On Tuesday, #5 Stanford women’s volleyball defeated Rice on the road by a final score of 3-0 (25-17, 26-24, 25-21). Stanford sophomore outside hitter Elia Rubin led the way for the Cardinal with 9 kills and 6 digs while Kendall Kipp, McKenna Vicini, and Caitie Baird each had 8 kills. Kaitlyn Knobbe led the Owls with 7 kills. Stanford improves to 4-1 overall while Rice falls to 2-3 overall.
BOX SCORE: Stanford at Rice-Tuesday, September 5th
The first set was tight early on as it was tied 6-6 after both teams were trading points. Stanford then went on a 7-0 run to lead 13-6. Baird got a couple of kills during that stretch while Anna Pringle got a service ace. After three straight kills combined from Baird and Rubin, Stanford led 21-14. From there, the Cardinal cruised to a 25-17 opening set victory as Baird got the set clinching kill off an assist from Kami Miner.
Stanford continued that momentum in the second set as they led 4-1 after a kill by Sami Francis. To Rice’s credit, they came charging back and kept nipping at Stanford’s heels, getting within one point at 8-7 after a kill by Knobbe. It remained a back and forth affair from there as Rice eventually tied the set up 19-19 after a bad set by Kipp. After an attack error by Baird, it was tied 24-24. Stanford would then win two straight points to win the set 26-24 after an attack error by Rice and a service ace by Baird.
The third set was tight early on as it was tied 6-6 after a kill by Baird off an assist from Miner. Stanford would lead 15-13 at the media time out and win two straight points off attack errors to lead 17-13. After a service ace by Miner and an attack error by Rice, Stanford led 22-16. Rice would hang around a bit, getting within three points at 24-21, but a kill by Francis clinched the set 25-21 and the match.
For Stanford, this match went as expected, but it’s still nice to have it in the books. After a 3-0 sweep at Texas, they could not have a letdown match and that did not happen in this case. They took Rice seriously and got the job done. That speaks well of them and the kind of team that they are becoming.
As for Rice, it’s a disappointing loss, but given how good Stanford is, they can’t let this rattle them. They played them tough in two out of three sets and can take some confidence from that.
Up next for Stanford is the Pac-12/Big Ten Challenge on Friday and Saturday. Up first will be #15 Ohio State on Friday and #10 Minnesota on Saturday. Both matches will start at 7:00 PM PT. Friday on Pac-12 Networks and Saturday on Pac-12 Insider.
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