No. 2-ranked women’s volleyball (19-2, 12-0 Pac-12) cleaned house on its road trip to the desert, taking down Arizona State (10-14, 0-12) and Arizona (9-12, 3-9) in decisive fashion. The Cardinal now own a 14-game winning streak and remain in first place in the Pac-12.
The Cardinal took down Arizona State on Friday, closing out the match in four sets. Principal in the Stanford victory was a phenomenal performance from sophomore ace Kathryn Plummer. Plummer has routinely shown herself to be one of the top wing players in the Pac-12, and this match was no different. She racked up a massive 23 kills, with a kill percentage of .419 and added on seven digs and one service ace on the day.
Plummer’s hitting led the way for the .410 kill percentage that the team finished the match with. The ever-reliable core duo of the team held strong throughout the match, with sophomore setter Jenna Gray tallying 56 assists and sophomore libero Morgan Hentz notching 16 digs. Hentz was named the Pac-12 defensive player of the week last week after the games against Washington and Washington State. Freshman pinch server Sidney Wilson played her role excellently as well, putting up a career high four service aces.
The one set Stanford lost was characterized by a series of incredibly streaky point runs. The Sun Devils started the third set with a quick 2-9 run to take an early lead, which was answered by the Cardinal’s 10-3 run, tying the score at 12-12. Arizona State took another huge lead with a 2-10 run, which the Cardinal rallied against but ultimately came up short 21-25.
The Cardinal opened Sunday’s match against the Arizona Wildcats with a bang, as Wilson once again stepped up and led the Cardinal on a 7-0 run right out of the gate with her serves. From that point on, it was smooth sailing as the team rode the momentum to a 3-0 victory.
The Cardinal middle blockers stepped up at the net on Sunday, stifling the Wildcat offense and winning midair battles. Sophomore Audriana Fitzmorris and junior Tami Alade showed their skill at the middle blocker role, with Fitzmorris getting four blocks and Alade claiming five. Gray also contributed four blocks on the day.
The offense was once again led by Plummer in this routine victory, this time knocking down 15 kills and doing it more efficiently than on Friday with a .538 kill percentage. Plummer also had nine digs on the day and a service ace; with one more dig, she would have claimed a double-double.
Gray and Hentz continued their all-star seasons with 30 assists and 13 digs, respectively. The two have been unstoppable all season and are a driving force behind this team’s continued success. The team hit .382 on the day, showing off its offensive prowess that has driven its undefeated run through the Pac-12.
The Cardinal have eight more divisional games remaining in the regular season before Pac-12 and NCAA postseason events begin. They return to the farm this Friday to take on Oregon State at 7 p.m. before their match against No. 15-ranked Oregon on Sunday at 1 p.m.
Contact Bobby Pragada at bpragada ‘at’ stanford.edu.