On Friday, #11 Stanford women’s volleyball fell to #20 Penn State by a final score of 3-2 (16-25, 22-25, 25-17, 25-23, 10-15). Kashauna Williams led the way for Penn State with 16 kills, 4 digs, and 2 blocks for 17 points while Anjelina Starck had 12 kills, 9 digs, and 2 blocks for 13 points. Kendall Kipp was the top performer for Stanford with 20 kills, 10 digs, 4 blocks, and 24 points. Penn State improves to 7-0 overall while Stanford falls to 3-2 overall.
Penn State got off to a strong start, leading 10-5 early on in the first set. Stanford was playing a bit sloppy with two attack errors and one service error. Penn State was taking advantage, coming out with great energy. Stanford would not be able to get back in the set as Penn State would go on to win 25-16. Stanford really needed to wake up.
The second set got off to a better start for Stanford as they got out to an early 5-2 lead following a nice kill by Elia Rubin off the assist from Kami Miner. Stanford would continue to expand their lead, going up 11-7 after an attack error by Zoe Weatherington. From there, Penn State would flip the script to win four points in a row to tie it up 11-11.
Things would remain back and forth for the next few points as it was still tied 16-16. Lots of attack errors from both sides. Penn State would pull away late in the set after leading 20-19. They would go on to win three points in a row to get a 23-19 cushion after a kill by Williams and back-to-back attack errors from Stanford (Caitie Baird & Kendall Kipp). From there, Penn State would hang on to win 25-22.
In the third set, after being tied 3-3, Stanford took an early 5-3 lead thanks to a kill and service ace by Kipp. After a kill by Baird off an assist from Miner, it was now a 10-7 lead for Stanford. Stanford would then turn on the jets, winning six of the next seven points to lead 16-8 following a kill by Rubin. From there, Stanford cruised to a 25-17 set victory to get on the board.
In the fourth set, Stanford got off to a strong start, leading 8-3 after a kill by McKenna Vicini off an assist from Elena Oglivie. However, Penn State would win six of the next seven points to make it 9-9. After it was tied 13-13, Stanford would find a way to win three points in a row to lead 16-13 following a nice kill from Caitie Baird off an assist from Taylor Beaven.
Things would then swing in Penn State’s favor as they won four of the next five points to make it 17-17 following a block error by Vicini. The set would remain tied all the way through 23-23. To Stanford’s credit, they would win two points in a row to make it a 25-23 set victory following back-to-back kills from Baird and Kipp.
Tied 2-2, it all came down to a fifth and final set. That set was tight early on as well as it was tied 5-5 and remained tied 8-8. Penn State would then go up 11-9 before Stanford closed within one point to make it 11-10 after a kill by Vicini. From there, Penn State would win four points in a row to take the set 15-10, winning the match 3-2. The final two points were attack errors by Stanford.
For Penn State, this is a big win. They came in undefeated but not having won any matches against ranked teams. For them to beat Stanford is a big deal and shows that they are worthy of being ranked in the top 15. How they do against #18 Oregon on Saturday will be interesting to see.
As for Stanford, this match is a bummer because they played so well in the third and fourth sets but really put themselves behind the eight ball in the first two sets. Too many attack errors and service errors. Once they started playing clean volleyball, they were fine, but you can’t get yourself down by two sets and expect to win. Especially against a ranked team when you are playing away from home.
Up next for Stanford will be a road match against #3 Minnesota on Saturday. That will begin at 5:00 PM PT on BTN+ (Big Ten Network Plus).
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