On Friday, #3 Stanford women’s volleyball defeated USC 3-0 (25-22, 25-14, 25-14). Stanford outside hitters Kendall Kipp and Caitie Baird led the Cardinal with 12 kills each while outside hitter Elia Rubin had a double-double with 10 kills and 13 digs. USC outside hitter Skylar Fields was the top performer for the Trojans with 10 kills and 7 digs. Stanford improves to 14-2 overall and 7-0 in the Pac-12 while USC falls to 11-6 overall and 5-2 in the Pac-12.
BOX SCORE: USC at Stanford-Friday, October 13th
“I thought we started out a little shaky,” Stanford head coach Kevin Hambly said after the match. “Gave them quite a few points early and didn’t play our usual style of volleyball. And they did some of that. They served really aggressive and they got us off the net and they created some of that. But I thought we made some weird decisions and then I think we were trying too hard at times instead of like we just settle down and start to play our game. I thought we did a really nice job there in the second set early, got a little sloppy at the end, and then in the third set I thought we executed at a really really high level. I mean, 19 kills and .562. Those are pretty astronomical numbers and to keep them to six kills and hitting zero in the last two sets is a testament to that. They have some weapons and we did a really nice job defending them as well.”
At the start of the match, Stanford fans got a piece of good news as middle blocker Sami Francis returned to the starting lineup after being out with a foot/ankle injury. Getting Francis back was really nice to see. Especially since she missed a good chunk of last season.
“Yeah, it was good,” Hambly said of getting Francis back. “We gotta get her back in a rhythm. I mean, she was struggling a little bit offensively, which is normal. She hasn’t been back that long. We just gotta get her going and get her in a rhythm and we need some reps. We need to get her some time and I think she’ll get better every match. I expect her to be better even on Sunday because we’ll get a little bit more time with her. But it was really nice to have her out there, have her physical presence, get her blocking out there, it was really cool.”
“Oh, it’s awesome,” Baird said of getting Francis back. “Malia did a great job while Sami was out, but having Sami back, that height and that length, it’s just awesome and she brings another fire to the court that we need sometimes.”
USC jumped out to an early 6-2 lead in the first set as Fields had a pair of kills. After a kill by Kalyah Williams, USC led 8-4. Stanford then went on a 5-0 run to lead 9-8. Sami Francis, McKenna Vicini, and Kendall Kipp got kills during that stretch while Anna Pringle had a service ace.
“She’s a baller,” Baird said of Vicini. “She does her job, she’s on her assignments, she gets the ball, and she puts it away when I get it to her and she slows a lot of people down for us and that’s awesome. She gets a lot of great touches. Makes our job a lot easier in the back court, too.”
It would then be a back and forth set as USC led 15-14 at the media timeout after Tyrah Ariail got a nice kill. To USC’s credit, they were giving Stanford all they could handle. USC would then win two more points to lead 17-14 after an attack error by Kipp. Stanford needed to find a way to reverse the momentum.
After a kill by Lindsey Miller gave USC a 19-16 lead, Stanford went on a 4-0 run to lead 20-19. Kami Miner got a kill during that stretch while Caitie Baird got three kills in a row. Syklar Fields then got a kill to tie it up 20-20. This set was going down to the wire.
“They came out with some power and some fire in the first set,” Baird said. “And I think we were just kind of waiting back on our heels a little bit and so once we got into our groove, settled in a little bit and it got more comfortable, we were fine and just able to do our thing and play our game.”
After Stanford and USC traded kills to make it 21-21, Stanford won two points in a row to lead 23-21 thanks to a service error and attack error by USC. Fields then got a kill to make it 23-22, but Stanford won the next two points to win the set 25-22 as Rubin got a kill after which Kipp got a service ace.
“That’s kinda what we do, right? We go back and bang serves,” Hambly said of their serving prowess. “And we got them out of system enough where it puts some pressure on them and yeah I think that’s what we do. Is we attack people with the serve and it’s a big part of why we kept them down in zero the last two sets.”
