Stanford takes down Washington in close match, also fells Wazzu

Cardinal senior outside hitter Alix Klineman led her team to consecutive victories over No. 7 Washington (15-3, 4-3 Pac-10) and Washington State (6-11, 0-7) this past weekend. The No. 2 Stanford women’s volleyball team (16-1, 7-1) continues to share the lead of the Pac-10 as it nears the midpoint of conference play.

The Huskies–Stanford’s long-time rival and biggest competitor in recent years–brought in the Cardinal’s largest crowd of the season on Friday night. The teams split matches last season and nearly shared the Pac-10 title before the Huskies dropped their last match to give Stanford the crown.

Stanford took the rivalry match in a four-set thriller, 24-26, 25-17, 25-16, 32-30.

Impeccable serve-receive passing and defense by Stanford senior libero Gabi Ailes and Washington libero Jenna Orlandini allowed both teams variety with their sets, yielding long rallies in the first set. Eventually back-to-back missed serves by the Cardinal gave Washington the momentum to successfully deliver to its primary hitters–seniors Kindra Carlson and Becky Perry–whose offense brought the Huskies the set, 26-24.

Washington’s strategy to attack the right back defenders in the second set was futile. From the right back position, Cardinal freshman defensive specialist Mary Ellen Luck put together a career-high 10 digs on the night to patch up the weakness of Stanford’s new 5-1 setting formation.

Nonetheless, senior setter Cassidy Lichtman spread the Stanford offense from pin to pin, effectively incorporating oft-underused sophomore opposite Hayley Spelman. Spelman’s 17 kills exposed holes in the Husky block while balancing the court opposite Klineman, allowing the Cardinal to gather an eight-point lead that would determine the second set in Stanford’s favor, 25-17.

Husky setter Jenna Hagglund–who, like Klineman, has been nominated for the national Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award–kept her team in contention early on in the third with astute set distribution.

“They spread out their offense which made them very hard to defend,” Spelman said.

The fast tempo of play ruled the rallies, yet 11 combined kills by Klineman, Spelman and redshirt junior Stephanie Browne brought Stanford a decisive lead.

Washington’s five-point deficit was precipitated by contributions from Cardinal freshmen Luck and outside hitter Rachel Williams, who added an ace and a kill, respectively. Stanford cruised to a decisive 25-16 victory.

One would think that the eight kills posted by Washington’s Perry would bring the Huskies the win in the fourth, but the story revolved around Klineman, who led her team to a 32-30 victory with 15 kills in the fourth set alone, earning Stanford the match.

“[Perry] had a great match,” Spelman said, “but we adjusted defensively, minimized our errors, and hit deep on them from all positions, which worked really well.”

“We prepared more for Washington [scouting-wise] than we have for any other team this season and it really showed on the court,” Klineman added.

Both players attributed the victory largely to strategic preparation, both on and off the court, rather than the spirit of the match itself. Nevertheless, the atmosphere in Maples Pavilion contributed to Stanford’s success.

“The wonderful support from over 4,000 fans in Maples added spirit to the match and made it a great experience overall,” Spelman said.

Following the battle with the Huskies, the Cardinal took down Washington State on Saturday night in an uneventful three-set sweep, 25-13, 25-15, 25-10, to round out the weekend.

The match gave Stanford head coach John Dunning the opportunity to allow non-starters to contribute to the team’s success. Redshirt sophomore middle blocker Jessica Walker joined the starting lineup, delivering six kills on 11 swings to hit .455 for the night. Freshman outside hitter Sam Wopat earned a career-high five kills, leading the Cardinal with a .625 hitting percentage.

Ailes picked up 19 digs to help hold the Cougars to a .064 hitting percentage on the match. After the weekend, Stanford now leads the Pac-10 in assists and kills per set, and comes in second in digs per set.

Klineman was once again the match’s kill leader, and continues to lead the Pac-10 with 340 kills, averaging 5.76 per set. The standout senior has already earned two Pac-10 player of the week and one national player of the week recognitions.

Stanford closes out the first round of conference play next weekend against conference co-leader California. The teams will fight for the lead at 7 p.m. on Friday night in Maples Pavilion.