Divine Edem – The Stanford Daily https://stanforddaily.com Breaking news from the Farm since 1892 Tue, 15 Nov 2016 08:59:14 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.3 https://stanforddaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/cropped-DailyIcon-CardinalRed.png?w=32 Divine Edem – The Stanford Daily https://stanforddaily.com 32 32 204779320 Cross country runs table at NCAA Regionals https://stanforddaily.com/2016/11/14/cross-country-runs-table-at-ncaa-regionals/ https://stanforddaily.com/2016/11/14/cross-country-runs-table-at-ncaa-regionals/#respond Tue, 15 Nov 2016 01:08:43 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1119869 This weekend at the NCAA West regionals, Stanford men’s and women’s cross country teams swept both first place finishes for the first time since 2004. Both the men’s team and the women’s team won their 15th regional titles.

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This weekend at the NCAA West Regionals, Stanford men’s and women’s cross country teams swept both first place finishes for the first time since 2004. Both the men’s team and the women’s team won their 15th regional titles.

No. 7 Stanford women upset No.3 Washington 71-88 to claim their first regional title since 2007. Senior Vanessa Fraser continued to lead the team with a seventh place individual victory in 19:44.1. However, five Stanford runners finished in the top 20, including three freshmen: Fiona O’Keeffe (13th), Christina Aragon (17th) and Ella Donaghu (20th).

Meanwhile, the No. 4 men’s team secured a 75-90 victory over Portland. Sean McGorty was the first to cross the line with a 29:55.5 finish to start off a 9-10-11 finish for Stanford, followed by Jack Keelan (10th) and Grant Fisher (11th). All five of Stanford’s scorers finished in the top 23 within 13 seconds of each other.

“The good thing is, we’re getting better by the week,” men’s head coach Chris Miltenberg said. “That’s what you want, to be riding the wave this time of the season. It’s just good affirmation that what we’re doing is working and we’re trending in the right direction.”

The Stanford men ran a conservative 10K by Cardinal standards, as Miltenberg has his eyes on the NCAA Championships just eight days away. McGorty, Keelan and Fisher finished within .1 of each other, and none of the runners ever made a move to break away from the pack. Of course, Oregon’s three-time NCAA cross country champion Edward Cheserek broke away with 2K to go, but the Cardinal runners knew that regional championships would not be the time to catch him.

“If we don’t need to pull the trigger the last 600 meters, that helps us get recovered for next week,” Miltenberg explained. “It was pretty clear that with 1,000 to go, we had it locked up, so we just tell them to stay under control and finish together. If we can come in a little bit under that red line, even better.”

The men entered the competition as the favored regional team, but the women secured a victory over Washington from behind.

The young Stanford women’s team has grown into itself just in time for NCAAs.

“We’re a lot better than people realize,” first-year head coach Elizabeth DeBole said of the women’s team.

At the women’s 6K distance, a conservative race is less important. Instead, the women ran regionals like any other hard workout. Fraser led the charge, jumping from a 39th-place victory last year to a seventh-place victory in 2016.

“I don’t think anybody expected us to be this good,” Fraser said. “But we knew how good we were. I could feel it and I could see that the freshmen were going to step up right away. It’s fun to be able to show the world how good we are.”

Fraser and fellow senior Danielle Katz are the clear team leaders. Katz placed 14th as Stanford’s No.3 runner, shattering her previous performance at regionals as a freshmen, when she placed 207th.

“It’s so fun to see Danielle being able to step up and shatter all expectations,” Fraser said.

Katz threw the compliment back at Fraser.

“Ever since high school, racing against Vanessa has been inspiring,” Katz said. “I feel I’ve learned a ton from being on the team with her. I’m really excited for the rest of the year.”

All the pieces are coming together for Stanford, on both the women’s side and the men’s side. The Cardinal are looking forward to competing at NCAA Championships for a record 23rd year in a row this weekend.

 

Contact Divine Edem at dedem ‘at’ stanford.edu.

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Cross country finishes strong in Pac-12 Championships https://stanforddaily.com/2016/11/02/cross-country-finishes-strong-in-pac-12-championships/ https://stanforddaily.com/2016/11/02/cross-country-finishes-strong-in-pac-12-championships/#respond Wed, 02 Nov 2016 07:03:42 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1119034 The Stanford men’s and women’s cross country teams both placed in the top three at the Pac-12 Cross Country Championships last Friday at Randolph Golf Course.

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The Stanford men’s and women’s cross country teams both placed in the top three at the Pac-12 Cross Country Championships last Friday at Randolph Golf Course.

Sophomore Grant Fisher helped the No. 4 men’s team notch the second place in the conference with a standout time of 24:13.5, marking the fourth consecutive top-three finish for Stanford men’s cross country. The No. 7 women’s team finished third overall. Senior Vanessa Fraser was the first member of the women’s team to cross the finish line, securing an eighth place individual finish.

Fisher finished about 15 seconds after first-place runner Edward Cheserek of Oregon State. Last Friday marked Cheserek’s fourth individual Pac-12 title, an unprecedented conference achievement. Stanford had three runners in Cheserek’s chase pack, including Fisher, seventh-place finisher senior Sean McGorty and freshman Thomas Ratcliffe, in eighth place.

Head coach Chris Miltenberg described Ratcliffe as the “wildcard” of Friday’s race. After all, Friday was Ratcliffe’s college debut for the Cardinal. The freshman surprised everyone when he captured first place at the Stanford Invitational as a redshirt runner, despite not having run a cross country race since middle school. Ratcliffe played soccer during cross country season in high school, but he was still talented enough to run a 4:01 mile during track season without year-round training.

On Tuesday, Ratcliffe was announced as the Pac-12 Freshman Athlete of the Year in cross country for his performances.

“When I looked around the pack with 1K to go and saw Thomas, it was definitely a confidence booster,” Fisher said. “He ran incredibly well. He’s made awesome progress.”

Senior Garrett Sweatt and junior Steven Fahy also captured strong finishes in the top 20, though the team’s 41 points were not enough to overcome a six-point lead by the No. 2 University of Colorado to capture the championship.

However, a second-place finish extends Stanford’s streak of top-three conference finishes to 22 years, not to mention the fact that it extends the Cardinal’s victory streak over UC Berkeley to 29 years.

The women’s team also notched a top-three finish, landing in third place behind No. 1 Colorado and No. 4 Washington. Fraser led the Cardinal with an eighth place finish, followed closely by rookie freshman Fiona O’Keeffe in 11th place. Shortly after, freshmen Christina Aragon and Ella Donaghu finished in 14th and 20th, resulting in four Stanford runners in the top 20.

“We’re just scratching the surface of our potential, and Fiona’s race perfectly exemplifies that,” Fraser said. “[She’s] not even fully trained, and she excelled in the deepest conference in the country. That shows what raw talent and racing maturity she has. Along with Ella and Christina, today is a great sign of what is to come for us.”

Fisher shared Fraser’s optimism. “Today was a good show of our depth,” Fisher said. “The points we lost, we can make up at a larger meet. We’re confident we’re going to get better by the week.

“We’re happy with our performance, but we’re looking to do even better at NCAA’s.”

Both the men’s and women’s cross country teams will receive a near two-week competition break before heading out to Sacramento, California, on Nov. 11 for the NCAA West Regional Championships.

 

Contact Divine Edem at dedem ‘at’ stanford.edu.

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Women’s water polo stays strong in SoCal tournament, looks forward to San Jose State https://stanforddaily.com/2016/03/03/womens-water-polo-stays-strong-in-socal-tournament-but-falls-to-trojans/ https://stanforddaily.com/2016/03/03/womens-water-polo-stays-strong-in-socal-tournament-but-falls-to-trojans/#respond Thu, 03 Mar 2016 08:26:46 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1111843 This past weekend, No. 5 Stanford women’s water polo (12-2) competed against the nation’s top college water polo programs at the UC Irvine Invitational, where it lost to No. 1 USC (11-0) in the semifinals, but notched wins over No. 14 Loyola Marymount (5-9), No. 5 UC Davis (11-8) and No. 6 Hawaii (13-4), good for a third-place finish in the […]

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This past weekend, No. 5 Stanford women’s water polo (12-2) competed against the nation’s top college water polo programs at the UC Irvine Invitational, where it lost to No. 1 USC (11-0) in the semifinals, but notched wins over No. 14 Loyola Marymount (5-9), No. 5 UC Davis (11-8) and No. 6 Hawaii (13-4), good for a third-place finish in the tournament.

Stanford, CA - April 19, 2014.  Stanford Women's Water Polo vs. Cal in Big Splash at Avery Aquatic Center.
Senior Gurpreet Sohi (above) played a key offensive role in the Cardinal’s victories at the UC Irvine Invitational and scored 2 goals against Loyola Marymount. (SHIRLEY PEFLEY/stanfordphoto.com)

The Cardinal dominated on Saturday, crushing Loyola Marymount and UC Davis 13-5 and 12-5, respectively. Against Loyola Marymount, freshman driver Madison Berggren led Stanford in scoring and notched her second hat trick of the season. Sophomore Katie Dudley and seniors Gurpreet Sohi and Anna Yelizarova followed close behind with 2 goals apiece to round out the offense. Junior goalkeeper Julia Hermann held down the defense on the other end with 5 saves.

Against UC Davis, junior driver Jamie Neushul shined with her 4 goals for the Cardinal. Hermann continued to be impressive, tallying 6 saves in net as Stanford ended day one on a high note, as expected.

Going into the USC match, the Cardinal needed to be on top of their game to rattle the No. 1 team in the nation. Despite brilliant efforts from Hermann in goal with 8 saves and strong flashes of attack from the offense, Stanford suffered its first loss since early February by a final score of 7-6.

However, the team did not let this close defeat deter it from finishing the tournament strong. On Sunday, Stanford faced Hawaii for the third-place spot in the tournament. The Cardinal showed no mercy, finding the team’s key balance of strategic offense and strong defensive play, ultimately prevailing in a decisive 13-7 victory to claim third place for the weekend.

Next up for the team is a match up against local competition, No. 11 San Jose State (9-8), at the Avery Aquatics Center this Saturday. The Cardinal will look to move past the disappointing loss to USC and show their continued domination over lower-ranked teams.

The last time these two teams played was at the Stanford Invitational Tournament on Feb. 6, with the Cardinal cruising to an easy 17-6 victory over the Spartans. Neushul, Yelizarova, sophomore Shannon Cleary and freshman driver Kat Klass each scored hat tricks in a strong offensive performance for the team.

A key to the victory was Stanford’s ability to capitalize on 6-5 chances. The Cardinal has gone six for nine on 6-5 opportunities, a trend they will hope to repeat in the upcoming match up. After the team’s packed schedule during the UC Irvine Tournament, the San Jose matchup offers the chance to regroup and look forward to the rest of the season as the team attempts to win its third straight national championship.

Live stats for the game will be available at gostanford.com.

 

 

Contact Divine Edem at dedem ‘at’ stanford.edu and Amanda McLean at ammclean ‘at’ stanford.edu. 

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Women’s volleyball sees mixed results on road, beating Utah while losing to Colorado https://stanforddaily.com/2015/10/20/womens-volleyball-sees-mixed-results-on-road-beating-utah-while-losing-to-colorado/ https://stanforddaily.com/2015/10/20/womens-volleyball-sees-mixed-results-on-road-beating-utah-while-losing-to-colorado/#comments Tue, 20 Oct 2015 09:36:36 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1105213 No. 6 Stanford women’s volleyball (11-5, 5-3 Pac-12) saw mixed results this past weekend during a conference road trip that included games against Utah (7-12, 1-7) and Colorado (12-8, 4-4). After rolling over Utah in a straight-sets victory (25-20, 25-16, 25-21), the Cardinal suffered a tough four-set loss to Colorado (25-23, 27-25, 23-25, 25-21), the team’s third loss […]

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No. 6 Stanford women’s volleyball (11-5, 5-3 Pac-12) saw mixed results this past weekend during a conference road trip that included games against Utah (7-12, 1-7) and Colorado (12-8, 4-4). After rolling over Utah in a straight-sets victory (25-20, 25-16, 25-21), the Cardinal suffered a tough four-set loss to Colorado (25-23, 27-25, 23-25, 25-21), the team’s third loss in seven games.

The game against Utah was not only the team’s sole win of the weekend but also a historic day for the program: Senior outside hitter Brittany Howard recorded her 1,000th career dig, becoming the 17th player in Cardinal history to do so. She is also Stanford’s 10th player to have reached 1,000 career digs and kills.

Brittany Howard
Senior outside hitter Brittany Howard (above) had her 1,000th career dig against Utah. She is the 17th player in program history to boast such an accomplishment and is also the 10th Stanford player to record 1,000 career digs and kills. (DAVID BERNAL/isiphotos.com)

The team executed strong and consistent play over all three sets against Utah. While the Cardinal got off to an early lead in the first set and eventually saw Utah come back to tie it at 13, the Utes could not regain their footing and secure the lead. Stanford quickly stepped up its play and began to pull away with the help of aggressive attacks from freshman outside hitter Hayley Hodson, Howard and junior middle blocker Merete Lutz. Winning repeated back-to-back exchanges, the team refused to allow Utah to gain any momentum in the first and second sets, the latter of which Stanford won even more handily (by nine points).

In the third set, Utah briefly seemed to catch on to the Cardinal’s playing strategies, turning the tables on Stanford and forcing the team to call a timeout after it won five points in a row to gain a 10-9 lead over Stanford. While the score remained within one or two points and was eventually tied at 18, the Cardinal would go on to win seven of the next 10 points to win the set and complete the sweep.