In the second set, Stanford jumped out to a 10-0 lead as they got points in a variety of ways. Miner had a service ace and a kill, Vicini and Baird got kills, and then also attack errors by USC as well. The set was never in doubt as Stanford cruised to a 25-14 victory. Stanford closed out the set on a 3-0 run as Francis got a kill, Kipp got a service ace, and then USC committed an attack error to finish it off. Up 2-0, Stanford was in firm control.
“We just executed,” Hambly said when asked about what adjustments they made. “It was just like we were a little sloppy. I think we were pressing a little bit. We were excited about this match, we love playing SC, it’s a good rivalry, it’s been like historically speaking, I think we got kinda, a little caught up in that and got pretty excited. This set, I thought especially the second and third, we really kinda steadied out and played more like our style of volleyball.”
“Yeah, we always get a little more amped for this one,” Baird affirmed. “It’s just California schools, we always want to get those games. So, put a little bit more into it. Sometimes it helps us and sometimes it hurts us, but once we find our rhythm again, we’re always fine.”
While the third set had the same score as the second set, USC played Stanford much tougher as it was tied 5-5 through the first ten points of the set. It would continue to be back and forth as it was tied 9-9 after a kill by Kipp. That kill by Kipp sparked a 5-0 run by the Cardinal to give them a 13-9 lead as Rubin got three kills during the run while Kipp tacked on another kill. From there, Stanford pulled away, winning the set 25-14 with a kill by Baird setting up match point after which USC committed an attack error to end the match. A 3-0 sweep for Stanford.
For Stanford, this is just business as usual but still really impressive. They could have let USC hang around and make it interesting, but they instead finished the job. After getting those first set jitters out of the way, they were all business the rest of the way.
“It’s a good one to get, back at home,” Baird said. “It’s always a fun game. The energy is always great. We had a really good crowd, which is exciting and it helps us get the energy going, too. I think we were, it was a little sloppy at times on our side, which is taking care of the little things. We bounced back fine and took care of the [second and third] sets easily.”
A big part of why they won so handily is they made things tough on USC’s top player Skylar Fields. While Fields did have 10 kills, she did so hitting .111. Stanford did a great job executing the game plan against her.
“Just good defense,” Hambly stated of how they contained Fields. “Good block, good plan, coaches put together a good plan. I think my staff, the scout staff Mike and Jane did a nice job and they executed. The team executed.”
Up next for Stanford is a home match against UCLA on Sunday. That will begin at 12:00 PM PT on Pac-12 Networks.
Just to provide a bit of a preview on UCLA, the Bruins come in at 10-7 overall and 2-5 in the Pac-12. They are coming off a 3-0 sweep at Cal on Friday, so they have a bit of momentum as they head to The Farm.
“Yeah, yeah it’s a big rival, too,” Hambly said of the Bruins. “Obviously the LA’s. I think they are, they have a bunch of really talented players and they’re trying to find themselves with a new coach. Really nervous when they find themselves. They’re gonna be really really good. So, we gotta make sure that we’re playing at a high level against this team because they can do some things and so we’re gonna have to execute again like we did tonight.”
UCLA has a really balanced scoring attack with four players averaging 2+ kills per set: Anna Dodson (2.22), Cheridyn Leverette (2.72), Grayce Olson (2.89), and Iman Ndiaye (2.95). One area where UCLA has excelled is their hitting percentage. They are hitting .245 on the season while their opponents are hitting .205. A weak spot is their service game. UCLA averages 1.26 service aces per set while their opponents average 1.74.
If I were to provide keys to the match for Stanford, I would just say they need to keep doing what they’ve been doing. Get teams out of system, serve well, and get their outside hitters rolling. When they do that, they’re almost impossible to stop. If they play like that again against UCLA, there’s no reason to pick against them.
“I think it’s going to be a similar situation as USC,” Baird said of UCLA. “Just they’re gonna come out with a fire, they have things to prove right now. So, I think just playing our game, slowing it down, playing nice and simple for us, getting the reads, connections, all that down, we’ll be fine and just bringing it to them as well, too.”
Regarding my prediction for the match, give me Stanford in three sets. I think we’ll see another sweep in this one. Stanford is rolling and I think will continue to roll once again.
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