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.
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.
Recap of today’s win at No. 18 Arizona State: http://t.co/bfbidC9byx Burgess tallies 800th career kill, Howard notches 700th #gostanford
— Stanford Volleyball (@StanfordWVB) October 12, 2014
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.