Hodson led the team with an impressive 10 kills, while Howard, Lutz and senior outside hitter Jordan Burgess were close behind, with a solid 8 kills apiece and hitting percentages of .238, .294 and .333, respectively. Senior setter Madi Bugg continued her strong play with 2 service aces, a .500 hitting percentage and 29 digs.

The Sunday afternoon match against Colorado proved a much tougher playing environment for Stanford. In the first set, the start mirrored previous matches, with both teams going point-for-point during the tightly contested first minutes. Stanford initially managed to take a leap forward with a five-point run before Colorado called its first timeout, after which the team would win 15 of the next 25 points — including the last two after a 23-23 deadlock — to win the first set.

The Cardinal fought their way back from a 6-3 deficit to tie the second set at 9 — thanks to a kill and three blocks, all of which junior outside hitter Ivana Vanjak either hit or was involved with — and eventually jumped out to a 15-12 lead off a kill by Howard. Stanford in fact held the lead into the final points of the set, but six of the final eight points went in favor of Colorado, which would win the set.

In the third set, Stanford managed to bounce back from a two-set deficit to win and keep itself in the match. Like previous sets, the start remained tight between the two teams, with neither team earning more than a two-point lead. Though Colorado threatened to end the match, tying the score at 20 and then winning the next point to get a one-point lead, Stanford won five of the final seven points of the set, which the team won off a kill from Lutz, to keep itself alive and extend the match into a fourth set.

Colorado would go on to regain control of the court and win the fourth set and the match. Stanford and Colorado stayed within distance of each other until Colorado broke away to go on a 4-0 run, forcing Stanford to call the first timeout of the set. After the break, kills from Hodson and Howard brought Stanford back in the game, but Colorado would maintain a lead of at least two points over Stanford throughout the rest of the set to win the match.

In the end, Hodson again led the team in kills with 22, tying her career high, and a .326 hitting percentage. Mirroring Friday night’s Utah match, Howard and Lutz followed close behind with 15 and 13 kills, respectively. Bugg nearly doubled her number of digs compared to her performance at Utah, with an extraordinary 56 digs.

Stanford volleyball will return home this week to face off against Washington and Washington State in Maples Pavilion. The matches will be live-streamed on Pac-12 Networks and Stanford Live Stream at 7:30 p.m. and 7:00 p.m., respectively.

 

Contact Divine Edem at dedem ‘at’ stanford.edu.

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Volleyball wins Big Spike in four sets https://stanforddaily.com/2015/09/23/volleyball-wins-big-spike-in-four-sets/ https://stanforddaily.com/2015/09/23/volleyball-wins-big-spike-in-four-sets/#respond Wed, 23 Sep 2015 07:58:28 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1103698 The No. 8 Stanford women’s volleyball team (7-2, 1-0 Pac-12) headed across the Bay to play UC Berkeley (6-6, 0-1 Pac-12) Tuesday night at Haas Pavilion, defeating Berkeley 25-23, 27-25, 20-25, 25-16. Freshman outside hitter Hayley Hodson led the team with a career high 18 kills, with senior outside hitter Brittany Howard close behind with […]

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The No. 8 Stanford women’s volleyball team (7-2, 1-0 Pac-12) headed across the Bay to play UC Berkeley (6-6, 0-1 Pac-12) Tuesday night at Haas Pavilion, defeating Berkeley 25-23, 27-25, 20-25, 25-16.

Stanford, CA, August 28, 2015.Stanford Women's Volleyball vs. Texas A&M  Pavilion.
Freshman outside hitter Hayley Hodson led the Cardinal to a four-set win over Cal with 18 kills. She leads the team with 110 kills this season. (KAREN AMBROSE HICKEY/stanfordphoto.com)

Freshman outside hitter Hayley Hodson led the team with a career high 18 kills, with senior outside hitter Brittany Howard close behind with 14 and a .462 attacking percentage. Senior setter Madi Bugg continued to dominate with 42 assists along with 4 kills and 17 digs.

The Cardinal stumbled in the beginning of the first set, falling behind Berkeley 5-1. After a timeout, Stanford regained its footing after several kills by Hodson and junior middle blocker Merete Lutz, pulling within two. The front row illustrated impressive resilience and strategic hitting skills at the net, eventually pushing Stanford to lead 16-14 and forcing Berkeley to call its first timeout.

Despite a well-rounded effort by Cal to slow down the Cardinal’s momentum, keeping the score within two for the majority of the set, Stanford remained in the lead and won the first set off another kill by Hodson.

The beginning of the second set proved to be even tougher for Stanford, with the Cardinal and the Bears alternating leads and tying the game many times, even up to the 25th point.

Two kills from Howard and a Cal attack error gave Stanford a 13-9 lead over Berkeley. However, Cal wasn’t ready to drop the set and came back to tie the game at 14-14. The score remained tight, with the two teams staying within 1 point of each other for the rest of the set. Luckily, Stanford prevailed with a kill from Howard and a crucial hitting error from Berkeley to gain the 2-point advantage that would give the Cardinal a 27-25 win.

Unlike the first two sets, Stanford came out with a strong start to the third set with tough blocks by Hodson and Lutz and offensive errors from Berkeley, earning the team a 5-0 run.

Cal once again fought back, quickly catching up to Stanford with a five-point run of its own to tie the score. Towards the middle of the set, kills from Hodson and Howard gave Stanford a bigger lead until Berkeley caught up at 15. A few points later, the Bears unexpectedly took the lead at 18-17 , which they would not relinquish, forcing Stanford into a fourth set.

With the determination to come back from an off third set, defeat its rival and start conference play undefeated, the Cardinal finished the match with their strongest set, posting a game-high .688 attacking percentage.

After an early deadlock, the Cardinal distanced themselves from Berkeley with strategic kills from the front row and a tight-knit defense that recorded several blocks and forced 8 attacking errors from Berkeley. In the end, Stanford prevailed, ending the fourth set 25-16, its largest lead throughout the match.

This Sunday, women’s volleyball will return home to Maples Pavilion to play No. 3 USC. The match will begin at 4 p.m. and can be streamed through Pac-12 Networks.

Contact Divine Edem at dedem ‘at’ stanford.edu.

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Men’s volleyball set for challenging weekend amidst playoff push https://stanforddaily.com/2015/04/15/mens-volleyball-set-for-challenging-weekend-amidst-playoff-push/ https://stanforddaily.com/2015/04/15/mens-volleyball-set-for-challenging-weekend-amidst-playoff-push/#respond Thu, 16 Apr 2015 06:33:20 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1099178 This weekend, No. 14 Stanford men’s volleyball (10-16, 7-13 MPSF) will enter arguably its most intense set of matches since the beginning of the season. The Cardinal’s matches against No. 12 UCLA and No. 9 UC Santa Barbara will determine their stake within the end-of-season playoffs. Stanford holds the advantage of playing on its home court, […]

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This weekend, No. 14 Stanford men’s volleyball (10-16, 7-13 MPSF) will enter arguably its most intense set of matches since the beginning of the season. The Cardinal’s matches against No. 12 UCLA and No. 9 UC Santa Barbara will determine their stake within the end-of-season playoffs.

Fifth-year senior outside hitter Daniel Tublin (above) will play a crucial role in the Stanford offensive effort against both UCLA and UC Santa Barbara. Tublin is second on the team with 190 kills on the season. (ROGER CHEN/The Stanford Daily)
Fifth-year senior outside hitter Daniel Tublin (above) will play a crucial role in the Stanford offensive effort against both UCLA and UC Santa Barbara. Tublin is second on the team with 190 kills on the season. (ROGER CHEN/The Stanford Daily)

Stanford holds the advantage of playing on its home court, in which the team holds an 8-6 record. Despite the advantage, the team’s competition will still be tough, as both UCLA and UC Santa Barbara swept Stanford 3-0 earlier this season.

However, the Cardinal possess some of the strongest hitters within the league. With three hitters having the ability to hit over 10 striking kills, the Cardinal need to play off the massive strength of the offensive lineup in order to gain early dominations for each set.

In the previous game against UCLA earlier in the season, Clay Jones and James Shaw helped keep Stanford alive before the inevitable loss due to the Bruins’ 16 kills and 25 digs. However, in order to be on top of Friday’s game, Stanford needs to distribute and increase the number of hits among the front row hitters in order to prevent heavy reliance on very few players.

Stanford has a good chance of beating the Bruins, seeing that the final scores of the previous game were an extremely close 25-27, 22-25 and 21-25. Daniel Tublin and Gabriel Vega, two of the team’s top scorers, will play a crucial role in the patterns of the game, in addition to the defensive efforts of the Cardinal’s passers.

In the earlier matchup against UC Santa Barbara, the Gauchos appeared much more aggressive, evidenced by the 14-25, 20-25, 19-25 loss for Stanford. For this match, the Cardinal will need to take an even more aggressive approach in hitting tactics and defense mechanisms. Considering that UC Santa Barbara won several points from premeditated defensive plays, front-row players will be key players in Saturday’s match.

This upcoming weekend serves as the make-or-break point for the men’s volleyball season as a redeemer for some of its low points. With at least one victory over the weekend, Stanford will head to the playoffs to fight for the title of MPSF champion.

Contact Divine Edem at dedem ‘at’ stanford.edu.

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Men’s volleyball earns split in return to Maples https://stanforddaily.com/2015/04/06/mens-volleyball-earns-split-in-return-to-maples/ https://stanforddaily.com/2015/04/06/mens-volleyball-earns-split-in-return-to-maples/#respond Tue, 07 Apr 2015 06:41:57 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1098375 On Saturday night, No. 14 Stanford (10-14, 7-11 MPSF) returned home to Maples Pavilion after its two-match run down south to face two tough competitors, California Baptist and No. 8 USC. The weekend brought a neutral impact to Stanford’s record with the Cardinal gathering a victory against the Lancers and a tough loss against the Trojans. In the […]

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On Saturday night, No. 14 Stanford (10-14, 7-11 MPSF) returned home to Maples Pavilion after its two-match run down south to face two tough competitors, California Baptist and No. 8 USC. The weekend brought a neutral impact to Stanford’s record with the Cardinal gathering a victory against the Lancers and a tough loss against the Trojans.

ROGER CHEN/The Stanford Daily.
Senior Daniel Tublin recorded a team-high 18 kills against Cal Baltist, but his efforts weren’t enough to lead the Cardinal to victory over No. 8 USC. (ROGER CHEN/The Stanford Daily)

In the Cal Baptist match, the Cardinal went straight to work with an eye-popping 8-2 run and incredibly fast momentum until Cal Baptist called an early timeout. The break from play, however, did not stop Stanford from scoring multiple, consecutive aces and powerful kills against its opponents. The front-row players focused on spotting the holes in the Lancers’ defense and taking advantages of the Lancers’ shaky defense.

These strategies paid off, and Stanford went on to take a relatively comfortable victory (25-12, 24-26, 25-20, 25-19). Senior Daniel Tublin racked up an astounding 18 kills, with redshirt freshman Gabriel Vega right behind him with 17 kills. Freshman libero Kyle Dagostino chipped in as well with an impressive 40 assists along with 9 digs.

For the USC match, Stanford’s pre-game strategy consisted of keeping a strong attitude in order to play cohesively and smoothly throughout the match’s highs and lows.

“We had to play well to beat these guys,” Dagostino said. “They’re a really good team. We were definitely really positive, really energetic, and I know all of us were really excited to get going with the match.”

However, the method of maintaining high positivity on the prospects of the match did not last very long, with momentum slowing down after the Cardinal lost the first two sets of the match by a collective five-point margin. Early on, Stanford suffered some issues regarding communication between the defensive players in the back and getting first to the ball. The Cardinal focused more on communication and working more cooperatively to fix some of their repetitive errors going into the second set.

The second set featured some nice plays from Tublin, Vega and junior middle Conrad Kaminski. Stanford’s more developed performance strategy forced USC to revise its own defensive methods. Unfortunately, the Cardinal’s efforts did not stop the Trojans from overcoming these different techniques and closing down the third set to earn a straight-set victory in the match (23-25, 22-25, 18-25).

“I think our positivity kind of broke down a little bit,” Dagostino said. “Our positive energy definitely faltered a little bit during the second and third games. We do our best when we keep that high and we keep cheering each other on during that whole match.”

The Cardinal will not let this defeat by USC stop them from continuing their preparation for their upcoming road weekend match against No. 4 Hawaii.

“We’ve been working on pretty much everything for the last couple of weeks: fine-tuning our serving, our passing,” Dagostino said. “Those are the two main things that we’ve been working on, and our blocking and defense. I think that if we can really focus in on those and get better at those then we will be in a really good position next week for Hawaii.”

Gabriel Vega led the team with 11 kills, with junior Madison Hayden close behind at a solid 9 kills and 3 service aces. Kaminski totaled an impressive hitting percentage of .625.

Next week, the team will travel to Honolulu to play against Hawaii on Friday and Saturday at 10 p.m. The matches can be televised on Pac-12 Networks.

Contact Divine Edem at dedem ‘at’ stanford.edu.

