On Friday, #8 Stanford women’s volleyball defeated Washington State 3-0 (25-23, 25-22, 25-22). Caitie Baird led the way for the Cardinal with 15 kills, 9 digs, and 3 blocks while Elia Rubin (11 kills & 8 digs) and Kendall Kipp (10 kills & 8 digs) had near double-doubles as well. Laura Jansen and Magda Jehlarova each had 12 kills for Washington State. Stanford improves to 15-4 overall and 10-1 in the Pac-12 while Washington State falls to 15-7 overall and 7-4 in the Pac-12.
Stanford got out to an early 7-3 lead in the first set after Kipp was up to her third kill of the match. After back-to-back service aces from Rubin, Stanford led 10-4, forcing Washington State to call for time.
After a kill from Baird made it an 11-5 lead for Stanford, Washington State went on a 4-0 run to make it 11-9, shaving Stanford’s lead down to two. This forced Stanford to call a timeout of their own. Washington State would eventually tie up the set 17-17 after back-to-back kills from Laura Jansen and Katy Ryan.
Stanford would quickly respond with a 3-0 run fueled by two kills from Caitie Baird and one kill from Kami Miner. Stanford now led 20-17 and was back out in front. Washington State would keep fighting and after an attack error from Kipp, it was tied again at 22-22. The Cougars were hoping to finally get a lead.
In the next point, it would be Jansen hitting an attack error to make it a 23-22 lead for Stanford before she responded with a kill to tie it up 23-23. From there, Stanford found a way to win the next two points to make it a 25-23 first set victory. A kill by Kipp and an attack error by Jansen is how the final two points went in the set.
Early on in the second set it was tied 7-7 as both teams were doing a great job of keeping the pressure on their opponent. After a kill by Miner, Stanford led 11-9 only for Washington State to respond with two straight kills to make it 11-11. Stanford would then go on a 3-0 run thanks to a service error from Washington State, a service ace by Baird, and a kill by Kipp. It was now a 14-11 lead for Stanford. At the media timeout, it was a 15-12 lead for Stanford after McKenna Vicini got a kill.
After Washington State made it 15-13, Stanford got two kills in a row from Rubin and Baird, making it a 17-13 lead for Stanford. After a kill from Miner, it was still a four point lead for Stanford as they were up 20-16. Washington State would respond with a 2-0 run off a kill from Magda Jehlarova and a service ace from Pia Timmer. It was now a 20-18 lead for Stanford, who called for time.
Out of the timeout, Stanford responded with a kill by Baird after which Jansen hit an attack error. This gave Stanford their four point cushion again as they now led 22-18. From there, Stanford would win the set 25-22 after a kill from Kipp off an assist from Miner.
Like the second set, it was tied 7-7 early on in the third set. It would continue to be a back and forth affair as it would be tied 11-11 and then 15-15 after Stanford held a brief 15-14 lead entering the media timeout. Stanford would then go on a 3-0 run to lead 18-15 only for Washington State to respond with a 3-0 run of their own to tie it up 18-18.
After it was tied 19-19, Stanford went on a 3-0 run to lead 22-19. Washington State committed an attack error and a service error while Baird got another kill off an assist from Miner. From there, Stanford was able to win the set 25-22 as Rubin got the match-winning kill off an assist from Miner. Despite all sets being tight, Stanford found a way to win them all and make it a 3-0 sweep. This was another really strong performance for the Cardinal.
When looking at the stats, the big difference was Stanford had a better hitting percentage (.288) compared to that of Washington State (.183). Stanford played a cleaner match when the ball was in play. Their 9 service errors made the score a bit closer than it otherwise would have been, but Stanford likes to play aggressive and it paid off in this match.
Up next for Stanford will be a road match at #19 Washington on Sunday. That will begin at 2:00 PM PT on Pac-12 Networks.
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