LOUISVILLE, Ky. – For the 25th time in program history, and the first as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference, Stanford women’s volleyball captured a conference championship. The No. 5 Cardinal will share the ACC title with Pittsburgh after a five-set victory over No. 7 Louisville, 17-25, 25-16, 25-22, 24-26, 15-12.
Stanford improves to 27-4 on the season with the win, including an 18-2 mark in the ACC, and it earns the conference’s automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.
Elia Rubin and Julia Blyashov led the Cardinal attack with 21 kills apiece, doing so in efficient manner while hitting .348 and .327 from the floor, respectively. Both players earned double-doubles, with Rubin recording 14 digs and Blyashov 11.
Logan Parks also earned a double-double with a career-high 64 assists to go with 12 digs. The 64 assists are tied for the eighth-most in a five-set match in the country this season, and the most by an ACC student-athlete.
Lizzy Andrew and Erika Sayer were also in double figures with 14 and 10 kills apiece, while Andrew added nine blocks and Sayer seven. Jordyn Harvey pitched in nine kills with eight digs and five blocks, while Spencer Etzler led the defense with a game-leading 17 digs.
Stanford outhit the Cardinals (24-6, 16-4 ACC) .324 to .234 and it held a 16-to-9 margin in blocks. The Cardinal improves to 3-4 all-time against Louisville.
After dropping the first set, where it hit just .100 as a team, Stanford rebounded with victories in the second and third sets on a combined .492 hitting percentage, but Louisville responded to take the fourth set, 26-24.
Stanford quickly built a four-point lead to open the decisive fifth set, led by two kills apiece from Andrew and Blyashov. Rubin scored three consecutive points to give Stanford a 12-10 lead, while Sayer and Blyashov provided the final kills to clinch the win and the championship for the Cardinal.
Stanford learns its postseason path on Sunday as the NCAA Selection show airs at 3 p.m. PT on ESPN.