On Friday, #7 Stanford women’s volleyball defeated Arizona 3-0 (25-23, 25-22, 25-16). Kendall Kipp led the way for Stanford with 13 kills and 2 blocks while Caitie Baird had 9 kills and 4 digs. Sofi Maldonado Diaz was the top performer for Arizona with 13 kills and 5 digs. Stanford improves to 11-4 overall and 6-1 in the Pac-12 while Arizona falls to 11-7 overall and 1-6 in the Pac-12.

The first set was tight was it was tied 8-8 early on. Arizona would then win six of the next eight points to lead 14-10 after a kill by Diaz. Things were looking good early on for the Wildcats. After a service error from Baird, it become a 19-14 lead for Arizona. Stanford was in real trouble.

Rather than continuing to be in their funk, Stanford snapped out of it, winning four straight points to make it a 19-18 set. Two of those four points came off kills from Kipp. After a kill by Elia Rubin, Stanford finally tied it up 20-20. It would then be back and forth as both teams were tied 23-23. Stanford would find a way to win the next two points to win the set 25-23 after a kill by Kami Miner followed by an attack error from Arizona. It was a narrow set, but Stanford got the job done.

The second set likewise would be close. After it was tied 4-4, Stanford would win four straight points only for Arizona to win four straight points in response, making it 8-8. After leading 12-10, Stanford would win two points in a row to make it 14-10 after a kill by McKenna Vicini and a service ace from Caitie Baird.

Arizona would once again make it a two point set as it was a 16-14 Stanford lead. In response, Stanford once again pushed their lead up to four points following a kill by Sami Francis and a service ace from Elia Rubin. This made it an 18-14 Stanford lead.

Arizona would not go quietly into the night. After a kill from Jaelyn Hodge, Arizona trailed by just one point (21-20). Stanford would respond with a 3-0 run thanks to kills from Rubin and Francis along with an attack error from Zyonna Fellows. Stanford was now up 24-20. Arizona would win a couple points to put some pressure on Stanford, but in the end the Cardinal would take the set 25-22 after a set-clinching kill from Rubin.

In the third set, things weren’t nearly as close. Stanford jumped out to a 5-0 lead, forcing Arizona to call for time. Coming out of the timeout, Stanford would make it a 6-0 lead after an attack error from Hodge. The Cardinal were in firm control. Arizona would respond to make it a 13-10 lead for Stanford after a kill by Diaz. Then, Stanford went on a 4-0 run to lead 17-10 after a service ace from Baird. From there, Stanford would take the third set 25-16 as a kill from Baird sealed the deal.

Arizona battled hard in this match, but Stanford once again did what they do when sets get tight: They found an extra gear to get over the top. Kipp and Baird led the way, but Rubin (8 kills), Francis (8 kills), and Vicini (7 kills) did their part as well. Miner walked out with 35 assists while Elena Oglivie had 11 digs. Just an all-around team effort.

Up next for Stanford is a road match at Arizona State on Sunday. That will begin at 3:00 PM PT on Pac-12 Networks.

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