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Sand volleyball cruises to victory over San Jose State https://stanforddaily.com/2015/04/01/sand-volleyball-cruises-to-victory-over-san-jose-state/ https://stanforddaily.com/2015/04/01/sand-volleyball-cruises-to-victory-over-san-jose-state/#respond Thu, 02 Apr 2015 06:22:19 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1098156 On Wednesday afternoon, Stanford sand volleyball faced the San Jose State Spartans in the Cardinal’s sleek new stadium for their first match since the NorCal Invitational Pairs Tournament in early March. However, the long break between matches did not slow down the Cardinal, which swept the Spartans 5-0 to achieve victory and improve their overall and home record to 3-1. Stanford […]

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On Wednesday afternoon, Stanford sand volleyball faced the San Jose State Spartans in the Cardinal’s sleek new stadium for their first match since the NorCal Invitational Pairs Tournament in early March. However, the long break between matches did not slow down the Cardinal, which swept the Spartans 5-0 to achieve victory and improve their overall and home record to 3-1.

Sophomore Kelsey Humphreys (right) and partner Catherine Raquel delivered a decisive 21-18, 21-5 victory for Stanford en route to a 5-0 win for the Cardinal over San Jose State. (BOB DREBIN/isiphoto.com)
Sophomore Kelsey Humphreys (right) and partner Catherine Raquel delivered a decisive 21-18, 21-5 victory for Stanford en route to a 5-0 win for the Cardinal over San Jose State. (BOB DREBIN/isiphoto.com)

Stanford had few struggles when playing against the Spartans. Sophomore Kelsey Humphreys and freshman Catherine Raquel dominated their opponents with a striking second set in which San Jose State scored only five points. After a close first set of 21-18, the pair buckled down in the second set to sweep easily.

The pair demonstrated a phenomenal team dynamic with several moments of miraculous dives and strong comebacks. Raquel has shown significant potential to contribute for Stanford going forward.

The tightest games within the match occurred for Stanford’s pairs of junior Inky Ajanaku and sophomore Grace Kennedy and of senior Lauren Birks and junior Brittany Howard. Ajanaku and Kennedy played meticulously when the set grew tighter and tighter as the match reached the end. With skillful defensive tactics from the duo, the pair managed to remain on top with two tight sets, winning 21-18, 22-20.

Birks and Howard followed the successes of Ajanaku and Kennedy, scoring a win for the Cardinal with their effortless attacks and seamless passes when the pair needed these moments the most.

On April 3 and 4, the sand volleyball team will head down to Miami to compete in the Surf ‘n Turf Invitational against Carson Newman, Florida International, Florida Atlantic and Webber International.

Contact Divine Edem at dedem ‘at’ stanford.edu.

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Men’s volleyball splits homestand against Pepperdine and Holy Names https://stanforddaily.com/2015/03/02/mens-volleyball-splits-homestand-against-pepperdine-and-holy-names/ https://stanforddaily.com/2015/03/02/mens-volleyball-splits-homestand-against-pepperdine-and-holy-names/#respond Tue, 03 Mar 2015 07:00:40 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1096851 Over the weekend, Stanford men’s volleyball (6-11, 3-8 MPSF) remained home in Maples Pavilion to face No. 5 Pepperdine University and Holy Names University. The weekend saw mixed results, with the Cardinal suffering a straight-sweep loss against the Waves (17-25, 19-25, 18-25) and a straight-sweep victory against the Hawks (25-21,25-16, 25-17). During the first set of […]

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Over the weekend, Stanford men’s volleyball (6-11, 3-8 MPSF) remained home in Maples Pavilion to face No. 5 Pepperdine University and Holy Names University. The weekend saw mixed results, with the Cardinal suffering a straight-sweep loss against the Waves (17-25, 19-25, 18-25) and a straight-sweep victory against the Hawks (25-21,25-16, 25-17).

HECTOR GARCIA-MOLINA/Stanford Photo
Senior Sean Kemper (left) truly stepped up in his first career start, scoring a game-high 36 assists. Kemper had never recorded a collegiate assist before the weekend. HECTOR GARCIA-MOLINA/Stanford Photo

During the first set of the match against Pepperdine, the Cardinal struggled to keep a strong hold on Pepperdine after the first three points had been scored. Stanford soon trailed 3-8 due to slight gaps in defense until it called the first timeout. Post-timeout, Stanford began to pick up speed and close in on the Waves thanks to kills by junior outside hitter Madison Hayden and sophomore outside hitter Gabriel Vega and blocks by senior middle blocker Spencer Haly and Vega. These tactics of utilizing the outside shortened the difference to three points at 9-12, the closest margin of the set.

Despite the efforts, the Cardinal could not catch up to Pepperdine, resulting in a first-set victory for the Waves and setting the match off 1-0.

The second and third set started off very tight, with both teams scoring one after the other. However, in the second set, Pepperdine managed to gain an early lead and kept an average of four to five points ahead of Stanford to secure the second victory set of the night.

In the third set, Stanford put up a stronger fight by working more on keeping a tight defense and getting to the ball more quickly. Unfortunately, this late-game strategy was not enough to overcome the quick offense of the Waves, who eventually claimed victory of the set and the match.

At the end of the game, Vega led the team with 12 kills and a hitting percentage of .474. Hayden was close behind with a total of nine kills and junior James Shaw recorded an impressive 16 assists.

For the match against Holy Names, Stanford demonstrated much more agility and ambition compared to the previous night. The team started off strong, with the focus centered on finding the holes in defense on the opposing team and remaining tight and brick-like to prevent being constantly scored on, leading to victory in the first set.

In the second set, Stanford gained a very early lead with an amazing 10-3 run before Holy Names called a timeout in an attempt to slow down the fast momentum of the Cardinal. After the timeout, Stanford continued to dominate with freshman Clay Jones and junior Conrad Kaminski scoring more kills and freshman Colin McCall landing two service aces. Even though there was some drop in momentum on the Cardinal’s side, the team proved excellent in keeping the Hawks from reaching their position and winning the set.

The third set replicated the playing styles of the second set, with Stanford gaining an early lead and having a 10-3 run. Similar patterns continued between this set and the second set, in which Stanford held great momentum throughout the game with some minor slips. However, Holy Names failed to stop the Cardinal on Stanford’s way to a victorious night, winning the match in three sets.

The victory came about as a result of a remarkable team effort. Jones and senior Daniel Tublin ended the match tied in kills with a solid 10 in total. Freshman Kevin Rakestraw earned a team-high hitting percentage with an impressive .500. Senior Sean Kemper, making his first collegiate start, was also an extremely unexpected highlight, rounding out the defense with an astounding 36 assists.

“I was really happy with how Sean played,” head coach John Kosty said. “He deserved the start tonight and played really well. He ran a really nice offense and gave his hitters a lot of good swings.”

Next weekend, Stanford will remain on the Farm to play against University of California, San Diego, and BYU. The matches will be streamed live at 5 p.m. and 7 p.m., respectively.

Contact Divine Edem at dedem ‘at’ stanford.edu.

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Men’s volleyball splits weekend match on the Farm https://stanforddaily.com/2015/02/23/mens-volleyball-splits-weekend-match-on-the-farm/ https://stanforddaily.com/2015/02/23/mens-volleyball-splits-weekend-match-on-the-farm/#respond Tue, 24 Feb 2015 07:02:57 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1096344 After playing six consecutive games on the road, Stanford’s men’s volleyball team (5-10, 3-7 MPSF) returned home to Maples Pavilion last weekend to play against UC Irvine and Hope International. The Cardinal faltered in their first match, losing at the hands of the Anteaters for the second time this season, but the team managed to bounce back and earn […]

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After playing six consecutive games on the road, Stanford’s men’s volleyball team (5-10, 3-7 MPSF) returned home to Maples Pavilion last weekend to play against UC Irvine and Hope International. The Cardinal faltered in their first match, losing at the hands of the Anteaters for the second time this season, but the team managed to bounce back and earn a 3-1 victory against its second opponent.

Photo courtesy of Hector Garcia
Junior Madison Hayden (above) did his best to slow the momentum of UCI, recording a career high 23 kills. Still, the Cardinal dropped the five-set match to the Anteaters on Friday. (HECTOR GARCIA-MOLINA/stanfordphoto.com)

In the first set of the UCI match, both teams went point for point as they fought to make a statement in this revenge battle. When either team scored two consecutive points, the opposing team would catch right back up until the final few points when Stanford was able to make a breakthrough thanks to a nice kill from sophomore Gabriel Vega and a block by juniors Spencer Haly and Alex Stephanus that clinched the first set victory, 27-25.

The second set saw similar scoring patterns compared to the first set, but unlike the first set, the Anteaters claimed victory, 27-25, evening the match at a set apiece. However, the Cardinal came back with a win in the third set, 27-25, giving the team the overall advantage.

The fourth set began a drop in momentum from the Cardinal. The first few points of the set remained pretty even with both teams on average of a one-point distance away from each other until the seventh point. At the moment, UC Irvine rocketed to a 5-1 run, continuously outscoring Stanford. Despite a late push from the Cardinal, UC Irvine took the set, 25-20, and then quickly ended the match without much drama by rolling over Stanford, 15-9, in the fifth set to secure the victory.

“Our guys adjusted better tonight [than in the last matchup against UCI] and did a better job executing the game plan,” head coach John Kotsy said. “We were much more aggressive than last weekend. All around, our starters did a nice job tonight.”

At the end, junior Madison Hayden scored an impressive 23 kills with a high .455 hitting percentages and twelve digs. Junior Conrad Kaminski led the team with an astounding .526 hitting percentage and freshman Kyle Dagostino rounded the team’s defense out with a cool 51 assists for Stanford.

For the match against Hope International, Stanford dominated the first two sets, winning them each 25-20, with powerful kills from Haly, Hayden and Vega. The Cardinal managed to stay well ahead of Hope International in points, giving them some breathing room in case of small offensive errors.

The third set watched a slight slip in momentum from the Cardinal, possibly from the comfort of knowing that Stanford had an two-set advantage in the match, that gave Hope International a surprise 25-22 win. However, Stanford returned to the fourth set strong and focused as it successfully closed out the match. The Cardinal defense showed no mercy through reaching every attack and maintain a thick wall of front row defense, claiming the final set, 25-16, and winning the match.

For this match, the number of kills per player remained pretty balanced, which highlights the even distribution the setter chose to focus on instead of following solely one or two players. Stephanus and Vega recorded a team-high nine kills during the game, with Kaminski right on their trails with seven kills.

Stanford will play at home in Maples Pavilion next Friday and Saturday against Pepperdine and Holy Names at 5 p.m. and 7 p.m., respectively. Both matches will be televised on Pac-12 Networks.

Contact Divine Edem at dedem ‘at’ stanford.edu.

 

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Men’s volleyball swept on SoCal road trip https://stanforddaily.com/2015/02/09/mens-volleyball-swept-on-socal-road-trip/ https://stanforddaily.com/2015/02/09/mens-volleyball-swept-on-socal-road-trip/#respond Tue, 10 Feb 2015 07:43:50 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1095312 No. 14 Stanford men’s volleyball (3-8, MPSF 2-5) spent the weekend in southern California to play against No. 4 Pepperdine University and Concordia University, Irvine. The Cardinal could not come out with a win in either match, as the team fell to both schools in 3-1 matches and extended their losing streak to four. During the first set of […]

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No. 14 Stanford men’s volleyball (3-8, MPSF 2-5) spent the weekend in southern California to play against No. 4 Pepperdine University and Concordia University, Irvine. The Cardinal could not come out with a win in either match, as the team fell to both schools in 3-1 matches and extended their losing streak to four.

(THE STANFORD DAILY)
Madison Hayden (left) set a personal record against Concordia with 20 kills recorded. (RODGER CHEN/The Stanford Daily)

During the first set of the Pepperdine match, Stanford started off strong with blocks from redshirt freshman Kevin Rakestraw and senior Daniel Tublin and strategic kills by redshirt freshman Clay Jones, junior Conrad Kaminski, junior James Shaw and Tublin, giving the Cardinal an early 10-5 advantage. Pepperdine recorded a kill right after play resumed after a timeout, but Stanford refused to let this phase its strong early-game momentum. Jones and Shaw continued to tally kills for the Cardinal, pushing the score 14-7, the largest lead in the set.

However, Pepperdine started to come back, gradually chipping away thanks to a more aggressive front row and multiple service errors from Stanford. They eventually closed to within 21-19 before Stanford called its first timeout. Though after squaring up its defense, the Cardinal managed to maintain their lead and win the first set of the match.

The second set proved much more difficult for the Cardinal. Pepperdine grew tougher in its defensive tactics, causing a tight beginning of the set in which the teams scored point for point. Pepperdine gained an early lead, going on a 4-0 run before Stanford called a timeout in efforts to slow down the fast-paced momentum of the Waves. Stanford eventually caught up with nice kills from Rakestraw, Shaw and Tublin, tying the game at 18-18, but the Cardinal failed to close the set in a victory despite tough efforts from its front row hitters.

The third and fourth sets saw a major downturn in Stanford’s playing style. The third set remained tight until Pepperdine found the holes in Stanford’s defense system and launched back-to-back 4-0 runs, giving the Waves a ten-point lead and victory of the third set. The fourth set saw the obliteration of Stanford’s defense with the Cardinal getting very few points in; Pepperdine went on a 12-3 run before Stanford called timeout. Although Stanford managed to score a few points here and there, it was not enough to prevent Pepperdine from winning the fourth and final set and clinching its victory.

In the Concordia match, the first set remained extremely tight until the ninth point when the Eagles broke away from the Cardinal’s grasp, going on a 5-1 run before Stanford called a timeout. Stanford made a comeback, which tied up the game at 14-14, prompting a Concordia timeout. Both teams went kill for kill until the final points in which the Eagles made a block and scored two kills, winning the set.

The second set displayed similar scoring patterns as the first set, with both teams running neck and neck in points and kills until Concordia gained an edge to obtain the lead. The final points of the second set were fought for with vigor from both sides; the set went to 26-24 with a win for the Eagles.

