Playing in front of a home crowd for the first time since early September, the No. 1 Stanford women’s volleyball team did not disappoint, sweeping both Oregon State (8-10, 1-3 Pac-10) and No. 11 Oregon (14-2, 2-2) this past weekend.
On Friday, Stanford (14-0, 4-0) took down the Beavers in dominant fashion, winning three straight sets, 25-14, 25-17, 25-19.
The Card kicked off the match with a kill from senior outside hitter Alix Klineman, the first of her match-leading 16 kills. Despite several early service and hitting errors, the Stanford frontline of junior middle blocker Stephanie Browne and freshman outside hitter Rachel Williams was ferocious, combining for eight early kills to extend Stanford’s lead to 13-8. Continued offensive power from Klineman, Browne and Williams, spot-on sets from senior setter Cassidy Lichtman and Oregon State errors secured the first set, 25-14.
Sophomore defensive specialist Hannah Benjamin began the second set with an impressive string of serves, including one ace, to help the Card to a quick 7-0 start. Strong hitting from Beaver senior Jill Sawatzky and freshman Mona Kressl brought the game within four points at 17-13, but the Card could not be stopped. Sophomore opposite Hayley Spelman put down her fifth kill of the set to win the set, 25-17.
After two hitting errors to open the third set, Stanford regrouped. Solid defensive play from senior libero Gabi Ailes, who tallied six digs in the set, combined with continued relentless attacks from Klineman and Spelman, secured the set and match victory over Oregon State, 25-19.
Klineman, Spelman and Williams all had kills in the double digits, with 16, 12 and 10, respectively, and Lichtman led the match with 41 assists. Defensively, Ailes had 16 digs, Benjamin had eight and Klineman and Lichtman had seven apiece.
For the Beavers, Sawatzky and Kressl each had eight kills, with Kressl boasting a .538 hitting percentage on the night. Sophomore libero Alyssa O’Neil had 15 digs, and sophomore setter Megan McBride tallied 23 assists.
The next day, Stanford faced No. 11 Oregon, which had just suffered its first loss of the season at No. 8 California the night before. The Oregon squad provided no contest for the Card, which swept the Ducks 25-10, 25-16, 25-21.
The momentum was in Stanford’s hands from the get-go, with a match-opening block from freshman middle blocker Carly Wopat followed by three straight aces from Ailes. With two kills apiece from Klineman and Browne and yet another Ailes ace, the Cardinal jumped out to an early 9-0 lead that Oregon could never overcome. Stanford easily won the first set, 25-10.
The second set began more evenly, but when Ailes returned to the service line, Stanford began to pull away again, aided by the offensive prowess of Klineman and Browne. Already holding a five-point lead at 11-6, Stanford went on another six-point run led by the serving of Benjamin and Spelman’s four kills to extend the lead to 17-6. The Ducks mustered up several kills from their outside hitters, senior Heather Meyers and sophomore Katherine Fischer, but consecutive Klineman-Spelman kills ended the set, 25-16.
The third set was the closest of the night, with Browne, Spelman and Klineman exchanging kills with Oregon’s Fischer and Meyers. Oregon redshirt sophomore outside hitter Alaina Bergsma put down a kill to bring the Ducks within one point at 13-12, but a Klineman kill followed by three kills from Williams, extended the Card’s lead to 17-13. With four more Klineman kills and yet another Ailes ace, the four-point difference was never made up, and Stanford won the set and match 25-21.
Klineman led the match with 17 kills and a .455 hitting percentage, and Spelman and Williams contributed identical lines of nine kills and .389 hitting percentages. Ailes dug 18 balls and served five aces, and Lichtman put up a match-high 38 assists.
For the Ducks, Meyers boasted 12 kills and a .458 hitting percentage, and Fischer and Bergsma added seven kills apiece. Freshman setter Lauren Plum contributed 25 assists and three digs, and sophomore libero Haley Jacob had 11 digs.
While the Card has rolled over its opponents all season, these wins looked a bit different with a notable lineup change—Stanford ran a 5-1 system with senior setter and opposite Cassidy Lichtman functioning as the primary setter on all rotations. Sophomore setter Karissa Cook, who typically shares the setting duties with Lichtman, was sidelined by an injury and did not play in either of this weekend’s matches.
Next up for the Card are No. 4 USC this Friday and No. 12 UCLA on Saturday. Both matches will be on the road.