of the Week, had a match-high 14 digs and a pair of assists. Fellow rookie Logan Parks finished with eight kills, five assists, two blocks and tied her career-best with seven digs.
Long Beach State was led by Elise Agi’s match-high 14 kills on .324 hitting, eight digs, three blocks and an ace. Logan King chipped in with 13 kills, nine digs, four blocks and a pair of aces. The Cardinal improved to 17-2 all-time against The Beach.
Stanford is back in action on Saturday against former Pac-12 foe Oregon State. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. in Walter Pyramid.