No. 6 Stanford women’s volleyball won its 23rd consecutive home match last night as it beat No. 20 Oregon in a three-set shutout, 25-22, 25-13, 25-22.
In the first set both teams went on their own runs to share the lead multiple times. Stanford finished with all of the momentum, however, and, in the end, finished with the run that would take the set 25-22.
The second set began much the same as the first with neither team ahead by more than two points until Stanford went on a 4-0 run, gaining confidence from an ace by sophomore setter Madi Bugg and a kill by senior middle blocker Carly Wopat. At that point, Stanford took the lead 14-10 to force an Oregon timeout.
Coming out of the timeout, Stanford continued to pull away. Two consecutive kills by sophomore outside hitter Jordan Burgess, followed by two consecutive blocks by senior outside hitter Rachel Williams, gave Stanford a 10-point lead at 22-12. Oregon was never able to even come close to recovering and the Card won the second set 25-13.
“Oregon started [the match] very quickly. They were setting and sliding and we just couldn’t stop it. They were passing perfectly,” Stanford head coach John Dunning said after the second set. “We stopped right there and fought back and I thought we played really steady after that. A key for us is we have to be tough when we get to those moments when we have to play.”
The Card managed to contain the Ducks’ best hitter, middle blocker Ariana Williams, to just a .167 hitting percentage. The senior came into the match hitting .393, good enough for fourth in Pac-12 and 33rd in the nation.
Stanford earned the first point of the third set but the Card and the Ducks traded points thereafter. The Ducks kept it close despite Stanford having a far superior hitting percentage at .364 compared to Oregon’s .117 when the set was tied at 11. Stanford never led by more than four points in the set and didn’t get that lead until the score was 16-12.
The Card again managed to stretch the lead to four at 22-18. After the second match point, with the Card only up by two, Stanford called a timeout. Wopat took control and recorded the final kill of the match to give the Card the 25-22 victory.
After suffering a loss to Washington last weekend in a grueling, two-hour-plus match, the Card was able to bounce back with a relatively quick win over the ranked Ducks. Stanford will look to draw on this momentum from last night in Friday’s match up with Oregon State.
The Cardinal welcomes Oregon State to Maples Pavilion Friday at 7 p.m.
Contact Ashley Westhem at awesthem ‘at’ stanford.edu.