With its back against the wall, in the third set Stanford upped its game immensely with a much tighter defense and more aggressive front row lineup. The hitters made good use of the net by putting up major blocks against Concordia and making strategic kills through the holes of the Eagles’ defense. With intelligent playing tactics, Stanford secured its first set win of the night.

In the fourth set, Stanford started off very strong, scoring the first four points, but Concordia managed to come back and tied it up shortly thereafter. The Cardinal held off the Eagles for as long as its players could until Concordia eventually gained and maintained its lead over Stanford, winning the set and the match.

Shaw led the team against Pepperdine with an astounding 18 kills and a team-high hitting percentage of .394 in addition to his seven digs and two blocks. Conrad Kaminski followed close behind with a hitting percentage of .357. Freshman Kyle Dagostino recorded an impressive 41 assists for the Cardinal.

For the Concordia match, junior Madison Hayden led the team with a career-high 20 kills and a .349 hitting percentage. Dagostino nearly matched his stats from the previous match with 40 assists.

After a brief return back north, Stanford will travel again to southern California next Friday and Saturday to play against UC Irvine and UC San Diego. Both games are scheduled to start at 7 p.m.

Contact Divine Edem at dedem ‘at’ stanford.edu.

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Men’s volleyball continues slide after suffering dual sweep https://stanforddaily.com/2015/02/01/mens-volleyball-slide-continues-as-they-suffer-dual-sweep/ https://stanforddaily.com/2015/02/01/mens-volleyball-slide-continues-as-they-suffer-dual-sweep/#respond Mon, 02 Feb 2015 07:46:10 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1094720 The Cardinal suffered back-to-back straight set losses against the Bruins (27-25, 25-22, 25-21) and the Gauchos (25-14, 25-20, 25-19).

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Continuing a tumultuous start to its regular season, Stanford’s men’s volleyball team suffered back-to-back straight-set losses in Southern California this past weekend, dropping its record to 3-6.

The No. 13 Cardinal (3-6, 2-4 MPSF) took on No. 9 UCLA (5-3, 1-3) and No. 8 UC Santa Barbara (6-4, 2-4), facing their fifth and sixth ranked opponents of the young season. Yet the two defeats at the hands of the Bruins (27-25, 25-22, 25-21) and the Gauchos (25-14, 25-20, 25-19) put Stanford’s record against top-25 opponents at 0-6.

During the first set of the UCLA match on Thursday, Stanford struggled to break through the barrier of UCLA’s front line, which immediately put the Bruins in the driver’s seat. However, picking up on UCLA’s defensive patterns, the Cardinal pushed through and found the holes in their opponent’s defense.

Sophomore outside hitter Clay Jones tallied two kills and senior middle blocker Spencer Haly and junior outside hitter Madison Hayden put up strong defensive work. Soon enough, Stanford gained the lead in the set, keeping itself two points ahead of UCLA until the Bruins called the first timeout.

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Despite setter James Shaw’s 52 assists in two games, men’s volleyball slumped to 3-6 for the season. (KAREN HICKEY/stanfordphoto.com)

Post-timeout, Stanford’s momentum slowed down a bit, allowing UCLA to tie the match. Impressive performances from Jones and junior setter James Shaw helped keep Stanford within arm’s reach of winning the first set, but UCLA managed to push on and capture a tight set at 27-25.

The second set was even more closely contested for both teams, with the set going back and forth in points, and kills and service errors on both sides of the court. The Cardinal maintained a small lead over the Bruins for the first part of the set thanks to sharp kills from Jones, Shaw and junior middle blocker Conrad Kaminski.

However, deep corner kills from UCLA’s front-row hitters put the Bruins up 12-9. After the a Stanford timeout, the Cardinal managed to reverse the momentum and tie the score, though the Bruins scored back-to-back points leaving the set at 20-18, forcing Stanford to call another timeout.

The timeout allowed Stanford to regroup and recover, which resulted in the team tying the set again at 21-21, forcing UCLA to call a timeout of its own. Eventually, UCLA managed to regain its lead, winning the second set and putting the team up 2-0 in the match.

The third set saw UCLA take an impressive 8-3 lead, put pressure on Stanford early and not allow the the Cardinal to make plays on offense. Stanford attempted to come back with kills from Jones, Kaminski, sophomore middle Kevin Rakestraw and Daniel Tublin, closing the gap to 15-13. However, UCLA held off the Cardinal, winning the third and final set 25-21, and taking home the victory.

Jones tallied the highest number of kills for the night for the Cardinal with 16, and also led the team with a .520 hitting percentage. Shaw trailed close behind, hitting .429, as well as recording 25 assists and six digs.

In the first set against UCSB on Saturday, Stanford started stronger, going point-for-point with the Gauchos early. The defense maintained a unified front, getting to both long and short kill attempts from the opposing team.

However, after a service error by Shaw, Stanford’s defensive unit started to falter under the Gauchos’ offense, letting them pull away with a 12-7 lead. The Cardinal could not compete with the Gauchos’ aggressive play throughout the set, which gave UCSB a 25-14 first-set win.

Stanford showed some fight in the second set, keeping it tight until the 11th point, when the Gauchos broke away from the Cardinal’s grasp, and later taking it 25-20.

For the third set, Hayden, Tublin and redshirt sophomore outside hitter Gabriel Vega recorded kills along with a block from Kaminski and Vega to put Stanford ahead, 4-2. The Cardinal managed to keep the score fairly close for most of the set until the final five points, at which point the Gauchos went on a 5-0 run to end the match and secure their victory.

Hayden led the team with 10 kills and Kaminski finished the night with a hitting percentage of .375, the highest on the team. Shaw followed through with 27 assists.

Next weekend, Stanford will head south once again to take on Pepperdine and Concordia. Both Friday’s and Saturday’s matches are set for 7 p.m. start times and will be televised on Pac-12 Networks.

Contact Divine Edem at dedem ‘at’ stanford.edu.

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Men’s volleyball stops skid with win against Cal State Northridge https://stanforddaily.com/2015/01/25/mens-volleyball-stops-skid-with-win-against-cal-state-northridge/ https://stanforddaily.com/2015/01/25/mens-volleyball-stops-skid-with-win-against-cal-state-northridge/#respond Mon, 26 Jan 2015 07:08:49 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1094332 The No. 12 Stanford men’s volleyball team (3-4, 2-2 MPSF) returned home to Maples Pavilion on Friday to play against California State University, Northridge (3-4, 1-2 MPSF). Despite some major ups and downs on both sides of the court, the Card ultimately came out on top by the end of the fifth set (26-24, 25-19, […]

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The No. 12 Stanford men’s volleyball team (3-4, 2-2 MPSF) returned home to Maples Pavilion on Friday to play against California State University, Northridge (3-4, 1-2 MPSF). Despite some major ups and downs on both sides of the court, the Card ultimately came out on top by the end of the fifth set (26-24, 25-19, 19-25, 22-25, 15-3).

The Cardinal started off the match in strong fashion, winning the first three points of the first set thanks to strong corner kills from senior middle blocker Spencer Haly and fifth year senior outside hitter Daniel Tublin. Cal State Northridge quickly caught up, due to its front row hitters putting the ball in open holes and taking advantage of some confusion in Stanford’s defense.

Senior middle Spencer Haly (14)
Senior middle Spencer Haly (14) tallied four kills on seven total attempts in the Cardinal’s five-set win over MPSF foe Cal State Northridge on Friday at Maples Pavilion. Haly, who played in all five sets, also recorded a service ace and a dig. (ROGER CHEN/The Stanford Daily)

The teams went point-for-point, leaving no room for even small errors on both sides. But an ace from junior setter James Shaw and a service error from the Matadors’ Travis Magorien gave Stanford an advantage it would hold for the remainder of the set, which the Card took 26-24.

In the second set, Cal State Northridge seemed to reorganize its front row defense and Stanford struggled to react to the opposing team’s change in tactics, allowing the Matadors to reel off a 6-2 run before head coach John Kosty called timeout. Out of the timeout, Stanford seemed to fix those struggles with the Cal State Northridge defense, and its passers took greater advantage of the court and got to the ball more quickly and efficiently. In addition, sophomore outside hitter Clay Jones and fifth-year senior Daniel Tublin scored deep kills, narrowing CSUN’s lead to 11-9.

More errors by the Matadors and strong blocks by Stanford led to the only tie of the set at 12-12. However, Cal State Northridge’s front row hitters continued to find the opening gaps in Stanford’s court, which led to its 25-19 second set win, knotting the match at one apiece.

The third set saw a major turnaround for the Cardinal. The defense grew stingier, which diminished the ability of Cal State Northridge to utilize its same playing patterns in the previous set. Stanford asserted its dominance on the court with strategic kills from Madison Hayden, Conrad Kaminski and Tublin. The Matadors attempted to stop the Cardinal’s surging momentum, but its approach was not enough to keep Stanford from taking the set 25-19, putting the Card back in the lead 2-1.

The fourth set was extremely tight, with Stanford looking to finish off their opponent as quickly as possible and Cal State Northridge desiring to stay alive and push the set to five. The teams went kill-for-kill and block-for-block until consecutive kills from Jones and Tublin put Stanford in the lead 11-8, forcing the Matadors to call timeout. Out of the break, Stanford reverted back to its second set woes, with Cal State Northridge going on a 5-1 run before the Cardinal called a timeout.

The timeout allowed the Cardinal to breathe and return back to their aggressive and efficient performance seen in the third set. The set remained tight until the Matadors gained an edge in the last few points, winning the set 25-22.

The last set saw the Cardinal explode from the start, with the team playing solid defense and developing a show-no-mercy attitude towards the Matadors. Kaminski dominated the net with block after block, forcing Cal State Northridge to call two timeouts within the first five points in order to regroup and position its hitters around Kaminski. However, those timeouts did little to stop the critical 8-0 run by the Cardinal.

“In the fifth set, I think we just played volleyball,” head coach John Kosty told Gostanford.com. “We played smart volleyball. Yes, Conrad Kaminski got a ton of blocks, but he was just being smart. He was playing within himself. We came out with determination and did a nice job.”

Cal State Northridge got in a minuscule three points before Stanford sealed its fate, winning the set 15-3 and improving its record to 3-4 and 2-2 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation.

Daniel Tublin led the team with 14 kills, and Madison Hayden came close behind with 10 kills. Spencer Haly’s hitting percentage of .571 was tops on the team, and he also tallied seven blocks. Conrad Kaminski recorded a hitting percentage of .500 to go along with six blocks.

This week, the Cardinal will head to Southern California and face No. 9 UCLA and No. 8 UC Santa Barbara on Thursday and Saturday night, respectively. The matches can be seen live on the Pac-12 Network.

Contact Divine Edem at dedem ‘at’ stanford.edu.

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Men’s volleyball earns split in Southern California road trip https://stanforddaily.com/2015/01/20/mens-volleyball-earns-split-in-southern-california-road-trip/ https://stanforddaily.com/2015/01/20/mens-volleyball-earns-split-in-southern-california-road-trip/#respond Tue, 20 Jan 2015 08:37:00 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1094048 Over the weekend, the No. 12 Stanford Cardinal (2-3, 1-1 MPSF) traveled down to Southern California to face off against California Baptist and No. 5 USC.  The Card won on Friday night against Cal Baptist 25-16, 15-25, 28-30, 25-15, 15-11. On Monday night, Stanford entered Trojan territory to play against USC at the Galen Center […]

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Over the weekend, the No. 12 Stanford Cardinal (2-3, 1-1 MPSF) traveled down to Southern California to face off against California Baptist and No. 5 USC.  The Card won on Friday night against Cal Baptist 25-16, 15-25, 28-30, 25-15, 15-11. On Monday night, Stanford entered Trojan territory to play against USC at the Galen Center in Los Angeles, with the Trojans winning the match in a 3 set sweep (25-16, 27-25, 25-19).

Fifth year senior Daniel Tublin (right)
Fifth year senior Daniel Tublin (right) had 15 digs and 10 kills in the Card’s thrilling five-set win over Cal Baptist in Southern California on Friday night. (ROGER CHEN/The Stanford Daily)

In the first set on Friday, the Cardinal remained extremely tight with the Lancers, going point for point until a powerful block from junior setter James Shaw and junior middle blocker Conrad Kaminski gave Stanford the edge over its opponent. Stanford earned three unanswered points before Cal Baptist called the first timeout of the match. After the timeout, the Cardinal scored three more points, turning the errors of the Lancers in its favor. The Lancers were able to score some kills against Stanford, but despite small service errors from the Cardinal, the team maintained a solid 6 point lead the rest of the way to finish off the Lancers 25-16.

The beginning of the second set replicated the trends of the first set, with both teams going head to head earning points. However, unlike the first set, the Lancers took note of the Cardinal’s strategy and rearranged its defense, building a lead over Stanford. Cal Baptist continued on a 5-1 run until it became Stanford’s turn to call its first timeout.

Ultimately, the Cardinal narrowed the lead until Cal Baptist scored a kill, which propelled the Lancers to a 7-3 run en route to tying the match at one set apiece.

During the third set, Stanford remained determined to not let the outcome of the second set define their play. The Cardinal kept it close with the Lancers thanks to strategic kills from Kaminski and fifth year senior Daniel Tublin. However, with the Lancers still in the lead, Stanford called a timeout. Coming out of the timeout, libero Evan Enriques and Kaminski collected more points for the Cardinal, giving Stanford its first lead of the set at 22-21 until Cal Baptist called a timeout, which helped Lancers win the third set.

