On Sunday, #5 Stanford women’s volleyball fell to #21 Oregon on the road by a final score of 3-0 (25-19, 27-25, 25-17). Mimi Colyer led the way for Oregon with 15 kills and 10 digs while Brooke Nuneviller had 14 kills and 14 digs. Kendall Kipp (13 kills) and Caitie Baird (10 kills & 13 digs) were the top performers for Stanford. Oregon improves to 8-2 overall and 2-0 in the Pac-12 while Stanford falls to 6-4 overall and 1-1 in the Pac-12.
Stanford was without Sami Francis for the second straight match. As a result, Annabelle Smith took her spot in the rotation at middle blocker. Smith finished with 2 kills and 3 blocks.
Oregon got off to an early 14-9 lead in the first set. Stanford called for time hoping to find a groove. That time out did not work as Oregon led 19-13 after a 3-0 run, forcing Stanford to call their second time out.
Oregon would go on to take the opening set 25-19 following a kill from Colyer. Stanford needed to find a way to adjust after the way Oregon cruised to an easy opening set victory. Dropping the first set is not the way Stanford wanted this to start.
Stanford started strong in the second set, leading 10-4 after a 6-0 run. This forced Oregon to call for time. Stanford would stay in front up 20-15 after an emphatic kill from Baird. She was up to seven kills. Oregon once again called for time. Oregon responded out of their second time out, cutting the Stanford lead to two points (22-20). This time it was Stanford calling for time.
Stanford would go on to have three set points but failed to close as Oregon found a way to win the second set 27-25. The Ducks’ gritty play paid off, giving them a two set lead.
The third set started off decent for Stanford as they led 5-4 before a service error from Kipp made it 5-5. However, Oregon would soon gain the lead, going up 11-7 after back-to-back kills from Nuneviller and Colyer. From there, Oregon’s lead continued to grow as they would lead 19-12 after another kill from Nuneviller. From there, Oregon would take the third set 25-16, completing the three set sweep.
For Stanford, this match really turned in the second set. They should have evened things up there and when they didn’t, that just seemed to suck the wind out of their sails. The absence of Francis was definitely felt and Stanford just didn’t have the same juice they’ve had in previous matches.
To Oregon’s credit, they found a way to win that second set and not give Stanford any life thereafter. They came out strong from the opening serve and got great production from Colyer and Nuneviller. They played like the better team in this match and got the win as a result.
Up next for Stanford is a home match against Washington on Friday. That will begin at 6:00 PM PT on Pac-12 Washington. Washington was ranked #18 in the nation coming into this week.
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