On Friday at 5:30 PM PT on Pac-12 Networks, #9 Stanford women’s volleyball will welcome #17 Washington to The Farm. Stanford comes in at 6-4 overall and 1-1 in the Pac-12 while Washington comes in at 10-2 overall and 2-0 in the Pac-12.
Last time out: On Sunday, Stanford fell to #21 Oregon on the road in straight sets: 3-0 (25-19, 27-25, 25-17). Kendall Kipp (13 kills) and Caitie Baird (10 kills & 13 digs) were the top performers for Stanford.
RECAP: #5 Stanford WVB gets swept at #21 Oregon
On Washington: The Huskies are off to strong start this season, losing just two matches. Their two losses are to now #23 Arkansas and now #20 Pepperdine. They split against Arkansas, dropping their first match of the season against them before beating them in their next match on the following day. Both matches were on the road at Arkansas. Washington won both of their Pac-12/Big Ten Challenge matches in Colorado, defeating Iowa 3-0 and Illinois 3-1. Neither program is ranked, but it was still a strong showing for the Huskies. This road trip to the Bay Area will be a good test for Washington as they look to back up their #17 ranking.
The Huskies are led by senior outside hitter Claire Hoffman, who is averaging 4.09 kills per set. Sophomore outside hitter Emoni Bush (2.91 kills per set), sophomore outside hitter Madi Endsley (2.81 kills per set), and senior middle blocker Marin Grote (2.43 kills per set) are doing a great job of giving Hoffman the support she needs. Senior setter Ella May Powell is a major reason why all of them have so many kills, averaging 10.98 assists per set.
Keys to the match: For Stanford, the first thing they have to do is make things as tough on Hoffman as possible. She’s going to look to have a big match and get going early and often. If Stanford can contain her, that’ll go a long ways towards winning this match.
Secondly, Stanford needs to take the opening set. After getting swept at Oregon, it would really be huge for Stanford to take the opening set and re-establish some momentum. The first set is going to be critical in this match and if Stanford can be the team that wins it, that’ll really help them settle in and finish the match strong.
Finally, Stanford needs to win the service battle. Stanford averages 1.30 service aces per set while Washington averages 1.82. Whichever team does a better job applying pressure on serve and keeping their opponent off the net will be in a good position to win this match. Both teams are used to winning in this department, so it should be interesting to see who’ll have the better night.
Prediction: Stanford is at home and I think they know they let one slip away at Oregon. Sami Francis being out didn’t help and if she’s out again, that won’t make things any easier for Stanford. That said, I still think even if Francis is out that Stanford will find a way to win. I got Stanford bouncing back big, defeating Washington in four sets.
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