The fourth and fifth sets saw the Card return back to its extremely aggressive form from the first set. Another tactical kill from Tublin propelled Stanford to pull away from the Lancers, with Stanford stretching out the score to an astounding 22-13 before ultimately winning the set 25-15. The Cardinal would win the final set 15-11 to clinch the match.

Tublin led the team with an impressive 15 kills and 10 digs. Kaminski trailed close behind with 11 kills and totaled a spectacular hitting percentage of .625. Shaw rounded out the team with 5 kills, 5 digs, 7 blocks and a whopping 37 assists.

***

The match against USC was a different story for the Cardinal. Stanford experienced its first loss of conference play in a straight-set sweep for the Trojans. The three sets featured a similar pattern, with the Cardinal and the Trojans battling kill for kill and dig for dig to keep the sets tight until, around the tenth point, the front row hitters of USC spotted the holes in Stanford’s defense to gain a decisive edge over the Cardinal. Despite the phenomenal efforts in the form of deep kills from Tublin, Kaminski and Shaw, the Cardinal ultimately could not overcome the constant attacks by the Trojans, and the Card’s own offensive and defensive errors helped lead to a Southern California sweep.

Tublin once again led the team with 11 kills and senior middle blocker Spencer Haly earned a hitting percentage of .600. Shaw recorded a total of 26 assists.

This upcoming Wednesday and Friday night, Stanford volleyball will return to Maples Pavilion to play against No. 10 Long Beach State and Cal State Northridge. The matches can also be seen on Pac-12 Networks.

Contact Divine Edem at dedem ‘at’ stanford.edu.

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Women’s volleyball sweeps in round one of NCAAs https://stanforddaily.com/2014/12/06/womens-volleyball-sweeps-in-round-one-of-ncaas/ https://stanforddaily.com/2014/12/06/womens-volleyball-sweeps-in-round-one-of-ncaas/#respond Sat, 06 Dec 2014 21:31:05 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1093059 The time had finally come. The time that the Stanford women’s volleyball team had been preparing for all season: the NCAA tournament and the quest for a national title. No. 1 Stanford played against CSU Bakersfield, a team who parallels a completely different playing style from what the Cardinal had been used to during the […]

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The time had finally come. The time that the Stanford women’s volleyball team had been preparing for all season: the NCAA tournament and the quest for a national title. No. 1 Stanford played against CSU Bakersfield, a team who parallels a completely different playing style from what the Cardinal had been used to during the Pac-12 season.

Adjusting to the unique tactics of the Runners created some bumps in the road for the Cardinal. However, Stanford demonstrated its ability to adapt to any circumstances thrown at them with a three-set win (25-21, 25-21, 25-18), moving on to the second round of the playoffs.

Morgan Boukather (3), Inky Ajanaku (12) (Nathan Staffa)
Senior opposite Morgan Boukather (left) recorded six kills and notched one service ace, while junior middle blocker Inky Ajanaku (right) had eight kills in the game. (NATHAN STAFFA/The Stanford Daily)

The first set saw Stanford blazing through the first half on runs of 6-1 with Stanford taking advantage of their significant height compared to those of CSU Bakersfield by putting up stiff blocks and deep-angled attacks. However, by the 14th point scored by the Cardinal, the Runners picked up on their plays and started to stay low and tight-knit on the ground, getting in more digs and decreasing the score difference to 14-13, the smallest difference of the entire set.

But, Stanford stopped CSU Bakersfield from ever gaining the lead, winning the set 25-21.

The second set paralleled the first set as the Cardinal started off with a massive lead ahead of the Runners at 11-4 until CSU Bakersfield using two timeouts to try and stop Stanford’s tremendous upward momentum. However, unlike the first set, the Runners did not minimize the lead differential to the same extent until the last three points of the set.

The third set proved to be the tightest set of the night. CSU Bakersfield started off with the lead at 2-0 until Stanford squared up, taking the lead at 7-4 forcing CSU Bakersfield to call a timeout. Post-timeout, an intense situation happened for Stanford with junior outside hitter Brittany Howard suffering a minor setback with her ankle due to a collision with an opposing player on Bakersfield, forcing her to sit out the rest of the match.

“Sometimes when you do that and you just land on someone else it just scares you and then there’s a little bit of pain too,” head coach John Dunning said of Howard’s situation.

With Howard out, Dunning substituted in redshirt freshman outside hitter Ivana Vanyak and freshman defense specialist Sarah Benjamin. The two players contributed their fair share to help Stanford keep and maintain its lead over CSU Bakersfield. Lutz scored the final kill for the Cardinal to secure its overall victory of the match.

Junior middle blockers Inky Ajanaku and Merete Lutz tied for the night with eight kills and Lutz led the team with a hitting percentage of .467.

“I’d say it’s just as exciting, but of course, you’re more involved and have to adjust on the court. Last year in the tournament, it was a lot of scaling the courts, trying to help the other middles on the team. But, this year, you’re the one that’s in it,” Lutz said.

In addition, senior opposite Morgan Boukather scored six kills and one service ace. Junior setter Madi Bugg recorded 31 assists and senior libero Kyle Gilbert made 16 digs for the team.

In round two of the playoffs, Stanford will play Michigan State at Maples Pavilion on Saturday night at 7 p.m. The match will be broadcasted on the Pac-12 networks.

Contact Divine Edem at dedem@stanford.edu.

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Expectations upheld: Corey Baird showing promise in first season https://stanforddaily.com/2014/12/04/expectations-upheld-corey-baird-showing-promise-in-first-season/ https://stanforddaily.com/2014/12/04/expectations-upheld-corey-baird-showing-promise-in-first-season/#respond Fri, 05 Dec 2014 03:38:41 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1092877 The Men’s Soccer team displayed quite the remarkable season, jumping from a season-opening rank of No. 20 to No. 2 and clinching the PAC-12 title. This impressive feat was in part dependent on the influential new addition to the team, Corey Baird.

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“Corey, Corey, Corey,” the crowd roars as screams and cries electrify Cagan Stadium on Sep. 21.

Corey Baird has just scored the second goal for the Cardinal of the match against one of Stanford’s many rivals, Delaware, prolonging the team’s winning streak and securing a much-needed victory. The circumstances will change, but the phrase, “Baird scores”, will be a common refrain by the end of the year to the commentators and scorekeepers at Cagan.

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Corey Baird has not disappointed in his first season on the farm, picking up four goals and four assists. (ERIN ASHBY/The Stanford Daily)

The men’s soccer team had quite the remarkable season, jumping from a season-opening rank of No. 20 to No. 2 and clinching the Pac-12 title. This impressive feat was in part dependent on an influential new addition to the team, Corey Baird. Since his debut on the team, Baird has demonstrated himself as an essential component of the tremendous turnaround in this season of dominance for Stanford men’s soccer.

Baird, a 5-foot-10 freshman midfielder who grew up in Escondido, California, is no stranger to the competitive and demanding nature of high-level soccer. Before his time at Stanford, he played for the U.S. Men’s National Team in both the U-17 and U-20 leagues, traveling to soccer hotbeds such as France and Costa Rica.

“I think it [USMNT] prepared me because of how serious we took it over there and how every practice was a time to get better,” said Baird.  “You played with some amazing players for this, so the jump to college wasn’t as big for me as most kids because I’ve been exposed to these environments.”

His rigorous yet crucial time in the most elite of American youth soccer leagues resulted in College Soccer News naming Baird as the top recruit of the class of 2014. He utilized the beginning of the season to fulfill the role of facilitator, assisting on goals by some of the Cardinal’s key veteran players. Once he familiarized himself with the unique style and tactics of the team, he started to make his own mark on the team and the Pac-12.

Making a name for himself included breaking boundaries in both regular and post-season play. He earned the spot as the first player of the Cardinal season to score multiple goals in a game during one of the squad’s most important games at the then-No. 1 UCLA Bruins. As a freshman, Baird finished the season with impressive statistics, putting up four goals and assists. This was enough to tie him for third on the team in these categories, and also put him fourth on the team in points. His swift yet crisp performance on the field was also noted by the Pac-12, who named him their Pac-12 Player of the Week for two consecutive weeks.

“It’s very rewarding. It shows that all the hard work I am putting in has paid off,” said Baird.

But, being a member of one of Stanford’s strongest athletic departments does not mean all play and no work off the field. The attributes of being a student-athlete at such an academically rigorous institution do contain its hardships.

“There are definitely times when the workload at school takes a toll on you and you wish you maybe would have gone somewhere else because it might have been easier, but I think the overall decision was definitely going to be better for me, to challenge myself not just athletically but academically, and I’m enjoying it,” Baird said.

Not only did he express his gratitude for being rewarded Pac-12 Player of the Week, but he also expressed content and satisfaction for the team’s overall achievement of earning the Pac-12 title for the first time since 2001, showing his selfless character towards his team on and off the soccer field.

“The thing that I find more rewarding for me is winning the Pac-12 because then it shows the team effort and how far we’ve come as a team this year,” said Baird.

However, despite all of his successes in his freshman year, Baird continues to remain grounded and humble with his greatest focus being contributing to the continuous development of the team as a whole and building on the more selfless aspects of his game, as exemplified by his assists.

“As a team, we just want to keep playing the way we’ve been playing,” Baird indicated. “Everybody is playing their part. It’s not just a one-person show.”

While his first season on the Farm has been impressive and notable for all the right reasons, Baird’s natural humility will not let him rest. He goes into the latter half of his freshman year as a player who will look to develop along with the program in the seasons to come.

Contact Divine Edem at dedem ‘at’ stanford.edu.

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Women’s volleyball takes care of Trojans in three sets https://stanforddaily.com/2014/11/12/womens-volleyball-takes-care-of-trojans-in-three-sets/ https://stanforddaily.com/2014/11/12/womens-volleyball-takes-care-of-trojans-in-three-sets/#respond Thu, 13 Nov 2014 07:51:29 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1091986 On Wednesday night, No. 1 Stanford (25-0, 15-0) played against No. 21 USC (14-11, 7-8) at the Galen Center in Los Angeles, California, five days after its intensely close win over Arizona. The Cardinal secured another win against the Trojans (25-21, 25-23, 25-16), its first straight-set sweep since facing Oregon on Nov. 2, to keep its […]

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On Wednesday night, No. 1 Stanford (25-0, 15-0) played against No. 21 USC (14-11, 7-8) at the Galen Center in Los Angeles, California, five days after its intensely close win over Arizona. The Cardinal secured another win against the Trojans (25-21, 25-23, 25-16), its first straight-set sweep since facing Oregon on Nov. 2, to keep its undefeated streak in the Pac-12. It was the first time that the Card beat the Trojans at the Galen Center since 2010.

(DAVID BERNAL/isiphotos.com)
Senior opposite Morgan Boukather (above) dug 11 balls and contributed 9 kills as the No. 1 Cardinal stayed undefeated with a straight-set win over the No. 21 USC Trojans. (DAVID BERNAL/isiphotos.com)

In the first set, junior setter Madi Bugg smashed the ball off of an overpass into a gap in USC’s defense to give Stanford an early lead. Sophomore middle blocker Merete Lutz scored back-to-back kills taking advantage of USC’s scattered defense. But USC came back with an ace and kills from the outside to tie up the game. A block by Lutz put Stanford back in the lead along with senior opposite Morgan Bouakther’s cross-court kill, putting the Trojan defense into greater chaos. Lutz continued to dominate the net, placing the ball in key holes in USC’s defense. The Cardinal demonstrated quick and strategic responses to the Trojans’ spontaneous offensive plays and strong service game.

Junior outside hitter Jordan Burgess made long-angled kills to put Stanford up 12-11. Attack errors from USC’s outside hitter Samantha Bricio boosted the score 15-13 with Stanford in the lead before USC called the first timeout of the game. Post-timeout, the Trojans started to come back, eventually tying up the game at 16-16 until a corner kill by middle blocker Inky Ajanaku halted its momentum. The Cardinal shaped up scoring more kills setting the score 19-16, forcing USC to call another timeout. USC once again tied the set at 20-20 before Stanford called its first timeout.

Post-timeout, Lutz and Burgess immediately scored a kill for the Cardinal putting Stanford back in the lead at 23-20. Boukather scored two more kills to win the first set.

In the second set, the Cardinal and Trojans went point for point with powerful kills from Howard and Ajanaku keeping Stanford in the game. Boukather served an ace to the corner to keep Stanford in the lead. However, tough serves from USC’s Nwanebu put Stanford behind 4-7 before the Cardinal called the first timeout of the set.

Post-timeout, Stanford discovered a way to take control of Nwanebu’s serve with Ajanaku getting the kill. Immediately, Stanford’s momentum pushed upward with Lutz and Boukather scoring kills for Stanford, putting them back in the lead 11-9 before USC called a timeout. Stanford started to struggle slightly after the timeout but reached a breakthrough when Lutz and Boukather smashed more kills for the Cardinal. The set remained extremely tight, with both teams bringing out their outside hitters – their biggest heavyweights – until Stanford was able to gain the lead at set point with a kill from Ajanaku to clinch the set for the Cardinal, bringing the match to 2-0 overall.

In the third set, USC served a couple of aces until Stanford stopped the momentum with a kill by Burgess. Lutz scored her 10th kill to put Stanford back in the set. Ajanaku scored another kill to tie up the game 3-3. Burgess’s roll shot from the backcourt worked out to tie back up the game at 4-4. The set remained tight with the outsides and middle from both teams scoring points back to back with Stanford maintaining at least a one-point lead.

