The Stanford women’s volleyball team continued its reign of excellence this week, beating both Washington State and Washington to extend its winning streak to 22-straight and give the Cardinal a solid claim to the title of hottest team in the nation in any sport.
On Wednesday, the No. 2 Stanford women’s volleyball team returned home to Maples Pavilion riding a 16-game winning streak, matching the Cardinal’s longest streak since 2008. Three sets later, they had swept the Arizona Wildcats and extended the streak to 17.
The games were certainly closer than anyone would have hoped, but the Stanford women’s volleyball team managed to continue its winning ways and roll through another weekend with two Pac-12 wins. The Cardinal pulled off five-set road victories over Washington and Washington State, extending its winning streak to 16 games.
With the eyes of the Pac-12 squarely on Palo Alto for Wednesday’s women’s volleyball showdown between No. 6 USC and No. 4 Stanford, the Cardinal proved that it is a major force to be dealt with in both the conference and national title picture.
The Stanford Daily will be sitting down to talk with senior athletes once a week. Our first subject is women’s volleyball setter Karissa Cook, who talks about the team’s chances and all things Stanford athletics.
After finishing seventh in the Pac-12 during the regular season, Stanford found itself in the postseason for the first time since 2009, competing in the National Invitational Tournament (NIT). The Cardinal would end up cruising through the bracket and securing the second NIT title in school history, finishing a once-disappointing season with an impressive 26-11 record.
After a seventh-place Pac-12 regular season finish and a loss in the second round of the conference tournament, many thought Stanford’s season was over. But in a surprising turn of events, the Cardinal was one of four Pac-12 teams invited to the postseason NIT.
Chasson Randle may be just a freshman, but he in no way seemed intimidated by his first trip to the big stage of the Pac-12 tournament. The guard was impossible to stop on Wednesday night, scoring a career-high 30 points, as Stanford cruised by Arizona State 85-65 in the opening round.