Competing for the championship title in the elite Nike Big Four Volleyball Classic last Saturday in Gainesville, Fla., the No. 2 Stanford women’s volleyball team took down No. 1 Penn State (7-1) in a three-set sweep. With the victory, the Cardinal (7-0) handed the Nittany Lions their first loss since Sept. 15, 2007, snapping Penn State’s 109-match, NCAA-record winning streak.
Penn State started the match well, jumping out to a 7-1 lead early in the first set. The Cardinal continued to trail until two Penn State hitting errors followed by a string of two Stanford kills, a block and an ace tied the game at 16-16. The set remained close, with each team battling back and forth for points, but a kill from senior outside hitter Alix Klineman and an attacking error from the Nittany Lions secured the set for the Card, 28-26.
Carrying momentum from its narrow first-set victory, Stanford completely dominated the second set. Kills from sophomore opposite Hayley Spelman, junior middle blocker Stephanie Browne and senior setter/opposite Cassidy Lichtman propelled the Card to a strong 10-5 start. Strong blocking from Spelman and freshman middle blocker Carly Wopat, combined with the unstoppable attacking of Klineman and Lichtman and consistent defensive play from the back row, eased the Card to a 25-12 set-two thrashing.
Just one set away from victory, the Card could not be stopped. Klineman, Browne and Lichtman continued to power down kills put up perfectly by sophomore setter Karissa Cook. A Penn State hitting error followed by an ace from Wopat extended Stanford’s lead to eight points—its largest of the set—at 23-15. The Nittany Lions held off the Card for several more plays, but a Lichtman kill secured the set and match at 25-18.
Klineman led the Cardinal with 16 kills, 10 digs and two aces. Lichtman contributed 22 assists, 12 kills and seven digs. Senior libero Gabi Ailes took control of the defense with 14 digs, and the team combined for 47 kills and 0.389 hitting for the match.
The Nittany Lions were led by senior middle/opposite Blair Brown, who tallied 11 kills and five digs. Freshman outside hitter Deja McClendon added five kills, two aces and six digs, and sophomore setter Kristin Carpenter had 16 assists.
Penn State is a familiar foe for the Cardinal—it defeated Stanford in the national title game in both 2007 and 2008. Stanford was also the last team to beat the Nittany Lions before their record streak.