Soon, Stanford experienced a nice shift in momentum, which propelled Stanford to gain a four-point lead before the Trojans called a timeout. The timeout did very little to slow down the Cardinal’s huge upward momentum, with the defense spotting the trends in the Trojans’ offense and the hitters finding the holes in Stanford’s defense. Stanford pushed 18-10 before USC called another timeout.

Stanford maintained an even greater lead until the end of the match with Boukather scoring the last kill to clinch another victory for the Cardinal. Even though the middle of the match saw the Cardinal struggle in serve-receive, the Cardinal took control of the mistakes the players were making in order to gain greater dominance on the court offensively and defensively.

Both Ajanaku and Lutz led the team with 13 kills, and Lutz led in hitting percentage with .667. Senior libero Kyle Gilbert led in digs at 21 with Bugg and Burgess at 14 digs. Bugg also recorded 37 assists and one service ace.

Stanford will play against the UCLA Bruins tonight to close out the week.

Contact Divine Edem at dedem ‘at’ stanford.edu. 

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Another five-set thriller makes it 24-0 for women’s volleyball https://stanforddaily.com/2014/11/10/another-five-set-thriller-makes-it-24-0-for-womens-volleyball/ https://stanforddaily.com/2014/11/10/another-five-set-thriller-makes-it-24-0-for-womens-volleyball/#respond Mon, 10 Nov 2014 08:01:59 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1091714 On Friday night, No. 1 Stanford (24-0, 14-0) played against No. 16 University of Arizona (18-7, 7-6). Arizona proved to be another highly competitive team, demonstrated in the five-set thriller. The Cardinal had a lot on the line, considering the high stakes of keeping its undefeated streak and top-ranked spot in the NCAA. Nevertheless, Stanford won victoriously (25-20, 23-25, 25-16, 22-25, 15-9), adding another win to its undefeated streak.

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On Friday night, No. 1 Stanford (24-0, 14-0 Pac-12) just kept adding names to its list of vanquished foes with a win over No. 16 Arizona (18-7, 7-6). Arizona proved to be another highly competitive team, as demonstrated in the five-set thriller. The Cardinal had a lot on the line, considering the high stakes of keeping their undefeated streak and top-ranked spot in the NCAA. Nevertheless, Stanford emerged victorious (25-20, 23-25, 25-16, 22-25, 15-9), adding another win to its undefeated streak.

(FRANK CHEN/The Stanford Daily)
Senior libero Kyle Gilbert (above) notched 40 digs as the Cardinal survived a second consecutive five-set match to stretch their win streak to 24. (FRANK CHEN/The Stanford Daily)

The first set started off with kills by junior outside hitter Brittany Howard and junior middle blocker Inky Ajanaku, putting the Cardinal up 2-1. Arizona tried to break Stanford’s cycle, but a strong block by Ajanaku and junior setter Madi Bugg determined otherwise. Arizona’s offense was able to squeeze in kills to tie up the set at 4-4. However, service errors and a block by junior outside hitter Jordan Burgess pushed Stanford to a two-point lead. Arizona then came back with a service ace and kills from its outside hitters to force a significant lead change with the Cardinal trailing by two at 8-10.

However, Stanford remained ambitious, with junior opposite Morgan Boukather and sophomore middle blocker Merete Lutz hitting impressive kills to halt Arizona’s momentum. Soon, the Cardinal took back the lead with a nice block by Ajanaku and Bugg and strategic kills from Ajanaku, Burgess and Howard, setting the score at 15-13 before the first timeout of the match was called.

Post-timeout, the Cardinal did well in maintaining their lead by one or two points, benefiting off Arizona’s service errors and a kill by Bugg and a block by Howard and Lutz. However, Arizona managed to come back with kills from its own offensive players from the outside, tying the set back up at 19-19 before Stanford called its first timeout.

The timeout gave Stanford the chance to slow down the momentum of Arizona and propel fiery attacks from Boukather and Burgess, pushing Stanford to a four-point lead by set point. Ajanaku’s powerhouse kill secured Stanford’s win of the first set.

The second set saw Arizona shaping up its defense into a tighter unit, only allowing one kill from Burgess while going on a 5-1 run of its own before Stanford called a timeout. Stanford picked up its momentum with Burgess fining small openings in the defense to make cross-court kills for the Cardinal, decreasing Arizona’s lead to three points. From then on, Stanford fought on with kills from Ajanaku, Boukather, Howard and Lutz, reaching a tie at 19-19. The Cardinal and Wildcats went point for point, but Arizona was able to get on top, winning the second set and leveling the match at 1-1.

The third set had similar beginnings to the second. Stanford, learning from its mistakes in the second set, was able to take control of the situation in order to gain control of and dominate the majority of the plays of the game. In turn, Arizona started to make mistakes in its defensive tactics and offensive attacks. Through these measures, the Cardinal eventually went on a 7-1 run to win the third set. Arizona once again came back in the fourth set, which remained tight and intense until the end, forcing a decisive fifth set.

In the fifth set, Ajanaku and Howard made a strong block to gain the first point for Stanford. Burgess shined with stellar kill after kill, shrugging off the few plays Arizona made to stop her. She made good use of the angles of the court and line shots to put the Cardinal up big early at 7-4 to force an Arizona timeout. Burgess promptly made two kills out of the break to up the score to 9-4.

Arizona attempted to make another comeback, but the Cardinal did not budge this time. Howard targeted good spots on the court for more kills, bringing the game to match point. The final kill from Howard locked in another victory for Stanford, leaving the team in the top spot in the NCAA.

Burgess led the team with a whopping, career-high 27 kills and a solid .375 hitting percentage.

“The reason that I had so many openings was that our middles [Ajanaku and Lutz] are so good,” said Burgess to the Pac-12 Networks. “It’s like a blessing to be able to play on a team like that. Plus, Madi [Bugg] is really good at distributing it to everyone and stays hot the whole time.”

She also recorded 10 digs, marking her 15th double-double of the season. Ajanaku and Howard also entered the double digits for kills with 16 and 10, respectively. Boukather scored nine kills and logged 24 digs for the game, matching Bugg, who also made 58 assists. Senior libero Kyle Gilbert totaled an astounding 40 digs.

Stanford will next head down to Los Angeles this week to play against USC and UCLA on Wednesday and Thursday night, respectively. The matches will be broadcasted at 7:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. on the Pac-12 Networks.

Contact Divine Edem at dedem ‘at’ stanford.edu.

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Top-ranked women’s volleyball squeaks past ASU to remain unbeaten https://stanforddaily.com/2014/11/05/top-ranked-womens-volleyball-squeaks-past-asu-to-remain-unbeaten/ https://stanforddaily.com/2014/11/05/top-ranked-womens-volleyball-squeaks-past-asu-to-remain-unbeaten/#respond Thu, 06 Nov 2014 07:13:46 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1091554 On Wednesday night, No. 1 Stanford (23-0, 13-0) played against No. 20 Arizona State (16-8, 5-3) at Maples Pavilion in a match that appeared to be an open and closed book through the first two sets, but became a dog fight in the end. Once again, Stanford came out on top (25-11, 25-16, 22-25, 22-25, […]

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On Wednesday night, No. 1 Stanford (23-0, 13-0) played against No. 20 Arizona State (16-8, 5-3) at Maples Pavilion in a match that appeared to be an open and closed book through the first two sets, but became a dog fight in the end. Once again, Stanford came out on top (25-11, 25-16, 22-25, 22-25, 15-11), maintaining its unblemished record.

“The Pac-12 is always really tough, so you know even if you crush a team or do really well in the first two sets, they’ll probably come out fighting in the next one,” said junior outside hitter Jordan Burgess. “They really picked up their serving and our serve receive struggled a little bit more in the third set. It’s just little things adding up and then they get momentum and then it was a different game after that.”

In the first set, the Cardinal started off strong with blocks by Burgess and sophomore middle blocker Merete Lutz to lead 4-1. Junior middle blocker Inky Ajanaku scored a powerful kill, creating distance between Stanford and the Sun Devils. Service and offensive errors from ASU and blocks by Ajanaku and Bugg put Stanford up 8-4. Fiery kills from Burgess put Stanford up 10-5. Stanford’s offensive lines spotted open corners on Arizona State’s defense, putting the Cardinal up 12-6 before Arizona State called the first timeout of the game. However, the timeout did not slow down Stanford’s momentum, with Lutz recording three more kills for the Cardinal to make the score 15-8.

Despite some lapses on defense, Stanford remained in the lead with Ajanaku scoring a kill in the corner. Junior outside hitter Brittany Howard recorded the first service ace, putting Stanford up 18-11, causing Arizona State to call its second timeout of the match. Burgess gave Stanford its 19th point with a strategic tip on the outside. Ajanaku and Bugg notched kills and Ajanaku’s strategy of using Arizona State’s over passes gave Stanford match point. Bugg closed the set with a surprising kill, giving Stanford the first win of the match.

Junior outside hitter Jordan Burgess (above)
Junior outside hitter Jordan Burgess (above) recorded her fourth straight double-double (16 kills, 17 digs) against Arizona State on Wednesday, helping No. 1 Stanford maintain its unblemished record. (NATHAN STAFFA/The Stanford Daily)

For the second set, Stanford held nothing back, with Burgess immediately scoring the first point of the set. Lutz took advantage of the scattered Arizona State defense to score two kills for Stanford. Stanford’s back row took an offensive as well as defensive approach, with senior opposite Morgan Boukather and Burgess taking swings at the ball. Miscommunication amongst the passers of Arizona State put Stanford up 5-3. However, Arizona State put up a much stronger fight against Stanford, evening the score at five — the first tie of the match. However, Ajanaku’s kill put Stanford on a roll, with the Cardinal fighting to widen the gap between themselves and the Sun Devils. With Stanford leading 9-5, Arizona State called another timeout.

Post-timeout, junior setter Madi Bugg made a kill off of the Sun Devils’ over pass and consecutive blocks by Ajanaku and Bugg gave Stanford a seven-point lead. Burgess made another clever tip, placing the ball directly in the hole of Arizona State’s defense, pushing the lead to 14-7. Boukather attacked the ball for a cross-court kill for the Cardinal. Arizona State came back with a few blocks and kills to decrease the gap with Stanford. But Stanford did not let that slow down its momentum, scoring five more points and bumping the score to 19-12 before the Sun Devils called another timeout.

A double block by Ajanaku and Bugg gave Stanford a 21-13 lead. Arizona State tried to slow down the players at the net with a tip, but Ajanaku managed to block its strategy, pushing Stanford up 22-13. Ajanaku scored another monstrous kill to the corner, leaving Stanford two points away from another set victory. Blocks by Burgess and Lutz earned Stanford another set win, with the final score of 25-16.

In the third set, junior middle blocker Megan McGehee served an ace for Stanford. The beginning of the set saw Stanford consistently going point-for-point with Arizona State because of small service errors and miscommunication on defense. Boukather got a kill off the block of Arizona State to put Stanford in the lead for the set. However, minor mistakes in the back row of the Cardinal gave Arizona State the lead back at 13-11, causing Stanford to call its first timeout of the match. Stanford was able to tie the game at 22-22, but tough offensive moves gave the Sun Devils their first set win of the match.

“They raised their game in sets three and four and we didn’t, and so that’s a problem for us and we need to go back and figure out what to do about that,” said head coach John Dunning. “People can look at that video and scout us now and see that’s how we beat them.”

The match went to a fifth set, giving Stanford little room for error. Although Stanford had two service errors, the team remained on the heels of Arizona State. A kill by Boukather and blocks from Howard and Lutz put Stanford back in the game. In addition, an incredibly close service ace by Burgess tied the game at seven. Defensive errors by ASU put the score at 10-8 and forced the Sun Devils to call another timeout. Strategic kills from Ajanaku put Stanford to match point. Ajanaku and Burgess made the final block, securing Stanford’s victory.

“Huge kudos to the [ASU] hitters, they were really changing up how they were attacking us,” Ajanaku said. “At first they were trying to go really sharp into the court and then made us start using our block, which is a great technique to use against us. It was the hitters; they were hitting for the rafters, just trying to touch hands.”

Ajanaku led the team in kills and hitting percentage, with a total of 20 kills and a .457 hitting percentage. Burgess recorded another double-double with 16 kills and 17 digs. Also, senior libero Kyle Gilbert and Bugg tallied 31 and 17 digs, respectively.

“Most of the people on the court are juniors and seniors and have been with each other for a while,” Burgess said. “I think we trust each other a lot and we don’t rely on one person to step up. Each person kind of makes a little bit of a mental shift to make things better and little things start clicking and we somehow pull it out. But that was tough, to be honest. They put up a great fight. In some ways it was probably one of the toughest matches because things weren’t clicking perfectly and we had to figure out how to win when a ton of things weren’t working.”

Stanford next plays on Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Maples Pavilion against Arizona. The game will be broadcast on the Pac-12 Networks.

Contact Divine Edem at dedem ‘at’ stanford.edu.

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Women’s volleyball remains undefeated through 22 games https://stanforddaily.com/2014/11/02/womens-volleyball-remains-undefeated-through-22-games/ https://stanforddaily.com/2014/11/02/womens-volleyball-remains-undefeated-through-22-games/#respond Mon, 03 Nov 2014 06:17:02 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1091198 On Friday night and Sunday morning, No. 1 Stanford (22-0, 12-0 Pac-12) continued its undefeated romp through its season against No. 35 Oregon State (15-8, 5-7) and No. 7 Oregon (17-5, 7-5). Like many others, the Beavers and the Ducks put up strong fights against the Cardinal. However, Stanford stayed true to its course, beating Oregon State (25-17, 22-25, 26-24, 25-15) in four sets and Oregon (25-23, 25-21, 25-21).

