This weekend, #8 Stanford women’s volleyball will welcome Utah and Colorado to The Farm. On Friday at 7:00 PM PT on Pac-12 Insider, Stanford will face Utah. On Sunday at 12:00 PM PT on Pac-12 Mountain, Stanford will face Colorado. Stanford comes in at 16-4 overall and 11-1 in the Pac-12. Utah comes in at 13-10 overall and 6-6 in the Pac-12. Colorado comes in at 15-7 overall and 7-5 in the Pac-12.
Previous meetings: Stanford swept both schools on the road earlier this year. At Colorado, Stanford won 3-1 (25-13, 20-25, 25-20, 25-23). At Utah, Stanford won 3-0 (25-22, 25-22, 25-20).
Last time out: Stanford defeated Washington on the road in five sets on Sunday (25-18, 19-24, 23-25, 25-18, 15-5). Stanford really turned on the jets in the final two sets.
RECAP: #8 Stanford WVB defeats #19 Washington in five sets
On Utah: It’s been an up and down season for the Utes. On the positive side, they defeated then-No.15 Washington 3-0 back on October 14th and then-No.24 USC 3-0 last week on October 28th. They then followed their USC win with an 0-3 loss to UCLA. Last weekend perfectly encapsulates the kind of season the Utes have had.
Fifth year outside hitter Madelyn Robinson (4.67 kills per set) continues to lead this Utah team while sophomore outside hitter Lauren Jardine (2.71 kills per set) is doing her job as well. When those two are on, they can hang with just about anybody. But when they are not, the Utes really struggle.
As a team, the Utes average 13.76 kills per set on a .235 hitting percentage. They also average 12.49 assists, 1.41 service aces, 15.06 digs, and 2.29 blocks per set.
Their opponents average 12.96 kills per set on a .217 hitting percentage. They also average 12.04 assists, 1.35 service aces, 13.94 digs, and 2.44 blocks per set.
On Colorado: The Buffaloes have had a bit of a better season overall than Utah. They won both their matches in the Pac-12/Big Ten Challenge earlier in the year over then #19 Illinois and Iowa. They are also coming off a weekend home sweep of UCLA and then-No.24 USC, so they’re on a bit of a roll. They also should beat Cal (still winless in Pac-12 play) with little trouble tonight, making it three in a row when they come to Maples Pavilion on Sunday.
Graduate student outside hitter Lexi Hadrych (3.09 kills per set) and junior outside hitter Maya Tabron (3.39 kills per set) lead the way for the Buffaloes. Libero Katie Lougeay is doing her thing on defense, averaging 3.34 digs per set. The three of them are a major reason why the Buffaloes have had the quality wins that they’ve had.
As a team, the Buffaloes average 13.04 kills per set on a .244 hitting percentage. They also average 12.13 assists per set, 1.28 service aces per set, 14.44 digs per set, and 2.79 blocks per set.
Their opponents average 13.11 kills per set on a .196 hitting percentage. They also average 12.34 assists per set, 1.38 service aces per set, 14.89 digs per set, and 2.24 blocks per set.
Keys to the weekend: For Stanford, the first thing they need to do is get out to a strong start and take the opening set in both matches. If Stanford wins the opening sets, it’s going to be tough sledding for Utah and Colorado. If either of those teams takes the opening set, it could get interesting. It’s really going to be important for Kendall Kipp and Caitie Baird to set the tone and get going.
The second thing Stanford is going to have to do is keep hitting the rock well. Stanford has a better hitting percentage than both teams (.285). If they keep that up, they should cruise to a weekend sweep.
Finally, Stanford needs to keep up the aggression on their serve. Stanford is averaging 1.41 service aces per set while their opponents average 1.00 service aces per set. If Stanford keeps up the intensity on their serve, I like this weekend going their way.
Prediction: Stanford is at home and they swept both teams on the road earlier this year. It stands to reason they should be favored this weekend. I got Stanford beating both teams, though just for fun I’m going to flip it around. They’ll beat Utah 3-1 and they’ll beat Colorado 3-0.
Note: Stanford put out a nice feature on their YouTube channel about the history of Stanford women’s volleyball. Watch that below.
To connect with CardinalSportsReport.com on Facebook and Twitter, click here.
To connect with Ben Parker on Facebook and Twitter, click here.
