On Thursday, No. 2 Stanford women’s volleyball defeated No. 6 Florida 3-1 (24-26, 25-17, 26-24, 29-27) in the regional semifinal (Sweet Sixteen) of the NCAA tournament in Louisville, advancing to the regional final (Elite Eight). Stanford outside hitter Ipar Kurt and middle blocker Sami Francis both had 17 kills for the Cardinal while outside hitter Elia Rubin had 16 assists and 13 digs. Stanford setter Kami Miner was fantastic as usual with 56 assists, creating great opportunities for her teammates. Florida outside hitter Kennedy Martin was the top performer for the Gators with 21 kills, six digs, and five blocks.

BOX SCORE: Stanford vs. Florida-Thursday, December 12th

Stanford got off to a strong start in the opening set, leading 6-2 after a kill by Elia Rubin. After a kill by Sami Francis, Stanford led 11-6. Florida then went on a 7-0 run to lead 13-11 as Kennedy Martin had four kills during the run. Stanford would eventually tie things up at 21-21 after back-to-back kills by Kami Miner and Sami Francis. After a kill by Ipar Kurt gave Stanford a 24-23 lead, Florida went on a 3-0 run to take the set 26-24 as two of those three points came off errors by Stanford. The Gators were up 1-0.

Stanford would get off to an early lead in the second set. After a kill by Jaela Auguste for Florida made it 6-5 with Stanford in front, the Cardinal went on a 4-0 run to lead 10-5 as Kurt had a couple of kills during the run. That run ended up making the difference as Florida was never able to really get back in the set. The closest the Gators got was within three points at 14-11, but from there it was smooth sailing for Stanford as back-to-back kills by Kurt ended the set 25-17. It was now tied up 1-1.

To start the third set, Florida jumped out to an early 5-1 lead as Martin and Auguste had kills. Stanford would go on a 4-0 run to tie it up 5-5 as Francis had a couple kills during the run. After a service error by Stanford made it a 16-15 lead for Florida, Stanford went on a 3-0 run to lead 18-16 as Rubin had a kill, Kurt had a service ace, and Florida had an error.

Florida would lead 20-19 after an attack error by Stanford before Stanford responded with another 3-0 run as Rubin had two kills and Jordyn Harvey had a service ace. After a kill by Francis, Stanford led 24-22 before Florida won two straight points to tie it up 24-24. Stanford then won back-to-back points to take the set 26-24 as Lizzy Andrew and Ipar Kurt got kills to close out the set. Stanford now led 2-1.

Stanford would lead 5-1 in the fourth set after a kill by Francis, who was having quite a match. After an attack error by Florida, Stanford led 10-7 after which Florida responded with a 3-0 run thanks to three straight Stanford errors. It was now tied 10-10. It would remain a back and forth set as Florida led 20-19 after an attack error by Stanford before Stanford responded with a 3-0 run to lead 22-20 as Rubin and Francis each had a kill during the run along with a Florida error.

After a kill by Francis, Stanford led 24-23 and had match point. Rather than throwing in the towel, Florida responded by winning two straight points to turn the tables and get a set point of their own as Martin had a kill followed by an attack error by Stanford. Kurt then got a kill for Stanford to tie it up 25-25. It would then go back and forth a bit as it would be tied 27-27 after a service error by Stanford on a match point. Stanford would respond with back-to-back kills from Kurt and Rubin to take the set 29-27 and the match 3-1.

The real key to this win for Stanford was getting their middle blockers going, something that I mentioned in the preview as a key to the match. Sami Francis was fantastic with 17 kills while Lizzy Andrew had 10 kills. The magic number I had for them was five kills per set combined. They greatly exceeded that mark as they had 6.75 kills per set combined. Given that, it’s no surprise they won this one.

"Yeah, just me and Kami have a great connection and I owe it all to her,” Francis told ESPN after the match. “I mean, the sets she has and have made so far are just amazing and so I mean, she puts the faith in me and I come to execute.”

Up next for Stanford is a match against No. 1 Louisville in the Elite Eight on Saturday at 4:30 PM PT on ESPN2. Louisville will have the home court advantage, but after two straight years of losing in the Elite Eight at home, perhaps being on the road will do Stanford some good.

“We have a great recovery staff,” Francis said looking ahead to their next match. “So we’re just going to make sure we’re resting and we’re about to scout this game for a couple sets and see what we have to focus on and Kevin will tell us our keys tomorrow.”

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