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On Friday night and Sunday morning, No. 1 Stanford (22-0, 12-0 Pac-12) continued its undefeated season romp against No. 35 Oregon State (15-8, 5-7) and No. 7 Oregon (17-5, 7-5). Like many others, the Beavers and the Ducks put up strong fights against the Cardinal. However, Stanford stayed true to its course, beating Oregon State (25-17, 22-25, 26-24, 25-15) in four sets and sweeping Oregon (25-23, 25-21, 25-21).

Junior middle blocker Inky Ajanaku (above)
Junior middle blocker Inky Ajanaku (above) led the No. 1 Cardinal with 18 kills and a .469 hitting percentage against Oregon State as Stanford coasted past the Beavers and No. 7 Oregon to improve to 22-0 on the season. (NATHAN STAFFA/The Stanford Daily)

In the first set against the Beavers, redshirt freshman middle blocker Merete Lutz started off the game with a bang, earning Stanford the first point. Despite a short stretch of trailing the Beavers, Lutz, along with junior middle blocker Inky Ajanaku and junior outside hitter Brittany Howard, were able to tie up the game at 5-5. Soon, errors from Oregon State and a nice service ace from senior libero Kyle Gilbert put Stanford in the lead 10-6 before Oregon State called the first timeout of the game.

The period coming out of the timeout served as leverage for the Beavers to come close to tying the score with Stanford until kills form Lutz and Howard and a strong block from Lutz ceased Oregon State’s momentum. The Cardinal continued to maintain their lead with kills from Howard and Ajanaku increasing the score to 18-13 before Oregon State called its second timeout.

The second timeout of the first set did not slow down Stanford’s momentum by a long shot, with the Cardinal still jumping out to a 10-point lead at 24-14. However, Oregon State’s final attempts to score a few points forced Stanford to use its first timeout of the match in order to bring the players back in focus. Ajanaku’s impressive kill closed out the first set, giving Stanford a match score of 1-0.

The second set proved to be much tougher for the Cardinal, with the final score coming down to a three-point difference. In set two, Stanford and Oregon State went point for point until kills by Ajanaku and Morgan Boukather put Stanford ahead 7-5. But errors started arising on the Cardinal end, which allowed Oregon State to take advantage and gain a lead of 12-8. An average four-point difference remained between the two teams until kills by Ajanaku, Boukather and junior outside hitter Jordan Burgess shortened the gap to three points before the Cardinal lost.

The third and fourth sets saw Stanford’s return to its playing dynamics of the first set. In the fourth set, the Cardinal and Beavers went kill for kill until two strategic kills by Ajanaku put Stanford in the lead. Impressive kills by Burgess and a service ace by junior setter Madi Bugg widened the lead by three points to 10-7. Oregon State’s offense tried to close the gap with two kills until a block by Boukather set the Cardinal on a scoring run of 8-1. Bugg continued to utilize the strengths of Stanford’s outside hitters and middle blockers to finish the set at 25-15, earning Stanford its 21st consecutive victory of the season.

By the end of the match, Ajanaku led the team with a career-high of 18 kills and a hitting percentage of .469. Both Boukather and Howard had 14 kills, with close hitting percentages of .357 and .364, respectively. Burgess scored her 12th double-double of the season with 10 kills and 14 digs. Bugg also made an astounding 59 assists in addition to her 18 digs.

In the ensuing match against Oregon, the match between the Cardinal and the Ducks remained extremely tight with both teams going back and forth up until the 17th point in the first set. Oregon distanced itself from Stanford with a two-point lead at 19-17 until a necessary kill by Ajanaku and a service from Howard brought the game back to a tie. Not allowing Oregon to make the best of Stanford’s small errors, Burgess scored two strategic kills, which tied the game at 23-23. Big blocks by Boukather, Howard and Lutz gave Stanford the small but important lead it needed to win the first set of the match.

The second set saw Stanford get off to a slow start with attack errors and defensive issues, leaving the Cardinal four points behind the Ducks at 5-9 before Stanford called its first timeout. The timeout allowed Stanford to take a moment to figure out adjustments in order to get back into a positive groove.

Multiple kills by Boukather, Burgess and Howard put Stanford back in the game with a tie score of 14-14. The set became very tight with each team refusing to let the other gain the advantage until kills by Ajanaku and Boukather put the Cardinal back on top. Within the last five points, Oregon called two timeouts to slow down Stanford’s momentum. However, Burgess did not let Oregon’s attempts succeed by making a breakthrough kill after a service ace from Gilbert, putting Stanford up 2-0 in the match.

The third and final set paralleled the first two sets with both teams putting up their biggest strengths, leaving the set very tight until the last few points of the game. With the set tied at 19 apiece, Boukather’s kill pushed Stanford ahead of Oregon by one point and Howard’s kills put the score at 23-20. Then, once again, Burgess closed out the set with her 15th kill, ending Stanford’s stay in Oregon with another hard-earned win.

Burgess recorded another double-double with 15 kills and 11 digs. Boukather led the offensive lineup in hitting percentage with a season-high of .625. In addition, Bugg recorded 43 assists and Gilbert and Howard made 10 digs to round out the victorious weekend for the Cardinal.

Stanford volleyball will return home this week to face No. 19 Arizona State and No. 15 Arizona at Maples Pavilion. The match will be broadcasted live on the Pac-12 Networks at 7:30 p.m.

Contact Divine Edem at dedem ‘at’ stanford.edu.

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Women’s volleyball moves to 20-0 with home wins over UCLA, USC https://stanforddaily.com/2014/10/26/womens-volleyball-moves-to-20-0-with-home-wins-over-ucla-usc/ https://stanforddaily.com/2014/10/26/womens-volleyball-moves-to-20-0-with-home-wins-over-ucla-usc/#respond Mon, 27 Oct 2014 05:12:04 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1090688 No. 1 Stanford (20-0, 10-0 Pac-12) played against No. 13 UCLA (14-6, 5-4 Pac-12) and No. 15 USC (6-3 Pac-12) over the weekend, holding onto its longstanding undefeated streak against the Bruins and the Trojans. Both Los Angeles teams put up tough fights against the Cardinal. Nevertheless, Stanford remained victorious against UCLA (25-20, 30-28, 20-25, […]

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No. 1 Stanford (20-0, 10-0 Pac-12) played against No. 13 UCLA (14-6, 5-4 Pac-12) and No. 15 USC (6-3 Pac-12) over the weekend, holding onto its longstanding undefeated streak against the Bruins and the Trojans. Both Los Angeles teams put up tough fights against the Cardinal. Nevertheless, Stanford remained victorious against UCLA (25-20, 30-28, 20-25, 27-25) and USC (23-25, 25-22, 25-20, 25-19).

In the UCLA match, the Cardinal knew that they had to start off strong in order to prevent UCLA from walking away victorious. Junior opposite Morgan Boukather started the first set strong with a kill for Stanford. The beginning of the first set was very tight, with Stanford and UCLA going kill-for-kill until a strategic kill by junior outside hitter Jordan Burgess propelled Stanford to increase its lead, forcing UCLA to call its first timeout.

Out of the timeout, UCLA attempted to chip away at Stanford’s five-point lead, but saves from junior setter Madi Bugg, blocks by junior middle blocker Inky Ajanaku and Burgess, and kills from redshirt freshman Merete Lutz allowed the Cardinal to maintain their lead and take the first set 25-20.

Sophomore middle blocker Merete Lutz (above)
Sophomore middle blocker Merete Lutz (above) recorded 12 kills in each of Stanford’s Homecoming Weekend wins versus Pac-12 rivals UCLA and UCLA (NATHAN STAFFA/The Stanford Daily).

The second and third set saw a much tighter and prolonged race to victory for Stanford. The second set saw 13 ties and seven lead changes. An early service ace from Boukather and a kill from junior outside hitter Brittany Howard gave Stanford a lead of 3-2. Blocks by Ajanaku and Howard gave Stanford a one-point lead at 29-28 and an error by UCLA secured its second set win. The third set witnessed the Bruins take advantage of their strong service game, which led to errors from Stanford and subsequently UCLA’s first set win.

“They had service errors but their serving game was the key to the game. We didn’t to adjust to it very well, and I think that the whole night they’re serving game affected us. So that’s just an experience that you deal with,” head coach John Dunning said.

In the fourth set, Stanford started out strong with a huge block by Burgess and Lutz. Attack errors from UCLA and continuously strong defensive and offensive plays from Stanford put the Cardinal up 7-4. Despite efforts from UCLA to gain a lead, the Cardinal held the Bruins off. With the score knotted at 23, Stanford and UCLA went point-for-point until kills by Ajanaku and Lutz put Stanford back in the lead, 26-25. Boukather finished the match with a kill, giving Stanford its 19th win this season.

“We thought we could score streaks against them tonight and we got in our own way and we didn’t but at the right time we did,” Dunning said.

At the end of the match, Stanford finished with an average hitting percentage of .333. Ajanaku had a team-high 15 kills and nine blocks, while Lutz led the offensive hitting percentage with a game-high of .611 and trailed right behind Ajanaku with eight blocks. Boukather recorded nine kills and one service ace while Burgess collected nine digs, seven kills and one service ace. Howard had seven kills and three digs. On defense, junior setter Madi Bugg tallied 43 assists and 14 digs and senior libero Kyle Gilbert had 13 digs.

In the USC match, Stanford sought its 20th consecutive Pac-12 win. The first set started off well with back-to-back kills from Boukather and Howard. However, service errors from Stanford led to a tie between the Cardinal and the Trojans at 2-2. The tie was overcome by kills from Burgess and Ajanaku, which extended Stanford’s lead over USC. Stanford maintained its advantage until minor offensive errors put USC in the lead over the Cardinal.

The second and third set saw Stanford make adjustments to its defense and offensive plays and communication between the players on the court. Smarter plays from the Cardinal put the team back in its usual playing style, and Stanford won both sets to take a 2-1 lead in the match.

In the fourth set, the Cardinal were neck-and-neck with the Trojans for the first four points until a strategic kill from Lutz propelled Stanford’s momentum. The Cardinal took advantage of the errors from the USC defense to push the lead to three points at 9-6 before USC called the first timeout of the set.

After the timeout, USC came out with an immediate kill in an attempt to slow down Stanford’s momentum. However, junior middle blocker Megan McGehee’s consecutive service aces demonstrated that the Cardinal’s momentum could not be shaken. Stanford continued to take advantage of USC’s defensive errors and its team’s miscommunications to drive the lead to 17-11. Kills by Burgess, Howard, and Lutz and another impressive service ace from McGehee brought Stanford’s lead to 21-16, just four points away from victory.

USC tried to cut into the lead with kills from its middle blockers. However, the Trojans’ attempts were not enough to stop Burgess from making the game-winning kill that ended the match that gave Stanford its 20th consecutive win to begin the season.

The Cardinal’s latest victory saw Ajanaku lead the team in kills once again with 16 and a hitting percentage of .323. Lutz recorded a hitting percentage of .407 and totalted 12 kills. Burgess notched her 11th double-double with an impressive 13 kills and 21 digs. McGehee recorded three crucial service aces. On the defensive end, Bugg had 51 assists and 12 digs, and Gilbert recorded 26 digs.

Stanford will play at Oregon State on Friday and the University of Oregon on Sunday. The matches will be broadcast on the Pac-12 Network.

Contact Divine Edem at dedem ‘at’ stanford.edu.

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Volleyball undefeated through 18 matches https://stanforddaily.com/2014/10/20/volleyball-undefeated-through-18-matches/ https://stanforddaily.com/2014/10/20/volleyball-undefeated-through-18-matches/#respond Mon, 20 Oct 2014 07:31:12 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1090121 No. 1 Stanford played against Utah (12-6, 2-5) for its 18th win (25-20, 25-21, 23-25, 25-19), bringing the Cardinal to a Pac-12 record of 8-0 this season.

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On Friday, No. 1 Stanford (18-0, 8-0 Pac-12) faced Colorado (12-8, 4-4) at the Coors Events Center in Boulder, Colorado, five days after its win against Arizona State. For the first time since its matches against Penn State and Illinois, Stanford went to five sets (18-25, 25-18, 23-25, 25-19, 15-7) before defeating the Buffs and continuing its torrid winning streak.

(NATHAN STAFFA/The Stanford Daily)
Senior opposite Morgan Boukather (center) led the Cardinal with 18 kills and a .467 attack percentage against the Utah Utes in Sunday’s match. (NATHAN STAFFA/The Stanford Daily)

The first set started off tight, with Colorado and Stanford going kill-for-kill to open in a 1-1 tie. However, attack errors from Stanford and strong offensive plays from Colorado led Stanford to call its first timeout at 5-1. After the timeout, junior middle blocker Inky Ajanaku earned her first kill but a service ace and more kills from Colorado increased Colorado’s lead to 8-3. Despite impressive kills from Ajanaku, senior opposite Morgan Boukather, junior setter Madi Bugg and junior outside hitters Jordan Burgess and Brittany Howard along with attack errors by Colorado, Stanford was not able to overcome its deficit, losing the first set 25-18 and trailing Colorado 0-1 early in the match.

“We came here and practiced this morning and we had one of our best practices so we decided not to do a serve and pass,” Burgess said to the Pac-12 Networks. “We were feeling really, really good and they [Colorado] came out and shocked us a little bit.”

