On Sunday, No. 5 Stanford women’s volleyball got swept at No. 1 Pittsburgh by a final score of 3-0 (25-17, 25-16, 25-20). Pittsburgh opposite hitter Oliva Babcock led the way for the Panthers with 17 kills, six digs, and six blocks while outside hitter Torrey Stafford had 12 kills and five digs. Stanford outside hitter Jordyn Harvey was the top performer for the Cardinal with 11 kills. Pittsburgh improves to 17-1 overall and 7-1 in the ACC while Stanford falls to 14-3 overall and 6-2 in the ACC.
BOX SCORE: Stanford at Pittsburgh-Sunday, October 20th
This match was one-way traffic for the Panthers. After a kill by Babcock, the Panthers led 6-2 in the first set. After another kill by Babcock followed by an attack error from Stanford, it was an 11-5 lead for the Panthers. After another attack error by Stanford, it was a 14-8 lead for Pittsburgh. Stanford would go on a 3-0 run to make it 14-11, but Pittsburgh would keep space between Stanford until they were able to go on a 3-0 run of their own to lead 23-16. From there, Pittsburgh would win the set 25-17 as they closed out the set with a pair of kills from Olivia Babcock and Ryla Jones.
In the second set, Stanford got off to a better start as it was tied 4-4 after Sami Francis got a kill. But then, Pittsburgh went on a 3-0 run to lead 7-4 as Babcock got a service ace and Jones got a kill. After a kill by Jordyn Harvey, it was 10-7, but then Pittsburgh went on a 5-0 run to lead 15-7 and didn’t look back from there, taking the set 25-16 as a service error from Stanford ended the set.
The third set had a more respectable score for Stanford, but it was still a comfortable win for Pittsburgh. Stanford led 4-3 after a kill from Harvey, but then Pittsburgh went on a 5-0 run to lead 8-4 as Babcock and Stafford added to their kill totals. It would be 11-8 after Elia Rubin got a nice kill for Stanford, but then Pittsburgh went on a 3-0 run to lead 14-8. Stanford would soon go on a 3-0 run to make it 15-12 as Francis had back-to-back kills followed by a kill from Harvey. However, Pittsburgh soon responded with a 3-0 run to make it 21-15 as Babcock had a pair of kills during that run. In the end, Pittsburgh would take the set 25-20 as a kill by Stafford clinched the match and final set.
For Stanford, this is obviously a disappointing loss as they were hoping to at least make this a competitive match. In the end, Pittsburgh showed why they are the top ranked team in the nation and why they are so tough to beat in that cozy little gym of theirs. The Panthers came out with great energy and simply played the better match. At this point, all that Stanford can do is move on to their next match and learn from this one.
On that note, Stanford’s next match will be on Wednesday at Cal in Berkeley. That will be at 7:00 PM PT. No TV is listed for the match as of now.
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