W. Volleyball: Stanford takes down Cal to finish regular season and earn Pac-12 crown

Nov. 23, 2012, 11:15 p.m.

On the same night Stanford’s No. 1 women’s soccer team beat UCLA to advance to the College Cup, the top-ranked Cardinal women’s volleyball put its own stamp on the evening with a 3-0 sweep of rival California in the final regular season match of the season Friday night, officially taking the Pac-12 crown with a 19-1 conference record.

W. Volleyball: Stanford takes down Cal to finish regular season and earn Pac-12 crown
Freshman Inky Ajanaku (12) had a match-high 10 kills as the No. 1 Cardinal rolled rival Cal 3-0 in the final regular season match of the season.

The win came a week after the Card (27-3) clinched the Pac-12 title with a win over then-No. 5 UCLA. It is the 18th conference title in school history and sixth in the last seven seasons for head coach John Dunning.

Stanford cruised from the start, spreading the ball around, with freshman Inky Ajanaku notching a match-high 10 kills. Junior Carly Wopat and freshman Jordan Burgess finished with eight kills apiece, and freshman Brittany Howard chipped in six. Sophomore libero Kyle Gilbert had an impressive 25 digs in just three sets, her 13th game with 20 or more this season.

After taking the Pac-12 title, Stanford will wait for the NCAA Tournament Selection Show this Sunday at 1 p.m., when the NCAA will announce the 64-team field for the NCAA Championship. The Cardinal is a likely No. 1 seed and could host tournament matches at Maples Pavilion when play kicks off next week.

 

 

Miles Bennett-Smith is Chief Operating Officer at The Daily. An avid sports fan from Penryn, Calif., Miles graduated in 2013 with a Bachelor's degree in American Studies. He has previously served as the Editor in Chief and President at The Daily. He has also worked as a reporter for The Sacramento Bee. Email him at [email protected]

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