Match Stats
- #13 Stanford def. #19 Utah 3-0 (25-22, 25-20, 25-16)
- Stanford moves to 16-6 (10-4 Pac-12); Utah falls to 17-8 (8-6 Pac-12)
- Huntsman Center, Salt Lake City, Utah
“It was a turning point in our season.”
Those were the words of freshman outside hitter Kathryn Plummer, after a win against Colorado on Friday. She put up a second-straight big match when she led Stanford with 19 kills, 10 digs, and 2 aces for her 6th double-double of the season.
The Cardinal women are in the midst of the toughest portion of their schedule, with Utah being their 5th top-25 opponent in their last 6 games, but they appeared dominant in a 3-0 sweep of the Utes on Saturday.
Stanford’s defense held Utah to just .151 hitting on the day, which included 4 blocks each from Inky Ajanaku and freshman Audriana Fitzmorris, plus an additional 3 from Plummer.
Plummer, who started the year at opposite where she’s played for most of her life, has given new life to a Stanford team that was rocked early in the year when sophomore Hayley Hodson (the 2015 AVCA Freshman of the Year) took a leave from the university to deal with an ankle injury. That gave Plummer a shot at outside hitter, and she’s really settled into that role in the last 2 weeks – recording 17, 20, and 19 kills in the Cardinal’s last three.
???? Love to see it @jennagray22 https://t.co/MX3rYczMrx
— Stanford Volleyball (@StanfordWVB) November 6, 2016
Utah only had two players hitting in double figures, and neither hit for much over a .200 average. Adora Anae, the defending VolleyMob National Player of the Week, had 12 kills but 9 errors for an .073 average; Carly Trueman had 10 kills and hit .208. Anae’s effort moved her to 12th
A bright spot for Utah was that they out-dug their opponents 52-51, led by a dozen each from Jessie Openshaw and Brianna Doehrmann.
Press Releases
Courtesy Stanford Athletics:
SALT LAKE CITY – The 13th-ranked Stanford women’s volleyball team swept No. 19 Utah, 25-22, 25-20, 25-16, Saturday, at the Huntsman Center.
The Cardinal improved to 16-6 overall and 10-4 in the Pac-12, remaining in a tie for first place in the conference. Utah dropped to 17-8, 8-6 in the conference.
Freshman outside hitter Kathryn Plummer, who began the season as an opposite, led all players with 19 kills, 10 digs and two aces for her sixth double-double. Redshirt senior Inky Ajanaku hit .500, notching seven kills and four blocks, while freshman Audriana Fitzmorris hit .438 and also tallied seven kills and four blocks. Redshirt senior Ivana Vanjak turned in eight kills and three blocks.
Freshman setter Jenna Gray controlled the offense with 33 assists as the Cardinal out hit the Utes .293 to .151. Gray also recorded three kills, five digs and a block. Freshman libero Morgan Hentz finished with a match-high 15 digs, while senior Kelsey Humphreys had 11 digs.
Utah was led by junior outside hitter Adora Anae’s 12 kills and seven digs. Carly Trueman chipped in with 10 kills, while freshman libero Brianna Doehrmmann collected 12 digs.
As a team, Stanford totaled 8.0 blocks, 51 digs and three aces, while Utah had 5.0 blocks, 52 digs and five aces.
Stanford returns home next week to host No. 25 USC on Thursday, Nov. 10 and No. 9 UCLA on Saturday, Nov. 12. Thursday’s match will be televised on ESPNU.
Courtesy Utah Athletics:
SALT LAKE CITY – The No.19-ranked Utah volleyball team dropped a top-25 match to No. 13-ranked Stanford, falling to the Cardinal in straight sets (22-25, 20-25, 16-25) Saturday evening at the Huntsman Center.
Junior Adora Anae led Utah with 12 kills, while moving up to No. 9 all-time in school history with 1,239 career kills. Junior Carly Trueman added 10 kills, but the Utes were limited to just a .151 hitting percentage on the evening.
Sophomore Jessie Openshaw led the squad with 16 assists and 12 digs, while posting her fourth double-double of the season. Freshman Brianna Doehrmann added 12 digs for the Utes as well.
Despite a 3-0 run from Utah and a 5-0 run by the Cardinal early the set, both teams traded points for the majority of the match, but Stanford came away with the frame 25-22 to take a 1-0 lead. Stanford had just one more kill than Utah (16-15), but still managed to out-hit the Utes .184 to .152 in the set. Stanford’s advantage came at the net as the Cardinal racked up 5.0 total team blocks to just 2.0 total blocks for the Utes.
A service ace from freshman Bailey Choy put Utah up 9-7, but Stanford countered with a 5-1 run to take a 12-10 lead. After trading points, Utah would open a 3-0 run with a kill from junior Tawnee Luafalemana and then went up 19-18 with another ace from Choy. Stanford would give up just one more point to the Utes before taking the set 25-20 and a 2-0 lead in the match.
Stanford took an early 3-1 lead and never looked back on the way to a 25-16 win over the Utes in the third set. Utah tallied runs of 3-0 and 4-1 in the set, but the Cardinal managed to total 16 kills on .483 and also record a 68 percent sideout advantage.
Utah dropped to 17-8 overall on the season and 8-6 in Pac-12 play, while the Cardinal pushed its record to 16-6 overall and 10-4 in league matches.
The Utes will be back in action this week with a midweek affair against Oregon and Oregon State. The Utes will take on the Ducks this Wednesday in Eugene, Ore., before facing the Beavers in Corvallis, Ore., on Thursday.
Leave a Reply