This weekend, #8 Stanford women’s volleyball will head to the Pacific Northwest to face Washington State and #19 Washington. Stanford comes in at 14-4 overall and 9-1 in the Pac-12. Washington State comes in at 15-6 overall and 7-3 in the Pac-12. Washington comes in at 15-5 overall and 7-3 in the Pac-12.
Stanford will face Washington State on Friday at 7:00 PM PT on Pac-12 Networks and Washington on Sunday at 2:00 PM PT on Pac-12 Networks.
Last time out: On Sunday, Stanford swept USC 3-0 (25-15, 25-15, 25-16) at home. It was one-way traffic all afternoon for the Cardinal as the Trojans had no answer for them.
RECAP: #7 Stanford WVB completes dominant sweep of USC
On Washington State: The Cougars come in with a strong overall record and league record, but they’ve really struggled against ranked teams, going 1-5 in matches against ranked opponents. Their lone win came against then #12 Oregon back on Friday, October 7th. It was a 3-2 victory that went to a fifth set. In their meeting on The Farm, Stanford won 3- 1 (25-19, 16-25, 25-15, 25-23). It nearly went to a fifth set, but Stanford found a way to pull it out.
Fifth year outside hitter Laura Jansen continues to lead this Cougars team, averaging 3.53 kills per set. Senior outside hitter Pia Timmer is not far behind, averaging 3.05 kills per set. Junior setter Argentina Ung is doing a great job setting them up for easy kills, averaging 9.44 assists per set, while senior libero Karly Basham is doing her thing on defense, averaging 3.05 digs per set.
This Cougars team keeps knocking on the door against ranked opponents and nearly took Stanford to a fifth set. They’re a tough team and will certainly not be an easy team for the Cardinal to defeat on the road.
On Washington: The Huskies are a top 20 team in the nation right now and are off to a strong start in league play. They picked up a solid 3-2 win over Oregon and after losing 2-3 to Arizona State last Friday, they bounced back with a commanding 3-0 win over Arizona. In their meeting on The Farm, Stanford won 3-1 (24-26, 25-17, 25-20, 25-21). Similar to their meeting with Wazzu, Stanford was almost taken to a fifth set, but found a way to get the job done in four sets.
Senior outside hitter Claire Hoffman (4.18 kills per set) and sophomore outside hitter Emoni Bush (3.27 kills per set) lead the way for this Huskies team. Senior setter Ella May Powell is averaging 11.03 assists per set, doing a fantastic job of setting up her teammates for easy kills while also averaging 2.31 digs per set. Sophomore libero Lauren Bays is doing a nice job anchoring the back row with 2.98 digs per set.
After not being able to win on The Farm, the Huskies will look to get some revenge on “Dig Or Treat” night. Like Wazzu, they’ve shown they can hang with the Cardinal. Having home court advantage could make the difference.
Keys to the road trip: The first thing Stanford needs to do is keep doing what they’re doing. Get Kendall Kipp, Elia Rubin, and Caitie Baird going, keep the aggression at the net with Sami Francis and McKenna Vicini, and then continue to get strong production from Elena Oglivie in the back row. It’s really that simple.
Secondly, Stanford needs to keep finding ways to win tight sets. That’s been a major strength of theirs all season long. If Stanford keeps stepping up late in sets, they should be able to win both of these matches with little trouble.
Finally, Stanford needs to match the energy of their opponents in the first set. Both Wazzu and Washington will look to pounce early and win the opening set. If Stanford can win the opening sets, that will really send a message and deflate their opponents at least a little bit.
Prediction: This is a tough road trip. Both teams have shown they can hang with Stanford and of all the road trips they have this year, Stanford head coach Kevin Hambly called this the toughest one.
“It’s the toughest road trip, I think,” Hambly said. “Washington State’s a very good team and Washington’s been playing great. They lost one to Arizona State, so they’ll be motivated. But I think in general, it’s the toughest road trip. So we got a lot, our hands full.”
I do think Stanford will find a way to rise to the occasion and win both matches. They’ve won eight matches in a row and really are a buzz saw right now as is evident by the way they crushed USC. As for score, I think they’ll defeat Washington State in four sets and I think they’ll defeat Washington in five. Should be a fun weekend of volleyball.
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