The second set saw a surge in momentum from Stanford, learning from and fixing its mistakes. In the beginning, the set was even at 4-4 until Bugg and Burgess scored points that put Stanford in the lead for just the second time since the match had begun. Boukather and junior middle blocker Megan McGehee helped increase Stanford’s lead with a major block.

Another lead change put Colorado ahead of Stanford by three until Boukather and sophomore middle blocker Merete Lutz greatly contributed to tying up the set. A strategic kill from Howard then put Stanford back in the lead at 17-16. Service and attack errors by Colorado and huge kills by Ajanaku and Boukather won Stanford its first set, tying the match 1-1.

Colorado would go on to win the third set by two points over Stanford, putting the Cardinal in a very unfamiliar, do-or-die situation on the brink of defeat. But the Cardinal made another comeback in the fourth set, due to the team’s ability to find holes in Colorado’s defense with Lutz making three kills and Bugg earning her first ace of the game. Stanford dominated the set, which helped the team stay alive to fight to the finish in the fifth and final set of the game.

In the fifth set, Stanford knew that it would need to start off strong in the best-to-15 final set in order to secure its victory over Colorado. The first kill by Burgess and attacking errors from Colorado put Stanford on a 3-0 run, and another kill from Boukather led the Cardinal to be first to five. Colorado tied the set at 5-5, but Howard kept Stanford ahead by one point with a powerful kill.

Continuous offensive errors by Colorado and a strong front from Ajanaku earned Stanford a five-point lead of 10-5 until Colorado called its first timeout of the set. However, Colorado’s attempt to slow down the momentum of Stanford post-timeout did not stop it from making more attack errors and getting blocked by Ajanaku and Howard to match point. Bugg’s final kill gave Stanford its 17th consecutive win for the season.

Overall, Stanford held an average hitting percentage of .319 with Ajanaku leading the offense with a hitting percentage of .481. She also contributed five blocks to the effort. Boukather and Howard scored 13 and 12 kills, respectively. Burgess achieved her ninth double-double of the season with 10 kills and 19 digs. Bugg recorded 17 digs, which matches her career-high, along with 51 assists and seven kills.

Sunday afternoon, No. 1 Stanford played against Utah (12-6, 2-5) for its 18th consecutive win of the season (25-20, 25-21, 23-25, 25-19), bringing the Cardinal to a Pac-12 record of 8-0 this season. The first two sets saw Stanford performing at its best with many impressive offensive plays from Ajanaku, Boukather, Burgess and Lutz. However, the third set saw more errors from Stanford that led to the team trailing behind Utah throughout the third set, which forced the match to go to a fourth set. But the outcome of set three did not deteriorate Stanford’s confidence as the Cardinal retreated back to their high momentum from the first two sets and utilized important team dynamics to beat Utah 25-19 in the last set of the match.

Boukather led the team with an astounding 18 kills and a .467 hitting percentage. Ajanaku and Lutz were very close behind with stellar hitting percentages of .444 and .417, respectively. Burgess scored her 10th double-double with 12 kills and 15 digs. Bugg recorded 52 assists, one service ace and 15 digs. Senior libero Kyle Gilbert also recorded one service ace and 11 digs on defense.

No. 1 Stanford will face No. 18 UCLA and No. 12 USC on Friday and Sunday, respectively, for its set of first home games since playing Oregon and Oregon State at the start of the month.

Contact Divine Edem at dedem ‘at’ stanford.edu.

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Ajanaku and Burgess lead Stanford past Arizona State https://stanforddaily.com/2014/10/12/ajanaku-and-burgess-lead-stanford-past-arizona-state/ https://stanforddaily.com/2014/10/12/ajanaku-and-burgess-lead-stanford-past-arizona-state/#respond Mon, 13 Oct 2014 05:52:01 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1089580 Fresh off its win at the McKale Center against No. 16 University of Arizona on Friday, the No. 1 Stanford women’s volleyball team was eager to play against the No. 18 Arizona State Sun Devils Sunday. Despite a poor start, the Cardinal defeated ASU 20-25, 25-15, 25-22, 25-18 to sweep its Southwest trip. The first […]

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Fresh off its win at the McKale Center against No. 16 University of Arizona on Friday, the No. 1 Stanford women’s volleyball team was eager to play against the No. 18 Arizona State Sun Devils Sunday. Despite a poor start, the Cardinal defeated ASU 20-25, 25-15, 25-22, 25-18 to sweep its Southwest trip.

The first set of the match did not begin with Stanford’s usually-solid team dynamics. Despite the kills by sophomore middle blocker Inky Ajanaku, senior opposite Morgan Boukather, and junior outside hitter Jordan Burgess, the Cardinal trailed ASU 6-2 when Stanford called its first timeout. Going back into the game, sophomore outside hitter Brittany Howard came out of the timeout with her first of many kills and sophomore setter Kelsey Humphreys served an ace for the Cardinal, which closed the gap to 14-10.

Junior outside hitter Jordan Burgess (above)
Junior outside hitter Jordan Burgess (above) continued her strong play to begin the 2014-15 campaign, registering a 10 kill, 16 dig double-double against Arizona State on Sunday. (NATHAN STAFFA/The Stanford Daily)

But the strong serves from ASU resulted in difficult passing attempts from Stanford’s defense. Also, the middle blockers and outside hitters were not producing as many sets because of the defense’s struggles with getting good passes to junior setter Madi Bugg. Errors from miscommunication and missed serving opportunities on Stanford’s end left the Cardinal behind as the Sun Devils won the first set 25-20.

The second set demonstrated that Stanford was not there to lose. Stanford burst onto the court with remarkable kills and explosive blocks from Ajanaku and Howard, which helped propel Stanford to an early 12-4 lead. Arizona State called a timeout, attempting to slow down the blazing momentum of the Cardinal. However, continuous kills and stern blocks from Stanford’s offense showed that the Cardinal meant serious business after the first set loss.

The second set saw Madi Bugg take her own offensive actions with her first of three kills. Stanford continued to dominate, increasing its lead to 19-8, its largest lead of the match. Key blocks from sophomore middle blocker Merete Lutz and Boukather pushed Stanford to set point, with Lutz finishing off the impeccable set with a punishing kill.

Junior middle blocker Megan McGehee launched the third set with a service ace, giving the Cardinal positive momentum. Aggressive performances by Ajanaku, Boukather and Bugg gave Stanford a 7-3 lead over the Sun Devils. After the seventh point, Lutz subbed in to add more fuel to the Cardinal fire with another kill along with Boukather and Ajanaku. By the end of the third set, Ajanaku led Stanford in kills, with Howard close behind.

After a timeout called by Arizona State, the Cardinal continued to extend their lead with kills from Ajanaku and Howard, pushing the advantage to 17-12. Even though the Sun Devils were able to shorten the gap to just two points at 19-17, Stanford fought off any chance of Arizona State tying the set with important kills from Ajanaku and a strong defensive front from Ajanaku and Burgess to end the third set with a win. The second win of the night put Stanford ahead of Arizona State two sets to one.

The fourth set was a very tight race to the finish for Stanford. There were eight ties and three lead changes between the Cardinal and the Sun Devils. Ajanaku started off with a kill after a first point serve-receive error. Stanford soon trailed by two points until a service ace by Burgess and kills by Burgess and Howard brought the team back in the game. Soon, the Cardinal widened the gap to a four-point lead ahead of the Sun Devils. With aces from Bugg and Gilbert and consistent strength of power in kills and blocks from Ajanaku, Burgess, and Lutz, Stanford was on its way to quickly closing out the four-set match.

Noticing the direction Stanford was taking, Arizona State called a timeout late in the fourth set with the score at 22-17. Burgess and Lutz were not fazed by the pause in momentum, earning Stanford its final points of the weekend sweep.

Ajanaku finished with a team-best 14 kills, four blocks and a hitting percentage of .304. Howard led the team in hitting percentage at .323. Burgess notched another impressive performance, recording her eighth double-double with 10 kills and 16 digs. In addition, Bugg recorded three kills, three blocks, and seven digs. On the defensive side, senior libero Kyle Gilbert ended with a season-high 25 digs and Bugg recorded an impressive 45 assists.

On Friday, Stanford will play at Colorado at 6 p.m., a match that will be broadcasted on Pac-12 Networks.

Contact Divine Edem at dedem ‘at’ stanford.edu.

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Cardinal win out in clash of undefeated teams https://stanforddaily.com/2014/10/05/cardinal-win-out-in-clash-of-undefeated-teams/ https://stanforddaily.com/2014/10/05/cardinal-win-out-in-clash-of-undefeated-teams/#respond Mon, 06 Oct 2014 06:31:14 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1089016 It was a battle of the undefeateds on Friday night between No. 1 Stanford and No. 11 Oregon, with both teams coming in with team records of 12-0 and Pac-12 records of 2-0. And in that battle, it was No. 1 Stanford that ultimately consolidated its top ranking and maintained its undefeated winning streak Friday night against the Ducks.

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It was a battle of the undefeated on Friday night between No. 1 Stanford and No. 11 Oregon, with both teams coming in with team records of 12-0 and Pac-12 records of 2-0. And in that battle, it was No. 1 Stanford that ultimately consolidated its top ranking and maintained its undefeated winning streak Friday night against the Ducks. However, the four-set match (25-23, 25-16, 17-25, 25-17) demonstrated that Oregon is not an easy team to beat, which is  impressive considering that the team has some of the top hitters and passers in the nation.

(ROGER CHEN/The Stanford Daily)
Sophomore middle blocker Merete Lutz (center) is the top statistical hitter in the nation and added to her already-impressive season totals with 13 kills and a .591 hitting percentage against Oregon. (ROGER CHEN/The Stanford Daily)

The first set had shaky beginnings for the Cardinal, which had a week off from games before playing Oregon. However, the monstrous blocking by Inky Ajanaku, Madi Bugg and Jordan Burgess and a stellar back-row attack from Brittany Howard propelled Stanford on a 4-0 run to counter Oregon’s opening 4-1 run. But the set was intense from start to finish, involving three major lead changes and six tie scores, the most of all four sets. At one point, Oregon gained a six-point lead, but the Cardinal refused to give up.

Taking advantage of the aggressive middle blockers and outside hitters led to a tie of 22-22 and then an immediate one-point lead for Stanford. Oregon’s service error brought Stanford to set point and Howard’s block gave Stanford a 1-0 lead in the match.

In the second set, Stanford came back from a slow start in the first set to dominate and control the outcome. The second set displayed a major shift in momentum for the Cardinal in which Ajanaku’s opening point led the team to a successful offensive opening and an early 8-0 run during which the Ducks called two timeouts. Sophomore middle blocker Merete Lutz took advantage of Oregon’s defensive errors with kill after kill from the Ducks’ unintentional overpasses.

The hitters exhibited great control of situations that were not perfect, making transitions much easier for the defense. This set observed many cross-court hits from Burgess, a few strategic kills from Bugg, aggressive front-row performances and a key shift in control of the service game to the Cardinal.

The third set saw Stanford retreating back to its performance from the beginning of the match and taking its first set loss since the match against San Diego in early September. With the serve-receive not going as well as it could have and the passes not effectively reaching the setter all the time, it was difficult to set the middles well enough to get in good hits.

“Oregon is a fairly unique team to play against, very fast movement-oriented, and we didn’t serve very well or pass very well,” said head coach John Dunning. “We’re a very experienced team and we can play not so good just like everybody else, but we can react when it gets bad and that’s what we did.”

The loss of the third set did not keep the Cardinal from striking back with a strong fourth set to get the big victory over Oregon and keep their undefeated streak. The set started off intensely with a massive block from Ajanaku and senior opposite Morgan Boukather that set positive momentum for Stanford, ranging from Bugg’s high and consistent sets to the hitters to Burgess’ success in finding the holes in Oregon’s defense. Lutz’s continuously quick responses and Burgess’ short service ace drove the Cardinal to 10-5 before Oregon called its first timeout.

“We worked on changing the set a bit in the last practices and Madi [Bugg] did a great job setting me,” Burgess said.

The attempts of Oregon to slow down Stanford’s momentum came up short with consecutive post-timeout aces from Burgess and tough kills from Ajanaku, Boukather and Lutz. Howard contributed majorly with her quick reactions to passing errors by Oregon, which pushed Stanford to the set point of the match. Ajanaku’s and Boukather’s block clinched the team’s victory, preserving the Card’s NCAA top rank.

Throughout the match, Lutz continued to prove why she is the highest-ranked hitter in the nation, leading the team with 13 kills and contributing a .591 hitting percentage. This match saw a breakout performance from Burgess, who accomplished her seventh double-double with 12 kills and 10 digs and a career-high four solid aces. In addition, the defense introduced a new regular on the court, freshman defensive specialist Sarah Benjamin, who has proven herself to Dunning in terms of consistency and readiness for the great demand college volleyball entails.

“In the last three or four matches, she played almost flawlessly, so naturally she’s going to be in a lot tonight and probably from now on,” Dunning stated.

This challenging win demonstrates that, even though they are still undefeated, the Cardinal can still improve a lot to reach their full potential throughout the rest of the season.

On Saturday night, Stanford continued its torrid start by downing Oregon State at Maples Pavilion, adding another victory to its so-far breathtaking season with another straight-set sweep. In doing so, the Cardinal improved their record to 14-0 and wrapped up a four-match homestand in preparation for a four-match road trip to Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah.

The Cardinal will next take on the Arizona Wildcats in Tuscon, Arizona, at 8 p.m. on Friday.

Contact Divine Edem at dedem ‘at’ stanford.edu.

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