STANFORD, Calif. – In a complete team effort, No. 5 Stanford knocked off No. 3 Pittsburgh, 26-24, 25-22, 18-25, 17-25, 16-14, Friday, at Maples Pavilion.
The win was the 400th for Kevin Hambly, The Montag Family Director of Women’s Volleyball, now in his 17th season as a head coach, and his 222nd at the helm of the Cardinal program.
Stanford (23-3, 14-1) moved into sole possession of first place in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) with the win – its first over Pittsburgh (21-4, 13-2 ACC) since 1992.
Outside hitter Julia Blyashov led Stanford with a career-high 20 kills on .349 hitting, four digs, two assists and a career-best four blocks. Senior Elia Rubin added 16 kills, eight digs, three blocks, three assists and an ace.
It was the first five-set win of the season for Stanford, which hit .282 as a team. The Cardinal racked up 13.0 blocks, 53 digs and six aces against the Panthers.
Freshman Logan Parks controlled the offense with 51 assists and had 14 digs for her fifth double-double of the season. The setter also tallied four blocks, two aces and a kill. Freshman libero Spencer Etzler anchored the defense with a match-high 16 digs to go with a career-best eight assists.
Stanford trailed 23-18 in the first set but reeled off eight of the final nine points behind the serving of opposite Jordyn Harvey and Rubin. Harvey finished with a season-high 15 kills to go with eight digs, two blocks and two aces.
Middle blocker Lizzy Andrew was a force at the net, totaling a match-high eight blocks to go with 10 kills. Freshman Erika Sayer chipped in with four kills and four blocks. Senior Anna Pringle had a dig and an ace, donning the libero jersey with Etzler in the final two sets.
The Panthers had match point leading 14-11 in the fifth, but Rubin registered a kill and then went back to serve, closing out the match on a 5-0 Cardinal run. Blyashov put down the final two points for Stanford.
Pitt was led by reigning AVCA Player of the Year Olivia Babcock, who recorded 28 kills, 10 digs and seven blocks. Middle blocker Bre Kelley added 10 kills on 12 errorless swings to hit .833 and had seven blocks. The Cardinal improved to 5-1 all-time against the Panthers.
Stanford closes out the weekend on Sunday, hosting No. 10 SMU. First serve between the Cardinal and Mustangs is slated for 2 p.m. on ESPN2.