On Saturday at 7:30 PM PT on ESPN2, No. 2 Stanford women’s volleyball will welcome No. 11 Kentucky to Stanford. Stanford comes in at 7-1 overall while Kentucky comes in at 6-4 overall.
Last time out: Stanford fell to No. 5 Nebraska on the road on Wednesday in straight sets. Stanford went on an 8-0 run at one point, but aside from that they just didn’t look like their normal selves. It was just one of those matches where Stanford never was able to get into a good rhythm.
On Kentucky: The Wildcats have losses to Nebraska, Penn State, Purdue, and Louisville. All programs that are top ten level. Their strongest win of the season was a 3-0 sweep at SMU who has since cracked to the top 25. Kentucky has done a good job of beating the teams they are supposed to beat but haven’t quite figured out how to get wins against teams that are ranked above them.
The Wildcats are led by sophomore outside hitter Brooklyn DeLeye, who is averaging 4.11 kills per set. Senior outside hitters Erin Lamb (2.50 kills per set) and senior outside hitter Megan Wilson (2.17 kills per set) are playing well, too. Senior setter Emma Grome is averaging 10.47 assists per set, doing a nice job of setting up her teammates for easy kills.
As a team, the Wildcats average 13.11 kills, 12.42 assists, 2.14 service aces, 11.86 digs, and 2.00 blocks per set with a .245 hitting percentage. Their opponents average 10.19 kills, 9.28 assists, 0.89 service aces, 11.72 digs, and 2.61 blocks per set with a .182 hitting percentage.
Keys to the match: For Stanford, the first thing they need to do is win the service ace battle. Kentucky is used to getting more service aces than their opponents. If Stanford does a better job with their service pressure, I like their chances of winning this match.
The second thing Stanford needs to do is step up their play at the net. Stanford averages 1.52 blocks per set, so that’s an area that Kentucky should look to win. If Stanford is able to improve their blocking at the net and at least be competitive in that area, they should be fine.
Lastly Stanford needs to come out strong. They had a tough loss to Nebraska by getting swept. They have to bounce back in this match and that starts with a strong first set. If Stanford can take the first set, they should be in a good position to win. If not, they could be in for a long night.
Prediction: I think Stanford bounces back tonight. They’ll be at home and should be motivated. I got Stanford taking care of business in four sets.
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