On Friday, #14 Stanford women’s volleyball defeated Lipscomb 3-0 (25-20, 25-15, 25-14) to win their first match of the season. Sophomore Sami Francis led the way for the Cardinal with 15.5 points and 11 kills, making the switch to middle blocker for the first time in her career. Senior Kendall Kipp was the number two scorer on the team with 12.5 points and 8 kills while sophomore setter Kami Miner had 35 assists to go along with her 4.5 points. Stanford improves to 1-0 overall while Lipscomb falls to 0-1.
The big key coming into this match for Stanford was to set the tone early and not allow Lipscomb to take that first set. To Lipscomb’s credit, they battled hard in the first set. Stanford got out to an early 7-2 lead behind three kills from Elia Rubin, McKenna Vicini, and Kendall Kipp. Stanford would then extend their lead 11-3 as Kipp got a pair of service aces along with a kill from Miner and Francis.
However, Lipscomb would find a way to close the gap a bit as they would go on a 5-0 run to make it a 16-12 game after Stanford led 16-7: Two kills from Courtney Jones and two kills from Meg Mersman along with a service ace by Delaney Smith is what the run consisted of. At this point, Stanford called for time.
Coming out of the time out, Stanford regained their composure as Caitie Baird made it an 18-12 game thanks to a kill and a service ace. From there, Stanford would hang on to win the set 25-20 as Lipscomb tried to make another late rally after getting down 23-16. Lipscomb made a valiant effort, but Stanford did what they had to do by retaking control coming out of the time out.
In the second set, it was tied 2-2 before Stanford powered ahead to an 11-5 lead thanks to five errors from Lipscomb. With the score 16-10, Stanford went on a 5-0 run to lead 21-10 as Francis got two kills, Rubin got two service aces, and Baird added another kill to her tally. With the score 23-15, Stanford would finish the job 25-15 as Vicini and Rubin got back-to-back kills.
In the third set, it was even more lopsided despite the final score being different by just one point. Stanford raced out to a 10-1 lead. Kipp and Rubin got two kills during this stretch while Francis and Vicini added one kill each. Lipscomb also committed four attack errors as well.
The closest Lipscomb would get in the third set is 16-10. Stanford would then go up 18-10 thanks to a service error and attack error from Lipscomb. The Bisons had a chance to close the gap, but they instead got tight. With a 22-14 lead, Stanford finished out the match with three straight points thanks to a service error from Lipscomb, a kill by Miner, and a kill by Natalie Berty assisted by Miner. 25-14.
For Stanford, this match went about as expected. They won 3-0, not dropping a single set. Lipscomb made things a tad interesting in the first set, but Stanford was able to power through and win with little trouble. That time out in the first set seemed to really make a difference for Stanford.
The biggest story for Stanford is the performance of Sami Francis at the middle blocker position. It was her first time playing the position at Stanford and she delivered the goods big time. In addition to having 11 kills, she had just one error and really played a clean/efficient game. The other big storyline for Stanford is the performance of the freshman Elia Rubin, who got the start and had 8 kills in three sets played. Head coach Kevin Hambly said going in that she was going to start and she did not disappoint.
Stanford will stay in Nashville for their next match as they’ll take on Tennessee State on Saturday. That match will start at 4:00 PM PT on ESPN+. Stanford will seek to get their second win of the season in two days.
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